WALGHA, SYRIA: Armed tribal fighters backed by Syria’s Islamist-led interim government clashed with Druze forces on Friday (Jul 18) in the southern province of Sweida, a day after the army withdrew under Israeli bombardment and US-led diplomatic pressure.
The renewed violence raised fresh doubts over interim leader Ahmed al-Sharaa’s control, as he struggles to manage rising unrest among Syria’s religious and ethnic minorities, including Kurds in the northeast and Alawites along the Mediterranean coast.
The United Nations condemned the bloodshed, urging an “independent” investigation into the unrest, which the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said has killed nearly 600 people since fighting erupted on Sunday.
HOSPITALS OVERWHELMED
In Sweida National Hospital, bodies were stacked in refrigerated storage units as the morgue reached capacity. A small team of exhausted doctors and nurses treated the wounded in crowded hallways, AFP reported.
“We have received more than 400 bodies since Monday morning,” said Dr Omar Obeid, president of the Sweida branch of the Order of Physicians. “There is no more room in the morgue, the bodies are in the street.”
TRIBAL FIGHTERS DEPLOY
Tribal fighters from across Syria were seen arriving in villages around Sweida on Friday, responding to calls for help from local Bedouin amid a deepening feud with the Druze community.
Anas al-Enad, a tribal chief from Hama, said he travelled to the village of Walgha to support the Bedouin. An AFP correspondent saw burning shops and homes in the village, now under tribal control.
The UK-based Observatory said the government had facilitated the movement of tribal reinforcements, as Syrian troops are barred from entering Sweida under a security arrangement brokered with Israel.
