Following dozens of deaths in the southern Syrian city due to clashes between Druze fighters and Bedouin tribes, government forces declared a ceasefire.
After days of deadly clashes with Bedouin tribes, the Syrian Ministry of Defense announced a ceasefire in Suwayda, a city with a Druze majority. The ministry said an agreement was reached with the city’s “notables and dignitaries.”
Soon after the ministry sent government forces to stop the violence that has killed dozens since Friday, Defense Minister Murhaf Abu Qasra wrote on X on Tuesday, “To all units operating within the city of Suwayda, we declare a complete ceasefire.”
At least 99 people were killed in the violence that swept through the Suwayda governorate, prompting the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a war monitor, to declare a curfew for the city. 60 Druze are among the dead, including four civilians, eighteen Bedouin fighters, fourteen security guards, and seven unidentified individuals wearing military garb, according to the monitor. According to the Defense Ministry, 18 military personnel died.
Violence occasionally breaks out in Suwayda due to a long-standing feud between Bedouin and Druze factions. Following the entry of Syrian government forces into the Druze city of Suwayda, Israel began attacking the city from the air on Tuesday.
Israel has promised to defend the Druze minority in Syria, whom it views as possible allies. After initially opposing the presence of Syrian troops in the southern city, the Druze spiritual leadership later called on Druze fighters to surrender and let government forces enter.
However, Sheikh Hikmat al-Hajri, who has been adamantly against the new leadership in Damascus, said Syrian troops had broken any agreements by continuing to fire on residents on Tuesday afternoon, changing the direction of Druze political leadership.
“We are being subjected to a total war of extermination,”
“to confront this barbaric campaign with all means available”. In a videotaped statement, he called on all Druze to.
Heavy artillery was stationed nearby as Syrian military columns were observed moving towards Suwayda earlier on Tuesday. After claiming to have entered the city, the Defense Ministry advised citizens to “remain at home and report any movements of outlaw groups.”
Since the overthrow of long-time Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad in December and the establishment of an interim government led by President Ahmed al-Sharaa, this was the first time government forces had been sent to Suwayda.
Originating as a branch of Shia Islam in the 10th century, the Druze religious sect is a minority group. The 700,000 people who comprise this community in Syria mostly live in the southern Suwayda province and a few suburbs of Damascus, mainly in Ashrafiyat Sahnaya and Jaramana to the south.
Fighting has been going on in the city since Friday, according to Osama Bin Javaid of Al Jazeera, who is reporting from Deir Az Zor in Syria.
“It escalated and more than two dozen people were killed. The government sent its reinforcements, and then there was an ambush of the government troops as well, where at least 18 soldiers, we believe, were either killed or wounded,” he mentioned.
According to Bin Javaid, Israeli strikes on Syrian government targets have made matters worse. Several Syrian tanks were bombed Monday by Israel, which has tried to present itself as a protector of the Druze in Syria and views them as possible allies.
Source: Najat Adamu
