Key points
- Sweida recaptured by Druze fighters
- State forces redeployed to the region
- Over 900 people have been killed in sectarian violence
ISLAMABAD: Syria’s government said it has cleared Bedouin fighters from the predominantly Druze city of Sweida and declared a halt to the deadly clashes there, hours after deploying security forces to the restive southern region.
The announcement on Saturday came after Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa ordered a new ceasefire between Bedouin and Druze groups, following a separate United States-brokered deal to avert further Israeli military intervention in the clashes, according to Al Jazeera.
Fighting in Syria’s Sweida “halted” on Sunday, the government said, after Druze fighters and state forces recaptured the southern city redeployed to the region where more than 900 people have been killed in sectarian violence.
Druze fighters had pushed out rival armed factions from the city on Saturday, a monitor said, after the government ordered a ceasefire following a US-brokered deal to avert further Israeli military intervention.
Clashes “halted”
Sweida was “evacuated of all tribal fighters, and clashes within the city’s neighbourhoods were halted”, Syria’s interior ministry spokesman Noureddine al-Baba said in a post on Telegram.
More than 900 people have been killed in Sweida since last Sunday as sectarian clashes between the Druze and Bedouin drew in the Islamist-led government, Israel and armed tribes from other parts of Syria.
“No Bedouins in city”
Earlier Saturday, an AFP correspondent saw dozens of torched homes and vehicles and armed men setting fire to shops after looting them.
But in the evening, Bassem Fakhr, spokesman for the Men of Dignity, one of the two largest Druze armed groups, told AFP there was “no Bedouin presence in the city”.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor also said “tribal fighters withdrew from Sweida city on Saturday evening” after Druze fighters launched a large-scale attack.
Fighting nonetheless persisted in other parts of Sweida province, even as the Druze regained control of their city following days of fierce battle with armed Bedouin supported by tribal gunmen from other parts of Syria.
