Illustrative image. (Syrian Arab News Agency)
Tribal forces loyal to Syria’s Islamist-led government stormed the Druze-majority city of al-Suwayda on July 19 morning, just hours after the United States said that it had brokered a ceasefire agreement in the southern government involving Israel which has been backing Druze fighters.
The forces entered the city from the western and northern directions. Activists in al-Suwayda reported that the forces were setting buildings on fire and capturing or killing any Druze civilian they encountered. Videos posted to social networks seemed to confirm these claims.
Meanwhile, government security forces were reportedly approaching the city. The forces entered the towns of Mazra’a and Walgha just a few kilometers to the north.
A spokesman for the Interior Ministry said that security forces will be deployed inside the city to de-conflict under the agreement brokered by the U.S. However, a statement by the spiritual leadership of Druze stated that the said forces should deploy only on the administrative border of the governorate.
As the battle was raging in al-Suwayda, Syria’s interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa renewed his pledge to protect minorities.
“The Syrian state is committed to protecting all minorities and communities in the country… We condemn all crimes committed” in Sweida, Sharaa said in a televised speech, shortly after his office announced an “immediate ceasefire” in the southern province.
The pledge was dismissed by Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar who said that it was “very dangerous” to be a minority in Syria.
“Bottom line: In al-Shara’s Syria, it is very dangerous to be a member of a minority — Kurd, Druze, Alawite or Christian,” the minister posted on X.
“This has been proven time and again over the past six months,” he says, adding the international community has “a duty to ensure the security and rights of the minorities in Syria and to condition Syria’s renewed acceptance into the family of nations on their protection.”
Israel backed the Druze when the conflict first broke out at the start of the week, but took a step back after the withdrawal of government forces from the governorate which provoked the intervention of the tribal forces. Some fighters of these forces are reported to be members of the Syrian military and security forces.
Druze fighters, led by the al-Suwayda Military Council, are still resisting and will not likely allow security forces to enter the city. An intervention by Israel is not guaranteed, however.
Before the ceasefire was announced by the U.S. late on July 18, Israel said it would grant Syrian government forces a brief window to enter al-Suwayda and end clashes there.
According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a London-based monitoring group, the battle in al-Suwayda has so far claimed the lives of at least 940 people, including 182 Druze civilians who were executed by government forces. The real death toll is likely much higher.
All in all, there is no real ceasefire in al-Suwayda. The government is clearly taking advantage of the agreement announced by the U.S. to occupy the entire governorate using the tribal forces as a proxy.
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