Syria's armed Bedouins say they have withdrawn from Druze-majority city after weeklong fighting
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 government forces who had effectively sided with the Bedouins.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Hill
a few seconds ago
- The Hill
Syria's armed Bedouins say they have withdrawn from Druze-majority city after weeklong fighting
MAZRAA, Syria (AP) — Syria's armed Bedouin clans announced Sunday they had withdrawn from the Druze-majority city of Sweida following weeklong clashes and a U.S.-brokered ceasefire, as humanitarian aid convoys started to enter the battered southern city. 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 government forces who had effectively sided with the Bedouins. The clashes also led to a series of targeted sectarian attacks against the Druze community, followed by revenge attacks against the Bedouins. A series of tit-for-tat kidnappings sparked the clashes in various towns and villages in the province, which later spread to Sweida city, the provincial capital. Government forces were redeployed to halt renewed fighting that erupted Thursday, before withdrawing again. Interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa, who has been perceived as more sympathetic to the Bedouins, had tried to appeal to the Druze community 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 security.' 'We thank the Bedouins for their heroic stances but demand they fully commit to the ceasefire and comply with the state's orders,' he said in an address broadcast Saturday. Dozens of armed Bedouin fighters alongside other clans from around the country who came to support them remained on the outskirts of the city and were cordoned off by government security forces and military police. They blame the clashes on the Druze factions loyal to spiritual leader Sheikh Hikmat al-Hijri and accuse them of harming Bedouin families. 'We will not leave until he turns himself in alongside those with him who tried to stir sedition. And only then will we go home.' Khaled al-Mohammad, who came to the southern province alongside other tribesman from the eastern Deir al-Zour province, told The Associated Press. Aid convoys enter Sweida but tensions persist The Bedouins' withdrawal brought a cautious calm to the area, with humanitarian convoys on their way. The Syrian Red Crescent said Sunday it sent 32 trucks loaded with food, medicine, water, fuel and other aid, after the fighting left the province with power cuts and shortages. Syria's state news agency SANA reported that the convoy entered Sweida on Sunday, but accused al-Hijri and his armed Druze supporters of turning back a government delegation that accompanied another convoy. The Foreign Ministry in a statement said the convoy accompanying the delegation had two ambulances loaded with aid provided by local and international organizations. Al-Hijri did not directly respond to the accusations but said in a statement that he welcomes any assistance for Sweida and slammed what he claims were distorted campaigns against him. 'We reaffirm that we have no dispute with anyone on any religious or ethnic basis,' the statement read. 'Shame and disgrace be upon all those who seek to sow discord and hatred in the minds of young people.' The U.N. International Organization for Migration said 128,571 people were displaced during the clashes, including 43,000 on Saturday alone. US envoy appeals for an end to fighting Washington's special envoy to Syria, Tom Barrack, said the clashes and atrocities 'overshadowed' an initial cautious optimism about the country's post-war transition and the international community's lifting of sanctions. 'All factions must immediately lay down their arms, cease hostilities and abandon cycles of tribal vengeance,' Barrack said on X. 'Syria stands at a critical juncture — peace and dialogue must prevail — and prevail now.' Among those killed in the weeklong fighting were dozens of Druze civilians slain in a series of targeted attacks in the city at the hands of Bedouin fighters and government forces. Videos surfaced online of fighters destroying portraits of Druze religious officials and notables in homes, and shaving the mustaches of elderly Druze, seen as an insult to culture and tradition. Druze militias in return attacked Bedouin-majority areas in the outskirts of the province, forcing families to flee to neighboring Daraa province. More than half of the roughly 1 million Druze worldwide live in Syria. Most of the other Druze live in Lebanon and Israel, including in the Golan Heights, which Israel captured from Syria in the 1967 Mideast War and annexed in 1981. 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 wanted to approach matters diplomatically. Al-Hijri and his supporters, though, have taken a more confrontational approach with Al-Sharaa, contrary to most other influential Druze figures. Critics also note al-Hijri's previous allegiance to Assad. However, the recent clashes and sectarian attacks on the minority community have made a growing number of Druze in the area more skeptical about Damascus' new leadership and more doubtful of peaceful coexistence.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Oil prices little changed as investors eye impact of new sanctions on Russia
