Latest news with #Syrian Red Crescent
Free Malaysia Today
2 days ago
- Politics
- Free Malaysia Today
Syrian authorities evacuate Bedouin families from Sweida
The ceasefire in Sweida was announced Saturday but effectively only began yesterday. (AFP pic) SWEIDA : Syrian authorities today evacuated Bedouin families from the Druze-majority city of Sweida, after a ceasefire in the southern province halted bloody clashes between the communities, an AFP correspondent and official media said. An AFP correspondent outside the devastated provincial capital saw a convoy including buses enter Sweida and then exit again carrying civilians. The evacuees, including women and children, were headed for reception centres in neighbouring Daraa province and to the capital Damascus, in coordination with the Syrian Red Crescent. State news agency Sana said 1,500 people from Bedouin tribes were to be evacuated. The ceasefire announced Saturday put an end to the sectarian violence that has left more than 1,100 dead in a week, according to a monitor. Clashes began between Druze and Bedouin tribes, who have had tense relations for decades, and were complicated by the intervention of Sunni Arab tribes who converged on Sweida in support of the Bedoiun. Witnesses, Druze factions and a monitor have accused government forces of siding with the Bedouin and committing abuses including summary executions when they entered Sweida last week. 'We reached a formula that allows us to defuse the crisis by evacuating the families of our compatriots from the Bedouin and the tribes who are currently in Sweida city,' the province's internal security chief Ahmad Dalati told state television. The ceasefire was announced Saturday but effectively only began yesterday, after Bedouin and tribal fighters withdrew from part of Sweida city and Druze groups retook control. The announcement came hours after the US 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. The deal allowed the deployment of government security forces in Sweida province but not its main city. Yesterday, a first humanitarian aid convoy entered the city which has seen power and water cuts and shortages of fuel, food and medical supplies.
The National
2 days ago
- Health
- The National
Syrian authorities evacuate Bedouin civilians from Sweida as fragile truce holds
The Syrian government has evacuated hundreds of Bedouin families from the mostly Druze city of Sweida to Deraa in a bid to prevent further fighting as a fragile ceasefire appears to hold. A truce ended a week of deadly clashes in Sweida but the city appears to remain under siege, with government troops and auxiliaries surrounding both the city and its rural outskirts. A Syrian Red Crescent official told The National that the families, many of them from Bedouin backgrounds, were taken in 120 buses to the near by province of Deraa, the launch pad of fierce attacks against Sweida by the government. The government troops, comprised mainly of Hayat Tahrir Al Sham, an Al Qaeda offshoot, attacked Sweida after the Druze spiritual leader Hikmat Al Hijri refused arrival of security troops last week. The government sought to send its troops to the city after mutual kidnappings between the Sunnis and the Druze, followed by sectarian clashes. The aid official said that the Red Crescent is ready to send more aid to Sweida after dozens of lorries reached the city from Damascus on Sunday, carrying mainly flour and basic foods. 'We can provide Sweida with every thing for initial recovery,' he said, declining to say why no more additional supplies were sent since. Residents of Sweida have been holed up in their homes without electricity and water and food supplies have been scarce. Khaldoun, a doctor in the main hospital in the city, who did not want to give his last name, said no medical supplies have reached the hospital and that the situation is 'catastrophic', with hundreds of bodies in the hospital and supplies dwindling to treat the wounded. Under a deal brokered last week by Tom Barrack, the US envoy to Syria, government troops withdrew from Sweida city to its environs. The agreement stipulated a prisoners exchange, safe passage for those in Sweida who wish to leave to do so, and the flow of humanitarian aid, diplomats in Amman said. The Interior Ministry said on Sunday that Sweida city was 'evacuated of all tribal fighters, and clashes within the city's neighbourhoods were halted'. The UN migration agency said more than 128,000 people in Sweida province have been displaced by the violence.
