Calm returns to south Syria after violence that killed 1,000: monitor
A ceasefire announced on Saturday appeared to be holding after earlier agreements failed to end fighting between longtime rivals the Druze and the Bedouin that spiralled to draw in the Islamist-led government, the Israeli military and armed tribes from other parts of Syria.
AFP correspondents on the outskirts of Sweida city reported hearing no clashes on Sunday morning, with government forces deployed in some locations in the province to enforce the truce and at least one humanitarian convoy headed for the Druze-majority city.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said that since around midnight (2100 GMT Saturday), "Sweida has been experiencing a cautious calm", adding government security forces had blocked roads leading to the province in order to prevent tribal fighters from going there.
The Britain-based Observatory gave an updated toll on Sunday of more than 1,000 killed since the violence erupted a week ago, including 336 Druze fighters and 298 civilians from the minority group, as well as 342 government security personnel and 21 Sunni Bedouin.
Witnesses, Druze factions and the Observatory have accused government forces of siding with the Bedouin and committing abuses including summary executions when they entered Sweida days ago.
Hanadi Obeid, a 39-year-old doctor, told AFP that "the city hasn't seen calm like this in a week".
- 'Totally calm' -
The interior ministry said overnight that Sweida city was "evacuated of all tribal fighters, and clashes within the city's neighbourhoods were halted".
The Observatory had said Druze fighters retook control of the city on Saturday evening.
Interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa had on Saturday announced a fresh ceasefire in Sweida and renewed a pledge to protect Syria's ethnic and religious minorities in the face of the latest sectarian violence since Islamists overthrew longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad in December.
A spokesman for Syria's tribal and clan council told Al Jazeera late Saturday that fighters had left the city "in response to the call of the presidency and the terms of the agreement".
Another medic inside Sweida told AFP by telephone on Sunday that "the situation is totally calm... We aren't hearing clashes."
"No medical or relief assistance has entered until now," the medic added, requesting anonymity due to the security situation.
State news agency SANA published images showing medical aid being prepared near the health ministry in Damascus and quoted Health Minister Musab al-Ali as saying assistance would be delivered to Sweida's main hospital, where bodies have piled up.
Inside the city, where around 150,000 people live, residents have been holed up in their homes without electricity and water, and food supplies have also been scarce.
The United Nations migration agency said more than 128,000 people in Sweida province have been displaced by the violence.
- 'Brutal acts' -
US special envoy to Syria Tom Barrack said Sunday that the country stood at a "critical juncture", adding that "peace and dialogue must prevail -- and prevail now".
"All factions must immediately lay down their arms, cease hostilities, and abandon cycles of tribal vengeance," he wrote on X, saying "brutal acts by warring factions on the ground undermine the government's authority and disrupt any semblance of order".
Sharaa's announcement Saturday came hours after the United States said it had negotiated a ceasefire between Syria's government and Israel, which had bombed government forces in both Sweida and Damascus earlier in the week.
Israel, which has its own Druze community, has said it was acting in defence of the group, as well as to enforce its demands for the total demilitarisation of Syria's south.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Saturday urged the Syrian government's security forces to prevent jihadists from entering and "carrying out massacres" in the south, and called on Damascus to "bring to justice anyone guilty of atrocities including those in their own ranks".