SINGAPORE (Reuters) -Oil prices barely budged on Monday as traders eyed the impact of new European sanctions on Russian oil supply, rising output from Middle East producers and concerns about fuel outlook as tariffs weighed on global economic growth. Brent crude futures rose 5 cents to $69.33 a barrel by 0040 GMT after settling 0.35% higher on Friday. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was at $67.36 a barrel, up 2 cents, following a 0.30% gain in the previous session. The European Union approved on Friday the 18th package of sanctions against Russia over the conflict in Ukraine, which also targeted India's Nayara Energy, an exporter of oil products refined from Russian crude. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said on Friday that Russia had built up a certain immunity to Western sanctions. Rosneft, Russia's biggest oil producer with a stake in Nayara, on Sunday criticised the sanctions as unjustified and illegal, saying the restrictions directly threatened India's energy security. Iran, another sanctioned oil producer, is due to hold nuclear talks in Istanbul with Britain, France and Germany on Friday, an Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson said on Monday. That follows warnings by the three European countries that a failure to resume negotiations would lead to international sanctions being reimposed on Iran. In the U.S., the number of operating oil rigs fell by two to 422 last week, the lowest since September 2021, Baker Hughes said on Friday. Separately, U.S. tariffs on imports from the European Union are set to kick in on August 1, although U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said on Sunday he was confident the United States could secure a trade deal with the bloc. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Syrian presidency announces comprehensive ceasefire after fighting in Druze area
A Syrian military official said correspondence with the US had led Damascus to believe it could deploy forces to Sweida without Israel confronting them. The Syrian presidency announced on Saturday an immediate and comprehensive ceasefire following days of bloodshed in the predominantly Druze area that has left over 300 people dead. On Friday, US Ambassador to Turkey Tom Barrack said that Israel and Syria have agreed to a ceasefire supported by Turkey, Jordan, and other neighbors. In the Saturday statement, Syria urged all parties to adhere to the ceasefire. On Wednesday last week, Israel launched airstrikes in Damascus, while also hitting government forces in the south, demanding they withdraw and saying that Israel aimed to protect Syrian Druze - part of a small but influential minority that also has members in Lebanon and Israel. "We call upon Druze, Bedouins, and Sunnis to put down their weapons and together with other minorities build a new and united Syrian identity," Barrack said in a post on X/Twitter. The Syrian Defense Ministry ordered Bedouin militias to leave the city of Sweida, after which Syrian security forces would enter the city in order to implement the ceasefire provisions, Syrian media reported. The Israeli embassy in Washington and the Syrian Consulate in Canada did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Increasing conflict The ceasefire announcement came after the US worked to put an end to the conflict. On Wednesday, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said steps had been agreed to end a "troubling and horrifying situation." It also followed what appeared to be a de-escalation of the conflict after government troops withdrew from Sweida, where violence had been centered. Syria's government misread how Israel would respond to its troops deploying to the country's south this week, encouraged by US messaging that Syria should be governed as a centralized state, eight sources familiar with the matter told Reuters. Israel carried out strikes on Syrian troops and on Damascus on Wednesday in an escalation that took the Islamist-led leadership by surprise, the sources said, after government forces were accused of killing scores of people in the Druze city of Sweida. Transporting troops Damascus believed it had a green light from both the US and Israel to dispatch its forces south despite months of Israeli warnings not to do so, according to the sources, which include Syrian political and military officials, two diplomats, and regional security sources. That understanding was based on public and private comments from US special envoy for Syria Thomas Barrack, as well as on nascent security talks with Israel, the sources said. Barrack has called for Syria to be centrally administered as "one country" without autonomous zones. Syria's understanding of US and Israeli messages regarding its troop deployment to the south has not been previously reported. A State Department spokesperson declined to comment on private diplomatic discussions but said the United States supported the territorial unity of Syria. "The Syrian state has an obligation to protect all Syrians, including minority groups," the spokesperson said, urging the Syrian government to hold perpetrators of violence accountable. In response to Reuters questions, a senior official from Syria's ministry of foreign affairs denied that Barrack's comments had influenced the decision to deploy troops, which was made based on "purely national considerations" and with the aim of "stopping the bloodshed, protecting civilians and preventing the escalation of civil conflict". Damascus sent troops and tanks to Sweida province on Monday to quell fighting between Bedouin tribes and armed factions within the Druze community - a minority that follows a religion derived from Islam, with followers in Syria, Lebanon and Israel. Syrian forces entering the city came under fire from Druze militia, according to Syrian sources. Subsequent violence attributed to Syrian troops, including field executions and the humiliation of Druze civilians, triggered Israeli strikes on Syrian security forces, the defense ministry in Damascus and the environs of the presidential palace, according to two sources, including a senior Gulf Arab official. