Latest news with #SyrianArabRedCrescent
Scoop
12 hours ago
- Politics
- Scoop
Syria: Ongoing Violence Fuelling Mass Displacement In Sweida
21 July 2025 More than 93,000 Syrians have been displaced across Sweida, neighbouring Dar'a governorate and Rural Damascus due to escalating violence in the city, UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said at Monday's daily press briefing in New York. Most displaced people in Sweida are staying with local communities or in one of 15 reception centres, while around 30 collective shelters have opened in Dar'a. Infrastructure and services are suffering in the area. Some hospitals and health centres in Sweida are out of service, water infrastructure has been critically damaged, significant cuts to electricity have been reported, and access to food is disrupted. Initial aid delivery On Sunday, the first aid convoy deployed by the Syrian Arab Red Crescent reached Sweida and the Salkhad district within the city, where most displaced people are seeking safety. The convoy of 32 trucks carried food, water, medical supplies and fuel provided by the World Food Programme (WFP), the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) and other partners. UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Tom Fletcher welcomed this initial delivery on social media, saying it was a 'desperately needed first step, but much more relief is needed.' Mr. Dujarric stressed that as the UN engages with relevant parties to facilitate humanitarian access and ensure the protection of civilians, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) is working with authorities to facilitate a direct visit to Sweida to deliver assistance when security conditions allow. Mr. Fletcher echoed this sentiment, saying OCHA teams 'are mobilised to move as much as we can.' 'We continue to urge all parties to protect people who have been caught up in the violence, including by allowing them to move freely to seek safety and medical assistance,' concluded Mr. Dujarric.
Qatar Tribune
19 hours ago
- Politics
- Qatar Tribune
Syria evacuates Bedouins from Suwayda
Agencies Damascus The Syrian government is evacuating hundreds of Bedouin families trapped inside the southern city of Suwayda, where a fragile ceasefire is holding after Druze and Bedouin fighters fought for a week. The first Bedouin families left on Monday on buses and trucks accompanied by Syrian Arab Red Crescent vehicles and ambulances. They were taken to nearby Daraa as the government plans to evacuate 1,500 people. 'At least 500 people have already left on 10 buses this morning, and more are expected to exit Suwayda in the next few hours,' Al Jazeera's Mohamed Vall said about noon (09:00 GMT) on Monday in a report from the capital, Damascus. The clashes between the Druze minority and Bedouin clans, which began on July 13, killed nearly 260 people and threatened to unravel Syria's post-war transition. The violence also displaced 128,571 people, according to the United Nations International Organisation for Migration. Israel intervened and launched air attacks on Syria's Ministry of Defence buildings in the heart of Damascus. Israeli forces also hit Syrian government forces in Suwayda province, claiming it was protecting the Druze, whom it calls its 'brothers'. 'There are seven districts of Suwayda that are inhabited partly or … mostly by Arab Bedouins, and they are all under threat – or they feel under threat – and some of them are willing to leave [on their own],' he said. Syrian Interior Minister Ahmad al-Dalati told the SANA news agency that the evacuation process will also allow displaced civilians from Suwayda to return as efforts for a complete ceasefire are under way. 'We have imposed a security cordon in the vicinity of Suwayda to keep it secure and to stop the fighting there,' al-Dalati told the agency. 'This will preserve the path that will lead to reconciliation and stability in the province.' According to the United Kingdom-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor, the ceasefire agreed on Saturday says the Bedouin fighters will release Druze women they are holding captive and leave the province. After talks for a captives swap fell through late on Sunday, the observatory and activist groups in Suwayda reported hearing what they said were Israeli air strikes and helicopters over villages where some skirmishes took place between the Bedouins and the Druze. The Israeli military said it was 'not aware' of any overnight strikes in Syria.
