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The United States brokered a ceasefire between Syria and Israel after days of clashes in the predominantly Druze governorate of al-Suwayda.
The battle in the southern governorate broke out at the start of the week with limited clashes between Druze fighters and Sunni bedouins. Syria’s Islamist-led government sided with the Bedouins and launched a large-scale attack on the governorate, but Israel sided with the Druze, whom it promised to protect after the fall of the Assad regime last year, and forced government forces to withdraw.
The battle reignited after the withdrawal with Syrian tribes announcing a general mobilization to fight the Druze. Their attack was, however, halted by the Druze with no support from Israel.
U.S. Ambassador to Turkey Tom Barrack, who also serves as special envoy for Syria, wrote in a post on X late on July 18 that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, with the support of US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, agreed to a ceasefire “embraced” by Turkey, Jordan and other unidentified neighbors.
“We call upon Druze, Bedouins, and Sunnis to put down their weapons and together with other minorities build a new and united Syrian identity,” Barrack said without offering any further details about the ceasefire.
The Syrian presidency said ahead of Barrack’s announcement that the government would deploy a force in the south dedicated to ending the clashes, in coordination with political and security measures to restore stability and prevent the return of violence.
Israel had repeatedly said it would not allow Syrian troops to deploy to the country’s south, but earlier on July 18 it said it would grant them a brief window to end renewed clashes there.
“In light of the ongoing instability in southwest Syria, Israel has agreed to allow limited entry of the (Syrian) internal security forces into Sweida district for the next 48 hours,” an Israeli official was quoted by Hebrew media as saying.
The ceasefire announced by the U.S. was violated early on July 19 when a group of government-link fighters stormed al-Suwayda city and killed a number of Druze civilians. Some of the attackers, who were later expelled by Druze fighters, were reportedly members of the Syrian military.
Still, the ceasefire held on with the Syrian presidency even calling for a complete cessation of hostilities all over al-Suwayda.
Interior Ministry spokesman Noureddine al-Baba later told Syria state TV that security forces will be deployed to the governorate.
“Following the bloody events caused by outlaw groups and under direct orders from the Presidency of the Republic, the Internal Security Forces began deploying in al-Suwayda Governorate as part of a national mission whose primary goal is to protect civilians and halt chaos,” the spokesman said.
“The state, with all its political and security institutions, is continuing its efforts to restore security and stability in al-Suwayda,” he added.
It is unlikely that the ceasefire agreement will hold on as it does not resolve the root causes of the conflict in al-Suwayda. The Druze distrust government forces, which according to evidence commit a series of war crimes against members of the group when it was first deployed to al-Suwayda with at least dozens, including women and children, being executed.
The death toll from the battle of al-Suwayda has exceeded 700, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. The number will likely rise in the coming days, even if the ceasefire holds on.
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pigs of erdog
isis/hts terrorist savages are “lions”? :p lol, more like cockroaches. isis/hts erdoganists have been collaborating with israel for over 10 years now, meanwhile the druze only started a few months ago out of sheer desperation.
obama knew that erdogan needed to be killed and putin thwarted his ingenious plan.
i find it hilarious whenever i hear of u.s brokered ceasefire. 😂😂😂
the zionists like it when muslims kill each other distracting them from their common enemy. they only want the wealth of syria, they do the same with christians.