TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Syria has announced that its forces have started to withdraw from Suwayda or Sweida, which was hit by violence on Wednesday night. As reported by CNA and Al Arabiya, this move follows a wave of Israeli attacks in the capital Damascus and the US call for government forces to leave the predominantly Druze populated southern city.
The US, a close ally of Israel and has been seeking to restore its relationship with Syria, said that an agreement has been reached to restore calm in the region. Washington urged "all parties to fulfill the commitments they have made".
The Syrian government had earlier announced a new ceasefire in Sweida that would halt military operations there, following clashes that according to war monitors have killed more than 350 people since Sunday.
"The Syria army has started to withdraw from the city of Sweida as an implementation of the provisions of the adopted agreement, after the end of the operation to raid the city to search for outlawed groups," the Defense Ministry statement said.
The statement did not mention the withdrawal of other government security forces, which had been deployed to the city on Tuesday to oversee an earlier ceasefire. This ceasefire was agreed with Druze community leaders after several days of deadly battles with local Bedouin tribes.
The ceasefire appears to have had little impact, with eyewitnesses reporting that government forces joined the Bedouin Tribe in attacking Druze fighters and civilian residents in the bloody turmoil in the city.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor said that violence in Sweida Province has killed more than 350 people, including government forces, local fighters, and 27 Druze civilian victims who were killed in "summary executions".
The Syrian presidency pledged to investigate the "heinous acts" in Sweida and punish "all those proven to be involved".
ISRAELI STRIKES ON DAMASCUS
Israel, which has its own Druze community, has presented itself as a defender of the group. However, some analysts have said it is just a pretext to pursue its own military objectives, to keep Syrian government forces as far away as possible from their shared borders.
After the fall of long-time Syrian ruler Bashar al-Assad in December, the Israeli military took over the UN-monitored demilitarized zone in the Golan Heights and launched hundreds of attacks on military targets in Syria.
After carrying out air strikes in the Sweida province earlier this week in what it called a defense of the Druze, Israel launched a series of attacks on the capital Damascus on Wednesday.
Side buildings in the defense ministry complex were destroyed after one strike, while smoke billowed over the area.
Israel said it also targeted "military targets" in the area of the presidential palace, while a Syrian Interior Ministry source reported strikes outside the capital, at "around the Mazzeh (military) airport".
Israeli Defense Minister, Israel Katz, urged Damascus to "leave the Druze alone in Sweida", and threatened to deliver a "harsh blow" until government forces withdraw.
The Syrian Foreign Ministry condemned the strikes as a "dangerous escalation", while an Israeli military commander emphasized that his forces were "acting with responsibility, self-restraint, and careful consideration".
The Syrian Health Ministry said at least three people were killed and 34 were injured in the attacks in Damascus.
SWEIDA OPERATIONS HALT
Announcing a new ceasefire on Wednesday, the Syrian Interior Ministry said there would be a "total and immediate halt to all military operations", and the formation of a committee consisting of government representatives and Druze spiritual leaders to oversee its implementation.
However, gunfire was still heard in the city of Sweida even after the announcement.
In a video broadcast on state television, Sheikh Youssef Jarboua, one of Syria's top Druze spiritual leaders, read out 10 points of agreement, which also included the "full integration of the Sweida province" into the Syrian state.
So far, Druze territory has been under the control of fighters from the minority community.
This latest battle is the most serious outbreak of violence in Syria since government forces fought Druze fighters in the Sweida province and near Damascus in April and May, resulting in more than 100 deaths.
Clashes between the Bedouin and Druze, which initially triggered the government force mobilization, were sparked by the kidnapping of a Druze vegetable trader, according to the Observatory. The two groups have been at odds for decades.
The Syrian authorities have had strained relations with various ethnic and religious minority groups in Syria and have been repeatedly accused of not making adequate efforts to protect them.
US Foreign Minister Marco Rubio expressed his concerns on Wednesday about the Israeli bombings, adding "we want this to stop".
A spokesperson for the State Department said Washington also called on Syria to "withdraw its military forces so that all parties can ease the tensions".
Rubio later stated X that all parties had "agreed on specific steps to end this distressing and horrific situation".
"This will require all parties to fulfill the commitments they have made and this is what we fully expect from them," he wrote, without further detailing the nature of the agreement.
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