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The Hill
an hour ago
- The Hill
Syria's armed Bedouins say they have withdrawn from Druze-majority city after weeklong fighting
MAZRAA, Syria (AP) — Syria's armed Bedouin clans announced Sunday they had withdrawn from the Druze-majority city of Sweida following weeklong clashes and a U.S.-brokered ceasefire, as humanitarian aid convoys started to enter the battered southern city. The clashes between militias of the Druze religious minority and the Sunni Muslim clans killed hundreds and threatened to unravel Syria's already fragile postwar transition. Israel also launched dozens of airstrikes in the Druze-majority Sweida province, targeting government forces who had effectively sided with the Bedouins. The clashes also led to a series of targeted sectarian attacks against the Druze community, followed by revenge attacks against the Bedouins. A series of tit-for-tat kidnappings sparked the clashes in various towns and villages in the province, which later spread to Sweida city, the provincial capital. Government forces were redeployed to halt renewed fighting that erupted Thursday, before withdrawing again. Interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa, who has been perceived as more sympathetic to the Bedouins, had tried to appeal to the Druze community while remaining critical of the militias. He later urged the Bedouins to leave the city, saying that they 'cannot replace the role of the state in handling the country's affairs and restoring security.' 'We thank the Bedouins for their heroic stances but demand they fully commit to the ceasefire and comply with the state's orders,' he said in an address broadcast Saturday. Dozens of armed Bedouin fighters alongside other clans from around the country who came to support them remained on the outskirts of the city and were cordoned off by government security forces and military police. They blame the clashes on the Druze factions loyal to spiritual leader Sheikh Hikmat al-Hijri and accuse them of harming Bedouin families. 'We will not leave until he turns himself in alongside those with him who tried to stir sedition. And only then will we go home.' Khaled al-Mohammad, who came to the southern province alongside other tribesman from the eastern Deir al-Zour province, told The Associated Press. Aid convoys enter Sweida but tensions persist The Bedouins' withdrawal brought a cautious calm to the area, with humanitarian convoys on their way. The Syrian Red Crescent said Sunday it sent 32 trucks loaded with food, medicine, water, fuel and other aid, after the fighting left the province with power cuts and shortages. Syria's state news agency SANA reported that the convoy entered Sweida on Sunday, but accused al-Hijri and his armed Druze supporters of turning back a government delegation that accompanied another convoy. The Foreign Ministry in a statement said the convoy accompanying the delegation had two ambulances loaded with aid provided by local and international organizations. Al-Hijri did not directly respond to the accusations but said in a statement that he welcomes any assistance for Sweida and slammed what he claims were distorted campaigns against him. 'We reaffirm that we have no dispute with anyone on any religious or ethnic basis,' the statement read. 'Shame and disgrace be upon all those who seek to sow discord and hatred in the minds of young people.' The U.N. International Organization for Migration said 128,571 people were displaced during the clashes, including 43,000 on Saturday alone. US envoy appeals for an end to fighting Washington's special envoy to Syria, Tom Barrack, said the clashes and atrocities 'overshadowed' an initial cautious optimism about the country's post-war transition and the international community's lifting of sanctions. 'All factions must immediately lay down their arms, cease hostilities and abandon cycles of tribal vengeance,' Barrack said on X. 'Syria stands at a critical juncture — peace and dialogue must prevail — and prevail now.' Among those killed in the weeklong fighting were dozens of Druze civilians slain in a series of targeted attacks in the city at the hands of Bedouin fighters and government forces. Videos surfaced online of fighters destroying portraits of Druze religious officials and notables in homes, and shaving the mustaches of elderly Druze, seen as an insult to culture and tradition. Druze militias in return attacked Bedouin-majority areas in the outskirts of the province, forcing families to flee to neighboring Daraa province. More than half of the roughly 1 million Druze worldwide live in Syria. Most of the other Druze live in Lebanon and Israel, including in the Golan Heights, which Israel captured from Syria in the 1967 Mideast War and annexed in 1981. Syria's Druze largely celebrated the downfall of the Assad family that ended decades of tyrannical rule. While they had concerns about Al-Sharaa's de facto Islamist rule, a large number wanted to approach matters diplomatically. Al-Hijri and his supporters, though, have taken a more confrontational approach with Al-Sharaa, contrary to most other influential Druze figures. Critics also note al-Hijri's previous allegiance to Assad. However, the recent clashes and sectarian attacks on the minority community have made a growing number of Druze in the area more skeptical about Damascus' new leadership and more doubtful of peaceful coexistence.