France 24
2 days ago
- Politics
- France 24
Syrian authorities evacuate Bedouin families from Druze-majority Sweida city
Syrian authorities on Monday evacuated Bedouin families from the Druze -majority city of Sweida, after a ceasefire in the southern province halted bloody clashes between the communities, an AFP correspondent and official media said. An AFP correspondent outside the devastated provincial capital saw a convoy including buses enter Sweida and then exit again carrying civilians. They evacuees, including women and children, were headed for reception centres in neighbouring Daraa province and to the capital Damascus, in coordination with the Syrian Red Crescent. State news agency SANA said 1,500 people from Bedouin tribes were to be evacuated. The ceasefire announced Saturday put an end to the sectarian violence that has left more than 1,100 dead in a week, according to a monitor. Clashes began between Druze and Bedouin tribes, who have had tense relations for decades, and were complicated by the intervention of Sunni Arab tribes who converged on Sweida in support of the Bedoiun. Witnesses, Druze factions and a monitor have accused government forces of siding with the Bedouin and committing abuses including summary executions when they entered Sweida last week. "We reached a formula that allows us to defuse the crisis by evacuating the families of our compatriots from the Bedouin and the tribes who are currently in Sweida city," the province's internal security chief Ahmad Dalati told state television. The ceasefire was announced Saturday but effectively only began on Sunday, after Bedouin and tribal fighters withdrew from part of Sweida city and Druze groups retook control. The announcement came hours after the US 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. The deal allowed the deployment of government security forces in Sweida province but not its main city. On Sunday, a first humanitarian aid convoy entered the city which has seen power and water cuts and shortages of fuel, food and medical supplies.
Asharq Al-Awsat
2 days ago
- General
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Syrian Authorities Evacuate Families from Sweida
Syrian authorities on Monday evacuated Bedouin families from the Druze-majority city of Sweida, after a ceasefire in the southern province halted bloody clashes between the communities, an AFP correspondent and official media said. An AFP correspondent outside the devastated provincial capital saw a convoy including buses enter Sweida and then exit again carrying civilians. The evacuees, including women and children, were headed for reception centers in neighboring Daraa province and to the capital Damascus, in coordination with the Syrian Red Crescent. State news agency SANA said 1,500 people from Bedouin tribes were to be evacuated. The ceasefire announced Saturday put an end to the sectarian violence that has left more than 1,100 dead in a week, according to a monitor.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Syrian authorities evacuate Bedouin families from Sweida city
Syrian authorities on Monday evacuated Bedouin families from the Druze-majority city of Sweida, after a ceasefire in the southern province halted bloody clashes between the communities, an AFP correspondent and official media said. An AFP correspondent outside the devastated provincial capital saw a convoy including buses enter Sweida and then exit again carrying civilians. The evacuees, including women and children, were headed for reception centres in neighbouring Daraa province and to the capital Damascus, in coordination with the Syrian Red Crescent. State news agency SANA said 1,500 people from Bedouin tribes were to be evacuated. The ceasefire announced Saturday put an end to the sectarian violence that has left more than 1,100 dead in a week, according to a monitor. Clashes began between Druze and Bedouin tribes, who have had tense relations for decades, and were complicated by the intervention of Sunni Arab tribes who converged on Sweida in support of the Bedoiun. Witnesses, Druze factions and a monitor have accused government forces of siding with the Bedouin and committing abuses including summary executions when they entered Sweida last week. "We reached a formula that allows us to defuse the crisis by evacuating the families of our compatriots from the Bedouin and the tribes who are currently in Sweida city," the province's internal security chief Ahmad Dalati told state television. The ceasefire was announced Saturday but effectively only began on Sunday, after Bedouin and tribal fighters withdrew from part of Sweida city and Druze groups retook control. The announcement 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. The deal allowed the deployment of government security forces in Sweida province but not its main city. On Sunday, a first humanitarian aid convoy entered the city which has seen power and water cuts and shortages of fuel, food and medical supplies. str-mam/at/lg/ami
