The Government of Syria removed on Thursday, 17, their troops from the province of Sweida, after days of clashes with paramilitary groups of the Minority Drusa. The withdrawal occurred after a ceasefire agreement agreed on Wednesday, 16.
Syrian President Ahmed Al-Sharaa announced that he would delegate security in Sweida to “local groups”. He stated that the country was facing two options: an “open war” with Israel, to the “cost of Drudos citizens”, or allowing religious leaders to “return to reason and prioritize national interest.” “We are not afraid of war; our story is full of battles in defense of our people, but we choose the path that places the welfare of Syrians above chaos and destruction,” he said.
In recent days, the region had been the scene of clashes of Drudos, Bedouins and Security Forces, with a balance of more than 500 dead since Sunday, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (OSDH). The ceasefire was reached with US, Türkiye and Arab countries mediation.
The fighting threatened the postwar political transition from Syria and brought more military intervention by neighboring Israel, which on Wednesday reached the headquarters of the Ministry of Syrian Defense in Damascus. The Israeli government said it had attacked to protect the religious minority Druse.
Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu yesterday promised to keep Syria demilitarily and protect the Drusa community, which has a considerable population in Israel, with the right to vote and serving the army. The prime minister stated that the ceasefire was reached because of Israel’s intense attacks on Syrian forces.
A Turkish military commander said yesterday that the Chancellor and the country’s head of intelligence had a series of diplomatic and security contacts to end the clashes. They worked with the US special envoy to Syria, Israel, and regional leaders, including Lebanese leader Walid Jumblatt.
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Violence
Syrian climbing began with kidnappings and mutual attacks between the Sunni Bedouin tribes and Drust armed factions. Government troops clashed with the paramilitary forces, but also, in some cases, attacked civilians.
Videos on social networks have shown government forces and allies humiliating clergy and Drudos residents, looting houses and killing hidden civilians inside their homes.
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UN special envoy to Syria, Geir Pedersen, said yesterday that there were “serious allegations of extrajudicial executions and arbitrary murders”, as well as reports of looting, civilians submitted to “humiliating treatments” and codes mutilation. (With international agencies)