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Syrian presidency announces comprehensive ceasefire after fighting in Druze area
A Syrian military official said correspondence with the US had led Damascus to believe it could deploy forces to Sweida without Israel confronting them. The Syrian presidency announced on Saturday an immediate and comprehensive ceasefire following days of bloodshed in the predominantly Druze area that has left over 300 people dead. On Friday, US Ambassador to Turkey Tom Barrack said that Israel and Syria have agreed to a ceasefire supported by Turkey, Jordan, and other neighbors. In the Saturday statement, Syria urged all parties to adhere to the ceasefire. On Wednesday last week, Israel launched airstrikes in Damascus, while also hitting government forces in the south, demanding they withdraw and saying that Israel aimed to protect Syrian Druze - part of a small but influential minority that also has members in Lebanon and Israel. "We call upon Druze, Bedouins, and Sunnis to put down their weapons and together with other minorities build a new and united Syrian identity," Barrack said in a post on X/Twitter. The Syrian Defense Ministry ordered Bedouin militias to leave the city of Sweida, after which Syrian security forces would enter the city in order to implement the ceasefire provisions, Syrian media reported. The Israeli embassy in Washington and the Syrian Consulate in Canada did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Increasing conflict The ceasefire announcement came after the US worked to put an end to the conflict. On Wednesday, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said steps had been agreed to end a "troubling and horrifying situation." It also followed what appeared to be a de-escalation of the conflict after government troops withdrew from Sweida, where violence had been centered. Syria's government misread how Israel would respond to its troops deploying to the country's south this week, encouraged by US messaging that Syria should be governed as a centralized state, eight sources familiar with the matter told Reuters. Israel carried out strikes on Syrian troops and on Damascus on Wednesday in an escalation that took the Islamist-led leadership by surprise, the sources said, after government forces were accused of killing scores of people in the Druze city of Sweida. Transporting troops Damascus believed it had a green light from both the US and Israel to dispatch its forces south despite months of Israeli warnings not to do so, according to the sources, which include Syrian political and military officials, two diplomats, and regional security sources. That understanding was based on public and private comments from US special envoy for Syria Thomas Barrack, as well as on nascent security talks with Israel, the sources said. Barrack has called for Syria to be centrally administered as "one country" without autonomous zones. Syria's understanding of US and Israeli messages regarding its troop deployment to the south has not been previously reported. A State Department spokesperson declined to comment on private diplomatic discussions but said the United States supported the territorial unity of Syria. "The Syrian state has an obligation to protect all Syrians, including minority groups," the spokesperson said, urging the Syrian government to hold perpetrators of violence accountable. In response to Reuters questions, a senior official from Syria's ministry of foreign affairs denied that Barrack's comments had influenced the decision to deploy troops, which was made based on "purely national considerations" and with the aim of "stopping the bloodshed, protecting civilians and preventing the escalation of civil conflict". Damascus sent troops and tanks to Sweida province on Monday to quell fighting between Bedouin tribes and armed factions within the Druze community - a minority that follows a religion derived from Islam, with followers in Syria, Lebanon and Israel. Syrian forces entering the city came under fire from Druze militia, according to Syrian sources. Subsequent violence attributed to Syrian troops, including field executions and the humiliation of Druze civilians, triggered Israeli strikes on Syrian security forces, the defense ministry in Damascus and the environs of the presidential palace, according to two sources, including a senior Gulf Arab official. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel intervened to block Syrian troops from entering southern Syria - which Israel has publicly said should be a demilitarized zone - and to uphold a longstanding commitment to protect the Druze. Syrian leader Ahmed al-Sharaa has vowed to hold accountable those responsible for violations against the Druze. He blamed "outlaw groups" seeking to inflame tensions for any crimes against civilians and did not say whether government forces were involved. The US and others quickly intervened to secure a ceasefire by Wednesday evening. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio described the flare-up as a "misunderstanding" between Israel and Syria. A Syrian and a Western source familiar with the matter said Damascus believed that talks with Israel as recently as last week in Baku produced an understanding over the deployment of troops to southern Syria to bring Sweida under government control. Netanyahu's office declined to comment in response Reuters' questions. Israel said on Friday it had agreed to allow limited access by Syrian forces into Sweida for the next two days. Soon after, Syria said it would deploy a force dedicated to ending the communal clashes, which continued into Saturday morning. Joshua Landis, head of the Center for Middle East Studies at the University of Oklahoma, said it appeared Sharaa had overplayed his hand earlier in the week. "It seems that his military staff misunderstood the backing of the US It also misunderstood Israel's stand on the Jabal Druze (in Sweida) from its talks with Israel in Baku," he said. 