Latest news with #Ahmad al-Sharaa
Japan Times
3 days ago
- Politics
- Japan Times
Calm reported in Syria's Sweida, as Damascus says truce holding
Residents reported calm in Syria's Sweida on Sunday after the Islamist-led government announced that Bedouin fighters had withdrawn from the predominantly Druze city and a U.S. envoy signaled that a deal to end days of fighting was being implemented. With hundreds reported killed, the Sweida bloodshed is a major test for interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa, prompting Israel to launch airstrikes against government forces last week as it declared support for the Druze. Fighting continued on Saturday despite a ceasefire call. Interior Minister Anas Khattab said 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." Images showed Interior Ministry forces near the city, blocking the road in front of members of tribes congregated there. The ministry said late Saturday that Bedouin fighters had left the city. U.S. 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. Another resident, Raed Khazaal, said aid was urgently needed. "Houses are destroyed. ... The smell of corpses is spread throughout the national hospital," he said in a voice message from Sweida. The Syrian state news agency said an aid convoy sent to the city by the government was refused entry while aid organized by the Syrian Red Crescent was let in. A source familiar with the situation said local factions in Sweida had turned back the government convoy. Israeli public broadcaster Kan reported on Sunday that Israel sent urgent medical aid to the Druze in Sweida and the step was coordinated with Washington and Syria. Spokespeople for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the Foreign Ministry and the military did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Tribal fighters stand next to a government checkpoint in the town of Busra al-Hariri, east of the city of Sweida, Syria, on Sunday. | AFP-JIJI The Druze are a small but influential minority in Syria, Israel and Lebanon who follow a religion that is an offshoot of a branch of Shiite Islam. Some hard-line Sunnis deem their beliefs heretical. 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 and accused of widespread violations against the Druze. Residents of the predominantly Druze city said friends and neighbors were shot at close range in their homes or in the streets by Syrian troops, identified by their fatigues and insignia. Al-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 al-Sharaa has won U.S. 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. After Israel bombed Syrian government forces in Sweida and hit the Defense Ministry in Damascus last week, Netanyahu said Israel had established a policy demanding the demilitarization of territory near the border, stretching from the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights to the Druze Mountain, east of Sweida. He also said Israel would protect the Druze. The United States however said it did not support the Israeli strikes. On Friday, an Israeli official said Israel agreed to allow Syrian forces limited access to the Sweida area for two days. A Syrian security source said that internal security forces had taken up positions near Sweida, establishing checkpoints in western and eastern parts of the province where retreating tribal fighters had gathered. On Sunday, al-Sharaa received the report of an inquiry into violence in Syria's coastal region in March, where Syrian forces killed 1,500 members of the Alawite minority in June following attacks on security forces. The presidency said it would review the inquiry's conclusions and ensure steps to "bring about justice" and prevent the recurrence of "such violations." It called on the inquiry to hold a news conference on its findings — if appropriate — as soon as possible. The Syrian Network for Human Rights said Friday it had documented the deaths of at least 321 people in Sweida province since July 13. The preliminary toll included civilians, women, children, Bedouin fighters, members of local groups and members of the security forces, it said, and the dead included people killed in field executions by both sides. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, another monitoring group, has reported a death toll of at least 940 people. Reporters could not independently verify the tolls.
The Independent
4 days ago
- Politics
- The Independent
Syria's leader urges Bedouin tribes to commit to a ceasefire ending clashes with the Druze
Syria's interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa urged Sunni Muslim Bedouin tribes Saturday to 'fully commit' to a ceasefire aimed at ending clashes with Druze-linked militias that left hundreds dead and threatened to unravel the country's post-war transition. Government forces that were initially sent to restore order but effectively sided with the Bedouins against the Druze were redeployed to halt renewed fighting that erupted late Thursday in the southern province of Sweida. The violence has also drawn airstrikes against Syrian forces by neighboring Israel before a truce was reached. In his second televised address since the fighting started, al-Sharaa blamed 'armed groups from Sweida' for reigniting the conflict by 'launching retaliatory attacks against the Bedouins and their families.' He also said Israeli intervention 'pushed the country into a dangerous phase." Israel had launched dozens of airstrikes on convoys of government fighters and even struck the Syrian Defense Ministry headquarters in central Damascus, saying it was in support of the Druze, who form a substantial community in Israel and are seen as a loyal minority, often serving in the Israeli military. Reports had surfaced of Syrian government-affiliated fighters executing Druze civilians and looting and burning homes over the four-day violence. The U.S. envoy to Syria, Tom Barrack, announced that Israel and Syria had agreed to a ceasefire early Saturday. Al-Sharaa made no direct reference to the agreement in his speech, but said 'American and Arab mediations stepped in' to restore calm. Addressing the Bedouins, al-Sharaa said they 'cannot replace the role of the state in handling the country's affairs and restoring security.' He also said: 'We thank the Bedouins for their heroic stances but demand they fully commit to the ceasefire and comply with the state's orders." Meanwhile, a prominent Druze leader, Sheikh Hikmat Al-Hijri, who opposes the current government and has distanced himself from the two ceasefires announced on Tuesday and Wednesday, said that an agreement brokered under the sponsorship of guarantor states contained several measures aimed at de-escalating tensions in Suweida. They include the deployment of checkpoints outside the province's administrative borders to contain clashes and prevent infiltration, a 48-hour ban on entry by any party into border villages, and safe, guaranteed passage for remaining members of the Bedouin tribes still inside the province. Sharaa reiterated that Suweida 'remains an integral part of the Syrian state, and the Druze constitute a fundamental pillar of the Syrian national fabric," vowing to protect all minorities in Syria. He also thanked the United States for its 'significant role in affirming its support for Syria during these difficult times,' as well as Arab countries and Turkey, which mediated Wednesday's truce. 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. The U.N. estimates more than 87,000 people have been displaced in Sweida province since July 12 due to heavy shelling, sniper fire and abductions. Entire communities have fled on foot, with many now crammed into overcrowded schools, churches and public buildings under dire conditions, the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said in a report. Infrastructure damage has cut electricity, water and telecommunications in much of the area, it said. The main hospital in Sweida was operating at just 15% capacity due to staff shortages and a lack of fuel. The security situation is also endangering humanitarian workers. The White Helmets, also known as the Syrian Civil Defense, reported that one of their emergency team leaders went missing on July 16 while responding to a call for help from a U.N. team, OCHA said.
