Shaky ceasefire takes hold in Syria after week of deadly clashes in Suwayda

19 hours ago

Shaky ceasefire takes hold in Syria after week of deadly clashes in Suwayda NewsFeed
A fragile ceasefire in Syria's mainly Druze city of Suwayda appears to be holding after Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa announced a new truce on Saturday following a week of fighting. Gov't forces deployed to clear Bedouin fighters out of the governorate.
Video Duration 02 minutes 10 seconds 02:10
Video Duration 00 minutes 57 seconds 00:57
Video Duration 02 minutes 48 seconds 02:48
Video Duration 01 minutes 03 seconds 01:03
Video Duration 01 minutes 46 seconds 01:46
Video Duration 02 minutes 33 seconds 02:33
Video Duration 02 minutes 43 seconds 02:43

Hashtags

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Calm reported in Syria's Sweida, Damascus says truce holding

Qatar Tribune

9 hours ago

Qatar Tribune

Calm reported in Syria's Sweida, Damascus says truce holding

Agencies DAMASCUS Residents reported calm in Syria's Sweida on Sunday after the government announced that Bedouin fighters had withdrawn from the predominantly Druze city and a US envoy signalled that a deal to end days of fighting was being implemented. Interior Minister Anas Khattab said on Sunday that internal security forces had managed to calm the situation and enforce the ceasefire, 'paving the way for a prisoner exchange and the gradual return of stability throughout the governorate'. Iimages showed interior ministry forces near the city, blocking the road in front of members of tribes congregated there. The Interior Ministry said late on Saturday that Bedouin fighters had left the city. US envoy Tom Barrack said the sides had 'navigated to a pause and cessation of hostilities'. 'The next foundation stone on a path to inclusion, and lasting de-escalation, is a complete exchange of hostages and detainees, the logistics of which are in process,' he wrote on X. Kenan Azzam, a dentist, said there was an uneasy calm but the city's residents were struggling with a lack of water and electricity. 'The hospitals are a disaster and out of service, and there are still so many dead and wounded,' he said by phone. The Syrian state news agency said an aid convoy sent to the city by the government was refused entry while aid organised by the Syrian Red Crescent was let in. The fighting began a week ago with clashes between Bedouin and Druze fighters. Damascus sent troops to quell the fighting, but they were drawn into the violence. Sharaa on Thursday promised to protect the rights of Druze and to hold to account those who committed violations against 'our Druze people'. He has blamed the violence on 'outlaw groups'. While Sharaa has won US backing since meeting President Donald Trump in May, the violence has underscored the challenge he faces stitching back together a country shattered by 14 years of conflict, and added to pressures on its mosaic of sectarian and ethnic groups.

Iran in the Israeli Calculus: What Comes Next?

Al Jazeera

14 hours ago

Al Jazeera

Iran in the Israeli Calculus: What Comes Next?

At the end of its 12-day campaign against Iran in June 2025, Israel revised its strategic calculations based on key national security objectives: eliminating the Iranian nuclear project, undermining Iran's regional influence and destroying its missile power, and bringing down the Iranian regime or at least hastening its collapse. Estimates of the damage sustained by Iran's nuclear programme vary widely, but the consensus is that it was not irrevocably incapacitated. After the ceasefire, the Iranian leadership pledged to continue uranium enrichment and suspended cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which it accused of failing to honour its obligations. The departure of IAEA staff from Iran and the suspension of its periodic reports compromises the ability of Tel Aviv and Washington to monitor the status of Iran's nuclear programme. In response, the Israeli leadership will likely exaggerate the threat to lay the groundwork for a new attack. Both Israel and the United States will also likely attempt to build a UN consensus for severe sanctions on Iran to force renewed IAEA inspections, though Russia and China could thwart their attempts to secure a resolution in the UN Security Council. In terms of the conventional military balance between the two countries, the war revealed Israel's military edge. Israel carried out sophisticated intelligence operations that allowed it to act freely within Iranian territory and gave it near-total air supremacy in Iranian skies. The Axis of Resistance was shown to be severely fragmented and largely ineffective, while Israel's own defence system proved highly effective, intercepting 60–90 percent of Iranian missiles. Despite this disparity, Iran's missile strikes inflicted heavy losses on Israel, with estimates indicating that 77 of the 550 missiles hit their targets, and Israel's air defences lost effectiveness with time. Though presently weakened, the Axis of Resistance remains capable of inflicting harm on US and Israeli interests in the region. As for Israel's goal of regime change, the war exposed the unreality of its expectations. Despite Israeli appeals urging Iranians to liberate themselves, there were no anti-regime protests, and, in fact, most Iranians rallied in defence of their country, seeing the attack on nuclear facilities as unprovoked aggression. Given that Israel was unable to completely eliminate perceived Iranian threats to its national security, it is expected to continue pursuing its goals. New assaults are unlikely in the near future because it needs to assess the impact of its attacks on nuclear facilities, replenish its stock of interceptor missiles, and coordinate with the US, all of which will take time, especially considering the depletion of the US's own stock of THAAD interceptors. These obstacles may spur Israel to focus on intelligence and cyber operations, which have proven effective against the nuclear programme in the past. It may also act to weaken pro-Iranian armed factions, especially Hezbollah, to prevent their resurgence. In parallel, it may seek to isolate Iran regionally by expanding normalisation agreements in the region, betting on its successful deterrence of Iran to bring Arab states on board. But the outcome of the war makes this unlikely. Israel needed direct US intervention to defend itself, and it is unclear whether Israel was capable of continuing or ending the war on its own. Iranian missiles also proved increasingly effective in penetrating advanced Israeli defence systems. If Iran found itself without better options, it might shut down the Strait of Hormuz, which would harm everyone. In the medium term, Israel will adapt to Iranian behaviour. If Iran proceeds with uranium enrichment with the goal of obtaining a nuclear weapon, Israel will again attempt to thwart it with further attacks on nuclear facilities. The cost for Israel, however, will be steeper because Iran will have corrected its own shortcomings exposed by the war and will certainly continue to develop its ballistic missiles. It will also move its nuclear facilities to highly fortified mountainous areas inaccessible to Israeli or US warplanes. If Israel cannot disrupt the nuclear programme, it will prioritise the overthrow of the Iranian regime, which would entail more assassinations of political, military and security leaders, and the sabotage of communications, electricity and water networks with the aim of fomenting chaos and thereby weakening the regime's ability to control the street. In the final analysis, the 12-day war brought the confrontation between Israel and Iran out of the shadows and into the open. Unless both sides radically change their perceptions of the nature of external threats, the most recent confrontation will be a prelude to future rounds or a long-term war.

Al Jazeera

19 hours ago

Al Jazeera