Syrian govt says fighting in Sweida halted after tribal forces pull out
Druze fighters had pushed out rival armed factions from the city on Saturday, a monitor said, after the government ordered a ceasefire following a US-brokered deal to avert further Israeli military intervention.
Sweida was "evacuated of all tribal fighters, and clashes within the city's neighbourhoods were halted", Syria's interior ministry spokesman Noureddine al-Baba said in a post on Telegram.
Israel had bombed government forces in both Sweida and Damascus earlier this week to force their withdrawal after they were accused of summary executions and other abuses against Druze civilians during their brief deployment in the southern province.
More than 900 people have been killed in Sweida since last Sunday as sectarian clashes between the Druze and Bedouin drew in the Islamist-led government, Israel and armed tribes from other parts of Syria.
Earlier Saturday, an AFP correspondent saw dozens of torched homes and vehicles and armed men setting fire to shops after looting them.
But in the evening, Bassem Fakhr, spokesman for the Men of Dignity, one of the two largest Druze armed groups, told AFP there was "no Bedouin presence in the city".
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor also said "tribal fighters withdrew from Sweida city on Saturday evening" after Druze fighters launched a large-scale attack.
Fighting nonetheless persisted in other parts of Sweida province, even as the Druze regained control of their city following days of fierce battle with armed Bedouin supported by tribal gunmen from other parts of Syria.
- Israel sceptical -
The deal between the Islamist-government and Israel had been announced by Washington early Saturday.
US pointman on Syria Tom Barrack said interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu "have agreed to a ceasefire" negotiated by the United States.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio later called on the Syrian government's security forces to prevent jihadists from entering and "carrying out massacres", in a post on X.
He also urged the Syrian government to "hold accountable and bring to justice anyone guilty of atrocities including those in their own ranks".
Barrack, who is the US ambassador to Ankara, said the deal had the backing of Turkey, a key supporter of Sharaa, as well as neighbouring Jordan.
"We call upon Druze, Bedouins and Sunnis to put down their weapons and together with other minorities build a new and united Syrian identity in peace and prosperity with its neighbours," he wrote on X.
Barrack later held a meeting in Amman with the Syrian and Jordanian top diplomats, during which they "agreed on practical steps to support Syria in implementing the agreement", the US envoy said in a later post on X.
The US administration, which alongside Turkey and Saudi Arabia has forged ties with the Islamist president despite his past links with Al-Qaeda, was critical of its Israeli ally's recent air strikes on Syria and had sought a way out for Sharaa's government.
Sharaa followed up on the US announcement with a televised speech in which he announced an immediate ceasefire in Sweida and renewed his pledge to protect Syria's ethnic and religious minorities.
"The Syrian state is committed to protecting all minorities and communities in the country... We condemn all crimes committed" in Sweida, he said.
The president paid tribute to the "important role played by the United States, which again showed its support for Syria in these difficult circumstances and its concern for the country's stability".
But Israel expressed deep scepticism about Sharaa's renewed pledge to protect minorities, pointing to deadly violence against Alawites as well as Druze since he led the overthrow of longtime leader Bashar al-Assad in December.
In Sharaa's Syria "it is very dangerous to be a member of a minority -- Kurd, Druze, Alawite or Christian", Foreign Minister Gideon Saar posted on X.
- Humanitarian corridors -
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based war monitor, said at least 940 people had been killed in the violence since Sunday.
They included 326 Druze fighters and 262 Druze civilians, 165 of whom were summarily executed, according to the Observatory.
They also included 312 government security personnel and 21 Sunni Bedouin, three of them civilians who were "summarily executed by Druze fighters".
Another 15 government troops were killed in Israeli strikes, the Observatory said.
Syria's Information Minister Hamza al-Mustafa on Saturday evening said that after the first phase of the ceasefire, which began on Saturday and involved the deployment of security forces to the province, a second phase would see the opening of humanitarian corridors.
