Syria’s armed Bedouin clans have announced their withdrawal from the Druze-majority city of Sweida following weeklong clashes and a U.S.-brokered ceasefire. The clashes between Druze militias and Sunni Muslim clans killed hundreds and threatened to unravel Syria’s fragile postwar transition. Israel launched dozens of airstrikes in the Druze-majority Sweida province, targeting government forces who had effectively sided with the Bedouins. The clashes also led to targeted sectarian attacks against the Druze community, followed by revenge attacks against the Bedouins. 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 Thursday, before withdrawing again.
Interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa, perceived as more sympathetic to the Bedouins, had tried to appeal to the Druze community while remaining critical of the militias. He later urged the Bedouins to leave the city, saying that they “cannot replace the role of the state in handling the country’s affairs and restoring security.” The Bedouins’ withdrawal brought a cautious calm to the area, with humanitarian convoys on their way. Syria’s state news agency SANA reported that the convoy entered Sweida on Sunday, but accused al-Hijri and his armed Druze supporters of turning back a government delegation that accompanied another convoy.
More than half of the roughly 1 million Druze worldwide live in Syria, with most of the other Druze living in Lebanon and Israel, including in the Golan Heights. The recent clashes and sectarian attacks on the minority community have made a growing number of Druze in the area more skeptical about Damascus’ new leadership and more doubtful of peaceful coexistence.
