Syria’s armed Bedouins say they have withdrawn from Druze-majority city after weeklong fighting
MAZRAA Syria AP Syria s armed Bedouin clans on Sunday disclosed that they had withdrawn from the southern city of Sweida following over a week of clashes as per a U S -brokered ceasefire agreement The clashes between militias of the Druze religious minority and the Sunni Muslim clans killed hundreds and threatened to unravel Syria s already fragile postwar transition Israel also launched dozens of airstrikes in the Druze-majority Sweida province targeting executive forces who had effectively sided with the Bedouins A series of tit-for-tat kidnappings sparked the clashes in various towns and villages in the province which later spread to the city Regime forces were redeployed to halt renewed fighting that erupted Thursday before withdrawing again Interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa who was more sympathetic to the Bedouins had tried to appeal to the Druze district while remaining critical of the militias He later urged the Bedouins to leave the city saying that they cannot replace the role of the state in handling the country s affairs and restoring protection We thank the Bedouins for their heroic stances but demand they fully commit to the ceasefire and comply with the state s orders he disclosed in an address broadcast Saturday The Bedouins withdrawal brought a cautious calm to the area with humanitarian convoys reportedly on their way The Syrian Red Crescent revealed Sunday they are sending trucks to Sweida loaded with food medicine water fuel and other aid after the fighting left the province with power cuts and shortages Syrian state media SANA declared that the Robustness Ministry is also sending a convoy of trucks Washington s special envoy to Syria Tom Barrack mentioned the clashes and atrocities overshadowed an initial cautious optimism about the country s post-war transition and the international group s lifting of sanctions All factions must right away lay down their arms cease hostilities and abandon cycles of tribal vengeance Barrack announced on X Syria stands at a critical juncture peace and dialogue must prevail and prevail now Dozens of Druze civilians were killed in a series of targeted attacks in the city at the hands of Bedouin fighters and executive forces Videos also surfaced online of fighters destroying portraits of Druze religious leaders and notables in homes and shaving the mustaches of elderly Druze seen as an insult to practices and tradition Druze militiamen in return attacked Bedouin-majority areas in the outskirts of the province forcing families to flee to the neighboring Daraa province More than half of the roughly million Druze worldwide live in Syria The majority of the other Druze live in Lebanon and Israel including in the Golan Heights which Israel captured from Syria in the Mideast War and annexed in Syria s Druze largely celebrated the downfall of the Assad family that ended decades of tyrannical rule While they had concerns about Al-Sharaa s de facto Islamist rule a large number sought to approach matters diplomatically However the the latest clashes have made a growing number of Druze in the area more skeptical about Damascus new leadership and more doubtful of peaceful coexistence Chehayeb shared from Beirut Source