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel intervened to block Syrian troops from entering southern Syria - which Israel has publicly said should be a demilitarized zone - and to uphold a longstanding commitment to protect the Druze. Syrian leader Ahmed al-Sharaa has vowed to hold accountable those responsible for violations against the Druze. He blamed "outlaw groups" seeking to inflame tensions for any crimes against civilians and did not say whether government forces were involved. The US and others quickly intervened to secure a ceasefire by Wednesday evening. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio described the flare-up as a "misunderstanding" between Israel and Syria. A Syrian and a Western source familiar with the matter said Damascus believed that talks with Israel as recently as last week in Baku produced an understanding over the deployment of troops to southern Syria to bring Sweida under government control. Netanyahu's office declined to comment in response Reuters' questions. Israel said on Friday it had agreed to allow limited access by Syrian forces into Sweida for the next two days. Soon after, Syria said it would deploy a force dedicated to ending the communal clashes, which continued into Saturday morning. Joshua Landis, head of the Center for Middle East Studies at the University of Oklahoma, said it appeared Sharaa had overplayed his hand earlier in the week. "It seems that his military staff misunderstood the backing of the US It also misunderstood Israel's stand on the Jabal Druze (in Sweida) from its talks with Israel in Baku," he said. 'Took it as a yes' A Syrian military official said correspondence with the US had led Damascus to believe it could deploy forces without Israel confronting them. The official said US officials had not responded when informed about plans for the deployment, leading the Syrian leadership to believe it had been tacitly approved and "that Israel would not interfere." A diplomat based in Damascus said Syrian authorities had been "overconfident" in its operation to seize Sweida, "based on US messaging that turned out not to reflect reality." US envoy Barrack has said publicly and in private meetings in Damascus that Syria should be "one country," without autonomous rule for its Druze, Kurdish or Alawite communities, which remain largely distrustful of the new Islamist-led leadership. That distrust has prompted Druze factions and a major Kurdish force in northeast Syria to resist Syrian army deployments, and demand their own fighters be integrated into the army as wholesale units only stationed in their territory. Landis said it appeared Sharaa had understood Barrack's statements against federalism in Syria "to mean that the central government could impose its will on the Druze minority by force." The senior Gulf official said Damascus had made a "big mistake" in its approach to Sweida, saying troops had committed violations, including killing and humiliating Druze. The nature of violence handed Israel an opportunity to act forcefully, the Gulf official and another source said. The Syrian Network for Human Rights, an independent monitoring group, said on Friday the death toll from the violence had reached at least 321 people, among them medical personnel, women and children. It said they included field executions by all sides. Reuters was able to verify the time and location of some videos showing dead bodies in Sweida, but could not independently verify who conducted the killings or when they occurred. A regional intelligence source said Sharaa had not been in control of events on the ground because of the lack of a disciplined military and his reliance instead on a patchwork of militia groups, often with a background in Islamic militancy. In sectarian violence in Syria's coastal region in March, hundreds of people from the Alawite minority were killed by forces aligned with Sharaa. With more blood spilled and distrust of Sharaa's government high among minorities, the senior Gulf Arab official said there are "real fears that Syria is heading towards being broken up into statelets." The official from the Syrian Foreign Affairs Ministry said the Sweida operation was not aimed at revenge or escalation, but at preserving the peace and unity of the country. Syrian troops were ready to re-engage to end the communal violence there "whenever appropriate conditions arise, including clear guarantees from the United States that Israel will not intervene," the official said, speaking before the Israeli announcement. Liran Aharoni contributed to this report.
