Calm Reported in Syria's Sweida
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A week after deadly clashes between Bedouin and Druze fighters in the southern Syrian city of Sweida, Syrian Red Crescent convoys drove on Sunday along the Damascus-Daraa highway to provide humanitarian assistance to citizens stranded in villages under attack.
Syrian security forces are preparing to redeploy to the Druze-majority Sweida city to quell fighting with Bedouin tribes, a Syrian interior ministry spokesperson said on Friday, further straining a fragile truce in Syria's south.
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Al-Monitor on MSNDruze regain control of Sweida city after Syria announces ceasefireSyrian interior ministry forces began deploying in Sweida on Saturday under a US-brokered deal intended to avert further Israeli military intervention in the Druze-majority province.Israel had bombed defence ministry forces in both Sweida and Damascus earlier this week to force their withdrawal after they were accused of summary executions and other abuses against Druze civilians during their brief deployment in the southern province.
A ceasefire was enforced in Sweida, Syria, where clashes between Druze community members and Bedouin tribes had persisted for nearly a week. Syrian security forces intervened, leading to the halt of hostilities and clearing the area of tribal fighters.
Syria’s interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa urged Sunni Muslim Bedouin tribes Saturday to “fully commit” to a ceasefire aimed at ending clashes with militias linked to the Druze minority that left hundreds dead and threatened to unravel the country’s post-war transition.
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Al-Monitor on MSNBodies and looted homes: Syria's Druze reeling after Sweida bloodshedResidents from the Syrian-Druze city of Sweida described friends and neighbors being shot at close range in their homes or on the streets. One elderly man had been shot in the head in his living room.
Sectarian-tinged clashes left hundreds dead and drew in Israeli military intervention. A U.S. envoy said Israel and Syria had agreed to a truce.
Sharaa has called on the Sunni Bedouin tribes to fully adhere to the ceasefire, aimed at halting deadly confrontations with Druze-affiliated militias that have claimed hundreds of lives and put the country’s fragile post-conflict transition at risk.