Syrian minister says Bedouins leave Sweida, clashes halted
Tribal fighters have been evacuated from Syria’s southern city of Sweida and violent clashes have ceased, the country’s interior ministry said late Saturday.
“After intensive efforts by the Ministry of Interior to implement the ceasefire agreement, following the deployment of its forces in the northern and western regions of Sweida Governorate, the city of Sweida was evacuated of all tribal fighters, and clashes within the city’s neighborhoods were halted,” Syrian interior ministry spokesman Noureddine al-Baba said in a post on Telegram.
The council of Bedouin tribes said in a statement that its forces withdrew from Sweida but added that any violation of the ceasefire would be met by a severe response.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a British-based monitoring group, said clashes since last week around Sweida have killed at least 940 people. Reuters could not independently verify the toll.
Interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa said “Arab and American” mediation had helped restore calm, before the clashes escalated. He criticized Israel for airstrikes during the week.
“The Israeli intervention pushed the country into a dangerous phase that threatened its stability,” he said in a televised speech.
Sharaa appeared to blame Druze gunmen for the latest clashes, accusing them of revenge attacks against Bedouins.
According to reports in Syria, a chopper believed to be from the U.S, led international coalition, landed overnight near a hospital in Sweida, carrying medical teams and supplies brought in from north-east Syria.
Trump’s envoy to Syria Tom Barrack defended the president’s decision to lift sanctions imposed on Syria and said tribal hostilities must end immediately
“President Trump’s decision to lift sanctions was a principled step, offering the Syrian people a chance to move beyond years of unimaginable suffering and atrocities.
The international community has largely rallied behind the nascent Syrian government, watching with cautious optimism as it seeks to transition from a legacy of pain to a future of hope,” Barrack said in a post on X.
“The U.S. has remained heavily involved over the last three days with Israel, Jordan and authorities in Damascus on the horrifying and dangerous developments in southern Syria. The rape and slaughter of innocent people which has and is still occurring must end,” he said in a post on X.
“Yet this fragile ambition is now overshadowed by profound shock, as brutal acts by warring factions on the ground undermine the government’s authority and disrupt any semblance of order. All factions must immediately lay down their arms, cease hostilities and abandon cycles of tribal vengeance,” he wrote adding Syria is at a critical juncture.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio also said the violence must end.
“If authorities in Damascus want to preserve any chance of achieving a unified, inclusive and peaceful Syria free of ISIS and of Iranian control they must help end the calamity by using their security forces to prevent ISIS and any other violent Jihadists from entering the area and carrying out massacres. And they must hold accountable and bring to justice anyone guilty of atrocities including those in their own ranks.”
