Bedouin fighters leave Syrian Druze-majority city of Sweida after deadly clashes
Withdrawal follows fighting and a US-brokered agreement, with humanitarian aid now entering the southern province
Syria’s armed Bedouin clans announced on Sunday they had withdrawn from the Druze-majority city of Sweida following weeklong clashes and a US-brokered ceasefire, as humanitarian aid convoys started to enter the battered southern city.
The clashes also led to a series of targeted sectarian attacks against the Druze community, followed by revenge attacks against the Bedouin.
A series of tit-for-tat kidnappings sparked the clashes in various towns and villages in the province, which later spread to Sweida city, the provincial capital. Government forces were redeployed to halt renewed fighting that erupted before withdrawing again.
Interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa, who has been perceived as more sympathetic to the Bedouin, had tried to appeal to the Druze community while remaining critical of the militias. He later urged the Bedouin to leave the city, saying that they “cannot replace the role of the state in handling the country’s affairs and restoring security”.