Observer
21 hours ago
- Politics
- Observer
Syria evacuates Bedouins from Sweida as ceasefire holds
SWEIDA: Syrian authorities on Monday evacuated Bedouin families from the city of Sweida, after a ceasefire in the southern province halted a week of sectarian bloodshed that a monitor said killed more than 1,100 people. A correspondent outside the devastated provincial capital saw a convoy of buses and other vehicles enter Sweida and then exit again carrying civilians, including women and children. They were headed for reception centres in neighbouring Daraa province and to the capital Damascus, in coordination with the Syrian Arab 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, most of them Druze fighters and civilians, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor, whose toll also includes hundreds of government security personnel. "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, though announced on Saturday, only effectively began on Sunday after Bedouin and tribal fighters withdrew from parts of Sweida and Druze groups regained 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. The deal allowed the deployment of government security forces in Sweida province but not its main city. Security forces had erected sand mounds to block some of Sweida's entrances. According to the United Nations, the violence has displaced more than 128,000 people, an issue that has also made collecting and identifying bodies more difficult. — AFP
Yahoo
a day ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Syria evacuates Bedouins from clashes-hit Suwayda as shaky ceasefire holds
The Syrian government is evacuating hundreds of Bedouin families trapped inside the southern city of Suwayda, where a fragile ceasefire is holding after Druze and Bedouin fighters fought for a week. The first Bedouin families left on Monday on buses and trucks accompanied by Syrian Arab Red Crescent vehicles and ambulances. They were taken to nearby Daraa as the government plans to evacuate 1,500 people. 'At least 500 people have already left on 10 buses this morning, and more are expected to exit Suwayda in the next few hours,' Al Jazeera's Mohamed Vall said about noon (09:00 GMT) on Monday in a report from the capital, Damascus. The clashes between the Druze minority and Bedouin clans, which began on July 13, killed nearly 260 people and threatened to unravel Syria's post-war transition. The violence also displaced 128,571 people, according to the United Nations International Organisation for Migration. Israel intervened and launched air attacks on Syria's Ministry of Defence buildings in the heart of Damascus. Israeli forces also hit Syrian government forces in Suwayda province, claiming it was protecting the Druze, whom it calls its 'brothers'.Vall said some Bedouin families were evacuating the province voluntarily. 'There are seven districts of Suwayda that are inhabited partly or … mostly by Arab Bedouins, and they are all under threat – or they feel under threat – and some of them are willing to leave [on their own],' he said. Syrian Interior Minister Ahmad al-Dalati told the SANA news agency that the evacuation process will also allow displaced civilians from Suwayda to return as efforts for a complete ceasefire are under way. 'We have imposed a security cordon in the vicinity of Suwayda to keep it secure and to stop the fighting there,' al-Dalati told the agency. 'This will preserve the path that will lead to reconciliation and stability in the province.' According to the United Kingdom-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor, the ceasefire agreed on Saturday says the Bedouin fighters will release Druze women they are holding captive and leave the province. After talks for a captives swap fell through late on Sunday, the observatory and activist groups in Suwayda reported hearing what they said were Israeli air strikes and helicopters over villages where some skirmishes took place between the Bedouins and the Druze. The Israeli military said it was 'not aware' of any overnight strikes in Syria. Meanwhile, an initial Syrian Arab Red Crescent convoy entered Suwayda on Sunday, carrying UN humanitarian assistance, including food, water, medical supplies and fuel, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said. Interim Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa has tried to appeal to the Druze community while slamming its factions loyal to spiritual leader Sheikh Hikmat al-Hijri who have been involved in the clashes. He promised to hold accountable perpetrators of targeted attacks and other violations. The Druze minority largely celebrated the downfall in December of the al-Assad family, which ruled Syria for 53 years. But al-Hijri, who had some allegiance to deposed President Bashar al-Assad in the past, and his supporters have taken a more confrontational approach with al-Sharaa, contrary to most other influential Druze figures.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Syria evacuates Bedouin from Druze-majority Sweida as ceasefire holds
Syrian authorities on Monday evacuated Bedouin families from the Druze-majority city of Sweida, after a ceasefire in the southern province halted a week of sectarian bloodshed that a monitor said killed more than 1,100 people. An AFP correspondent outside the devastated provincial capital saw a convoy of buses and other vehicles enter Sweida and then exit again carrying civilians, including women and children. They were headed for reception centres in neighbouring Daraa province and to the capital Damascus, in coordination with the Syrian Arab 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, most of them Druze fighters and civilians, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor, whose toll also includes hundreds of government security personnel. Clashes began on July 13 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 Bedouin. 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, though announced on Saturday, only effectively began on Sunday after Bedouin and tribal fighters withdrew from parts of Sweida and Druze groups regained control. - Unidentified bodies - The announcement came hours after the United States said it had negotiated a ceasefire between Syria's Islamist 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. The AFP correspondent in the city said security forces had erected sand mounds to block some of Sweida's entrances. Sunni tribal fighters armed with machine guns were sitting on the roadside beyond the checkpoints, under the shade of trees. At the main hospital in Sweida city, dozens of bodies were still waiting to be identified, with a forensic medicine official at facility saying that "we still have 97 unidentified corpses". According to the United Nations, the violence has displaced more than 128,000 people, an issue that has also made collecting and identifying bodies more difficult. Health authorities have not released a comprehensive death toll. - Aid convoy - More than 450 bodies had been brought to the Sweida national hospital by Sunday evening, with more still being recovered from the streets and homes. "The dead bodies sent a terrible smell through all the floors of the hospital," said nurse Hisham Breik, who had not left the facility since the violence began. "The situation has been terrible. We couldn't walk around the hospital without wearing a mask," he said, his voice trembling, adding that the wounded included women, children and the elderly. The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said hospitals and health centres in Sweida province were out of service, with "reports of unburied bodies raising serious public health concerns". Humanitarian access to Sweida "remains highly constrained", it said a statement late Sunday. 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. A Red Crescent official told AFP the supplies included body bags. On Monday, the Observatory said the ceasefire was holding, despite isolated gunfire in areas north of Sweida city with no reports of casualties. str-at/ami/dv