'Took it as a yes' A Syrian military official said correspondence with the US had led Damascus to believe it could deploy forces without Israel confronting them. The official said US officials had not responded when informed about plans for the deployment, leading the Syrian leadership to believe it had been tacitly approved and "that Israel would not interfere." A diplomat based in Damascus said Syrian authorities had been "overconfident" in its operation to seize Sweida, "based on US messaging that turned out not to reflect reality." US envoy Barrack has said publicly and in private meetings in Damascus that Syria should be "one country," without autonomous rule for its Druze, Kurdish or Alawite communities, which remain largely distrustful of the new Islamist-led leadership. That distrust has prompted Druze factions and a major Kurdish force in northeast Syria to resist Syrian army deployments, and demand their own fighters be integrated into the army as wholesale units only stationed in their territory. Landis said it appeared Sharaa had understood Barrack's statements against federalism in Syria "to mean that the central government could impose its will on the Druze minority by force." The senior Gulf official said Damascus had made a "big mistake" in its approach to Sweida, saying troops had committed violations, including killing and humiliating Druze. The nature of violence handed Israel an opportunity to act forcefully, the Gulf official and another source said. The Syrian Network for Human Rights, an independent monitoring group, said on Friday the death toll from the violence had reached at least 321 people, among them medical personnel, women and children. It said they included field executions by all sides. Reuters was able to verify the time and location of some videos showing dead bodies in Sweida, but could not independently verify who conducted the killings or when they occurred. A regional intelligence source said Sharaa had not been in control of events on the ground because of the lack of a disciplined military and his reliance instead on a patchwork of militia groups, often with a background in Islamic militancy. In sectarian violence in Syria's coastal region in March, hundreds of people from the Alawite minority were killed by forces aligned with Sharaa. With more blood spilled and distrust of Sharaa's government high among minorities, the senior Gulf Arab official said there are "real fears that Syria is heading towards being broken up into statelets." The official from the Syrian Foreign Affairs Ministry said the Sweida operation was not aimed at revenge or escalation, but at preserving the peace and unity of the country. Syrian troops were ready to re-engage to end the communal violence there "whenever appropriate conditions arise, including clear guarantees from the United States that Israel will not intervene," the official said, speaking before the Israeli announcement. Liran Aharoni contributed to this report.
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
IDF, Border Police disperse Israeli-Druze crowds along Syrian border, returns them to Israel
The illegal crossings came around the announcement by US Ambassador to Turkey Tom Barrack that Israel and Syria have agreed to a ceasefire supported by Turkey, Jordan, and regional partners. The IDF and Border Police dispersed violent gatherings consisting of dozens of Israeli Druze civilians across the border with Syria, the military said on Saturday. After the gathering, the civilians crossed the border fence into Syrian territory in the Majdal Shams area, where they acted violently towards security forces, the IDF noted. Israeli media earlier reported that a group of Israeli-Druze civilians had crossed the border from Israel into Syria between Friday night and Saturday morning. IDF soldiers were deployed on the border together with the Border Police in order to prevent and suppress the violent gathering. Many of the Israeli Druze civilians who arrived at the border were drunk, according to Walla, and a few dozen managed to cross the forces into Syrian territory while using violence and pushing IDF soldiers. All those who crossed the border were returned to Israeli territory by the IDF, according to Walla, citing military sources. The illegal crossings came around the announcement by US Ambassador to Turkey Tom Barrack that Israel and Syria have agreed to a ceasefire supported by Turkey, Jordan, and regional partners. Earlier clashes and humanitarian aid transfers Before Barrack's announcement, it was reported that clashes in Syria between Bedouins and Druze resumed on Friday evening, when about 200 Bedouins entered the city of Sweida with rockets and machine guns and continued the fighting. Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar ordered the urgent transfer of aid to Sweida's Druze population as the country's security forces prepare to redeploy to the Druze-majority Sweida city to quell fighting by the Druze and Bedouin tribes. Additionally, a source told The Jerusalem Post that afternoon that "Israel has agreed to allow a limited entry of internal security forces into Sweida for the next 48 hours." The day before, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that a ceasefire in Syria was achieved through 'forceful actions. 'We have established a clear policy: the demilitarization of the area south of Damascus and the protection of our brothers, the Druze,' he added. Amir Bohbot, Maariv Online, and Reuters contributed to this report. Solve the daily Crossword