According to the United Nations, the fighting has displaced least 87,000 people.
burs-kir/lg/jsa/tc/mtp
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Syria and Saudi Arabia sign investment deals worth £4.4 billion
Syria and Saudi Arabia announced 47 investment agreements, valued at more than £4.4 billion, in Damascus on Thursday, marking a significant step in rebuilding Syria's war-battered economy. The agreements signed at the Syrian-Saudi Investment Forum cover a wide range of sectors, including property, telecommunications and finance. The planned projects include housing, the reconstruction of war-damaged areas, the development of tourism, medical and entertainment sites, skyscrapers, and three new cement factories. Syrian minister of information Hamza al-Mustafa said the deals are expected to create around 50,000 direct and 150,000 indirect job opportunities. Saudi Arabia has been strongly supportive of the interim government in Syria led by former insurgent commander President Ahmad al-Sharaa since the fall of former president Bashar Assad in a lightning rebel offensive. The country faces major economic and social challenges. The United Nations in 2017 estimated that it would cost at least 250 billion dollars (£185 billion) to rebuild Syria after years of civil war. Some experts now say that number could reach at least 400 billion dollars (£295 billion). The Saudi deals come as a political boost to Syria's interim government at a moment when the country is reeling from a new round of sectarian violence that broke out in the southern province of Sweida earlier this month. Clashes broke out on July 13 between Sunni Muslim Bedouin clans and armed groups of the Druze religious minority, and government security forces who intervened to restore order ended up siding with the Bedouins. Members of the security forces allegedly killed Druze civilians and looted and burned homes. Druze armed groups later launched revenge attacks on Bedouin communities. Israel also intervened, launching strikes on convoys of government forces and on the Syrian Defence Ministry headquarters in Damascus, which Israeli officials said were in defence of the Druze religious minority. Hundreds have been killed, and the UN says more than 130,000 people have been displaced. The fighting has stopped as a ceasefire takes hold, but tensions remain high and the violence has further shaken the trust of religious minorities in the new government.


Bloomberg
an hour ago
- Bloomberg
Israel Recalls Gaza Negotiators With Progress on Truce Talks Unclear
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said his Gaza ceasefire negotiators will return to Israel from Qatar for further consultations. It is unclear from his statement on Thursday whether there's been a breakthrough in the talks with Hamas or whether they have again stalled.
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Syria and Saudi Arabia sign investment deals worth £4.4 billion
Syria and Saudi Arabia announced 47 investment agreements, valued at more than £4.4 billion, in Damascus on Thursday, marking a significant step in rebuilding Syria's war-battered economy. The agreements signed at the Syrian-Saudi Investment Forum cover a wide range of sectors, including property, telecommunications and finance. The planned projects include housing, the reconstruction of war-damaged areas, the development of tourism, medical and entertainment sites, skyscrapers, and three new cement factories. Syrian minister of information Hamza al-Mustafa said the deals are expected to create around 50,000 direct and 150,000 indirect job opportunities. Saudi Arabia has been strongly supportive of the interim government in Syria led by former insurgent commander President Ahmad al-Sharaa since the fall of former president Bashar Assad in a lightning rebel offensive. The country faces major economic and social challenges. The United Nations in 2017 estimated that it would cost at least 250 billion dollars (£185 billion) to rebuild Syria after years of civil war. Some experts now say that number could reach at least 400 billion dollars (£295 billion). The Saudi deals come as a political boost to Syria's interim government at a moment when the country is reeling from a new round of sectarian violence that broke out in the southern province of Sweida earlier this month. Clashes broke out on July 13 between Sunni Muslim Bedouin clans and armed groups of the Druze religious minority, and government security forces who intervened to restore order ended up siding with the Bedouins. Members of the security forces allegedly killed Druze civilians and looted and burned homes. Druze armed groups later launched revenge attacks on Bedouin communities. Israel also intervened, launching strikes on convoys of government forces and on the Syrian Defence Ministry headquarters in Damascus, which Israeli officials said were in defence of the Druze religious minority. Hundreds have been killed, and the UN says more than 130,000 people have been displaced. The fighting has stopped as a ceasefire takes hold, but tensions remain high and the violence has further shaken the trust of religious minorities in the new government.