Syria urges all parties to respect the ceasefire in the Druze region after hundreds of deaths
The Syrian Islamic-led government said its security forces were deployed in the southern Druz city of Sweida on Saturday and urged all parties to respect the factional bloodshed that killed hundreds of people.
Interim President Ahmed Al-Sharaa said in another speech that the “Arab and the United States” mediation helped calm down and criticized Israel for air strikes on Syrian government forces in the south and Damascus this week.
Sweida Province suffered nearly a week of violence, which began with a conflict between Bedouin fighters and the Druze faction, and then Damascus sent government security forces.
Israel carried out air strikes in southern Syria and Damascus, saying it was protecting Druze minorities, a large portion of the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.
Syria’s TV news host was airing as Israel strikes attacked Damascus’s Ministry of Defense on Wednesday, severely damaging buildings near the President’s Palace.
In a statement Saturday, the Syrian presidency announced an immediate and comprehensive ceasefire and urged all parties to end hostilities immediately.
The Ministry of Home Affairs said internal security forces have begun deployment in Sweida.
Sharaa called for calm and said Syria would not be a “test reason for division, division or sectarian incitement”.
“Israel’s intervention has put the country in a dangerous stage that threatens its stability,” he said in a televised speech.
U.S. special envoy Tom Barrack announced Friday that Syria and Israel agreed to a ceasefire supported by Türkiye, Jordan and neighbors.
Barrack, both the U.S. ambassador to Turkey and the Syrian envoy to Washington, urged Druze, Bedouins and Sunnis to lay down their weapons and establish a new Syrian identity with other ethnic minorities. ”
Israel has attacked Syria’s military facilities and weapons within seven months since Sharaa’s troops overthrew President Bashar al-Assad and said it hopes it will continue to be non-military in southern Syria near its borders.
On Friday, Israeli officials said Israel agreed to allow Syrian forces to enter the Sweida area for a limited amount of time in the next two days.
