Syrian forces set to reenter Sweida

Damascus: Renewed clashes broke out overnight between Druze armed groups and members of Bedouin clans in southern Syria, and government forces were preparing to deploy again to the area Friday after pulling out under a ceasefire agreement that halted several days of violence earlier this week, officials said.

Government security forces agreed with some of the Druze factions that they would re-enter the area to impose stability and protect state institutions, according to two Syrian officials who spoke Friday on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to speak publicly.

Syrian government forces had largely pulled out of the Druze-majority southern province of Sweida after days of clashes with militias linked to the Druze religious minority that threatened to unravel the country’s fragile post-war transition.

The conflict drew airstrikes against Syrian forces by neighbouring Israel in defence of the Druze minority before most of the fighting was halted by a truce announced Wednesday that was mediated by the US, Turkiye and Arab countries. Under that agreement, Druze factions and clerics would be left to maintain internal security in Sweida, Syria’s interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa said Thursday.

The clashes initially began between Druze militias and local Sunni Muslim Bedouin tribes on Sunday before government forces intervened, nominally to restore order, but ended up taking the Bedouins’ side against the Druze. The fighting killed hundreds of people over four days, with allegations that government-affiliated fighters executed Druze civilians and looted and burned homes.

Israel intervened, launching dozens of airstrikes on convoys of government fighters and striking the Syrian Defence Ministry headquarters in central Damascus in a major escalation of its involvement.

The Druze form a substantial community in Israel, where they are seen as a loyal minority and often serve in the Israeli military.

After the ceasefire and withdrawal of government forces, clashes once again flared between the Druze and Bedouin groups in parts of Sweida province. State media reported Druze militias carried out revenge attacks against Bedouin communities, leading to a wave of displacement.

The governor of neighbouring Daraa province said in a statement that more than 1,000 families had been displaced to the area from Sweida as a result of “attacks on Bedouin tribes by outlaw groups”.

The Druze religious sect began as a 10th-century offshoot of Ismailism, a branch of Shiite Islam. 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.

While predominantly Druze, Sweida is also home to Bedouin tribes who are Sunni Muslim and have periodically clashed with the Druze over the years.