DAMASCUS: Hundreds of Bedouin civilians were evacuated from the southern Syrian city of Sweida on Monday (July 21) under a fragile truce backed by the United States, following a week of deadly clashes between Druze fighters and Sunni Bedouin residents.
Interior ministry forces deployed to the city’s outskirts after the ceasefire took effect on Sunday. Interior Minister Anas Khattab said the truce aimed to enable the release of hostages and detainees.
The clashes, which began last week, left hundreds dead and prompted Israeli airstrikes in southern Syria. The violence has presented a major test for interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa, deepening fractures in a country already devastated by 14 years of war.
The fighting erupted between Druze groups hostile to the Islamist-led government and Sunni Bedouin tribes. Government troops were sent to intervene but were later accused of abuses against the Druze population.
Sharaa blamed the unrest on “outlaw groups” and pledged to protect the Druze community, calling them an integral part of the Syrian nation. He promised to hold those responsible for violations to account.
Witnesses told Reuters of killings in the town of Shahba, 15km north of Sweida. Ali al-Huraym, a 56-year-old Bedouin, said six relatives were killed despite Druze elders’ assurances of safety. Another displaced man, Salem al-Mahdi, said he saw multiple bodies in one home and reported the use of mortars.
Druze activist Luna Albassit said the situation remained tense despite the halt in clashes. “People were killed in the streets, in their homes… in the name of the state,” she told Reuters by phone.
Suwayda 24 footage showed body bags lined outside a local hospital. The Syrian Network for Human Rights said at least 558 people were killed in Sweida since July 13, while the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights put the toll at over 1,000.
