DAMASCUS – Syria’s interim government on Saturday announced a ceasefire in the violence-hit southern province of Sweida, urging all parties to respect the truce. The move follows a week of deadly clashes between Druze factions, Bedouin fighters, and government forces that killed nearly 1,000 people.
According to the Syrian presidency, the ceasefire is immediate and comprehensive. Government security forces have already begun deploying in Sweida to enforce calm. President Ahmed al-Sharaa, in a national address, credited “Arab and American mediation” for restoring order, while condemning Israeli airstrikes as destabilising.
Sweida, home to Syria’s Druze minority, became the epicentre of violence last weekend. What began as tribal skirmishes escalated rapidly when Damascus sent troops. The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported 940 deaths, including 326 Druze fighters, 262 Druze civilians, 312 government forces, and 21 Bedouins. Some were allegedly executed by both sides.
Israel, claiming to protect its Druze population, carried out strikes on Syrian military targets in Sweida and Damascus. The strikes also killed 15 Syrian troops, the observatory said. Israeli officials confirmed they had agreed to a 48-hour window for limited Syrian military presence in the area.
U.S. envoy Tom Barrack confirmed the ceasefire, backed by Turkiye, Jordan, and other neighbors. He called on all communities—Druze, Bedouins, Sunnis, and others—to lay down arms and work toward a “united Syrian identity.” President Sharaa warned against turning Syria into a sectarian battleground and called Israeli intervention a “dangerous provocation.”