By Euronews with AP
Published on
Syrian government forces are to deploy again to southern Syria despite pulling out under a ceasefire agreement due to renewed clashes that broke out overnight Friday between Druze armed groups and members of Bedouin clans, 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.
The Syrian military had largely pulled out of the Druze-majority southern province of Suwayda 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 mediated by the US, Turkey and Arab countries.
Under that agreement, Druze factions and clerics would be left to maintain internal security in Suwayda, Syria’s interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa said Thursday.
The clashes initially began between Druze militias and local Sunni Muslim Bedouin tribes Sunday before government forces intervened and took the Bedouins’ side against the Druze.
The fighting resulted in the deaths of 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 Suwayda province.
State media reported Druze militias carried out revenge attacks against Bedouin communities, leading to a wave of displacement.
The Druze religious group began as a 10th-century offshoot of Ismailism, a branch of Shiite Islam. However, the Druze do not consider themselves to be Muslim.
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.
