Syrian government says fighting in Sweida halted after tribal forces pull out
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.
Sweida was 'evacuated of all tribal fighters, and clashes within the city's neighborhoods were halted,' Syria's interior ministry spokesman Noureddine al-Baba said in a post on Telegram.
Israel had bombed government 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.
Scores have been killed in Sweida since last Sunday as sectarian clashes between the Druze and Bedouin drew in the government, Israel and armed tribes from other parts of Syria.
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.'
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.
The deal between the government and Israel had been announced by Washington early Saturday.
US pointman on Syria Tom Barrack said President Ahmed al-Sharaa and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu 'have agreed to a ceasefire' negotiated by the United States.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio later called on the Syrian government's security forces to prevent extremists from entering and 'carrying out massacres,' in a post on X.
He also urged the Syrian government to 'hold accountable and bring to justice anyone guilty of atrocities including those in their own ranks.'
Barrack, who is the US ambassador to Ankara, said the deal had the backing of Turkey, a key supporter of al-Sharaa, as well as neighboring Jordan.
Barrack later held a meeting in Amman with the Syrian and Jordanian top diplomats, during which they 'agreed on practical steps to support Syria in implementing the agreement,' the US envoy said in a later post on X.
Al-Sharaa followed up on the US announcement with a televised speech in which he announced an immediate ceasefire in Sweida and renewed his pledge to protect Syria's ethnic and religious minorities.
'The Syrian state is committed to protecting all minorities and communities in the country... We condemn all crimes committed' in Sweida, he said.
The president paid tribute to the 'important role played by the United States, which again showed its support for Syria in these difficult circumstances and its concern for the country's stability.'
Syria's Information Minister Hamza al-Mustafa on Saturday evening said that after the first phase of the ceasefire, which began on Saturday and involved the deployment of security forces to the province, a second phase would see the opening of humanitarian corridors.
According to the United Nations, the fighting has displaced least 87,000 people.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Asharq Al-Awsat
11 hours ago
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Lebanon Says Four Killed in Israeli Strikes
A series of Israeli airstrikes killed four people in south and east Lebanon, the health ministry said Friday, referring to strikes that occurred the previous evening. "The series of strikes launched by the Israeli enemy Thursday evening led to the death of four people," the Lebanese health ministry said. The Israeli military said Thursday that it had targeted Hezbollah "infrastructure that was used for producing and storing strategic weapons" in south Lebanon and the eastern Bekaa Valley, AFP reported. Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz described one of the targets as Hezbollah's "biggest precision missile manufacturing site". More than a year of hostilities -- including two months of all-out war between Israel and Hezbollah which largely ended with a November ceasefire -- left the militant group badly weakened. Israel has nonetheless kept up near-daily airstrikes in Lebanon despite the ceasefire, and has threatened to continue them until the group has been the terms of the truce, Hezbollah was to withdraw its fighters north of the Litani river, about 30 kilometres (20 miles) from the Israeli border. Israel was meant to withdraw all its troops from Lebanon, but has kept them in five areas it deems strategic. In a speech on Thursday, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said he was determined to disarm Hezbollah, a step he has come under heavy US pressure to take, despite the group's protests that doing so would serve Israeli goals.
Arab News
12 hours ago
- Arab News
Lebanon says four killed in Israeli strikes on Thursday
BEIRUT: A series of Israeli air strikes killed four people in south and east Lebanon, the health ministry said Friday, referring to strikes that occurred the previous evening. 'The series of strikes launched by the Israeli enemy Thursday evening led to the death of four people,' the Lebanese health ministry said. The Israeli military said Thursday that it had targeted Hezbollah 'infrastructure that was used for producing and storing strategic weapons' in south Lebanon and the eastern Bekaa Valley. Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz described one of the targets as Hezbollah's 'biggest precision missile manufacturing site.' More than a year of hostilities — including two months of all-out war between Israel and Hezbollah which largely ended with a November ceasefire — left the militant group badly weakened. Israel has nonetheless kept up near-daily air strikes in Lebanon despite the ceasefire, and has threatened to continue them until the group has been disarmed. 'Any attempt by the terrorist organization to recover, re-establish or threaten will be met with relentless intensity,' Katz said on Thursday. Under the terms of the truce, Hezbollah was to withdraw its fighters north of the Litani river, about 30 kilometers (20 miles) from the Israeli border. Israel was meant to withdraw all its troops from Lebanon, but has kept them in five areas it deems strategic. In a speech on Thursday, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said he was determined to disarm Hezbollah, a step he has come under heavy US pressure to take, despite the group's protests that doing so would serve Israeli goals.
Al Arabiya
12 hours ago
- Al Arabiya
Thailand returns two wounded soldiers to Cambodia
Cambodia on Friday welcomed the return of two wounded soldiers who had been captured by the Thai army after the two sides had already implemented a ceasefire to end five days of combat over competing territorial claims. Their repatriation comes amid accusations and bickering over whether either side had targeted civilians and breached the laws of war and sharp nationalist feuding on social media. The rest of a 20-member group of Cambodian soldiers captured on Tuesday in one of the disputed pockets of land over which the two sides were fighting remain in Thai hands and Cambodian officials are demanding their release. The two countries have given differing accounts of the circumstances of the capture. Cambodian officials say their soldiers approached the Thai position with 'friendly intentions' to offer post-fighting greetings while Thai officials said the Cambodians appeared to have 'hostile intent' and entered what 'Thailand considers its territory' so were taken prisoner. Cambodian Defense Ministry Spokesperson Maly Socheata confirmed that the two wounded soldiers had been handed over at a border checkpoint between Thailand's Surin province and Cambodia's Oddar Meanchey province and urged the Thai side to promptly repatriate the remaining personnel in accordance with international humanitarian law. Thailand says it has been following international legal procedures and was holding the remaining 18 soldiers until it could investigate their actions. A statement issued Friday by Thailand's 2nd Army Region identified the two repatriated Cambodian soldiers as a sergeant with a broken arm and a gash on his hip and a second lieutenant who appeared to be suffering from battle fatigue and needed care from his family. It said both men had taken an oath not to engage in further hostilities against Thailand. Neither man has been made available for interviews by neutral third parties. There were other peaceful activities on Friday on both sides of the border as both countries staged tours of the former battle areas for foreign diplomats and other observers highlighting damage allegedly caused by the other side. The two countries continue to accuse each other of having violated the laws of war with attacks on civilians and the illegal use of weapons. More than three dozen people civilian and soldiers were killed in the fighting which in addition to infantry battles included artillery duels and the firing of truck-mounted rockets by Cambodia to which Thailand responded with airstrikes. More than 260000 people in total were displaced from their homes. Under the terms of the ceasefire military representatives of both sides are supposed to meet next week to iron out details to avoid further clashes. However the talks are not supposed to cover the competing territorial claims that are at the heart of decades-long tension between the two countries. Partisans of both sides are also waging a war of words online with Thailand accusing Cambodia of also carrying out malicious hacking. Both countries' professional journalism societies have accused each other of spreading false information and other propaganda.
