Syria’s armed Bedouins say they have withdrawn from Druze-majority city after weeklong fighting

After being re-deployed to stop the resumption of fighting on Thursday, government soldiers withdrew once more.

While still being skeptical of the militias, interim president Ahmad al-Sharaa, who had more sympathy for the Bedouins, had attempted to win over the Druze population. He subsequently called on the Bedouins to vacate the city, stating that they are unable to take the position of the state in managing national matters and reestablishing security.

In a speech aired on Saturday, he added, “We commend the Bedouins for their valiant actions, but we insist that they fully commit to the ceasefire and follow the directives of the state.”

With aid convoys supposedly on their way, the Bedouins’ evacuation brought a cautious quiet to the region. After the war left the province with power outages and shortages, the Syrian Red Crescent said on Sunday that they are bringing 32 trucks to Sweida with food, medication, water, fuel, and other supplies. The Health Ministry is also sending a convoy of trucks, according to Syrian state agency SANA.

The conflicts and atrocities, according to Tom Barrack, Washington’s special envoy to Syria, eclipsed an early cautious optimism about the post-war transition of the nation and the international community’s easing of sanctions.

Barrack stated on X that all factions must immediately put down their weapons, stop fighting, and give up cycles of tribal retaliation. Syria is at a turning point, and peace and communication must win out right away.

Bedouin fighters and government forces carried out a series of targeted attacks in the city, killing dozens of Druze people. In what is perceived as an affront to culture and tradition, videos also appeared online showing soldiers shave the mustaches of elderly Druze and destroying portraits of prominent Druze religious figures and officials in their houses. Families were forced to evacuate to the adjacent province of Daraa as a result of Druze militiamen attacking Bedouin-majority regions on the province’s periphery.

Syria is home to more than half of the approximately one million Druze people globally. The majority of the other Druze reside in Israel and Lebanon, including the Golan Heights, which Israel annexed in 1981 after capturing them from Syria during the 1967 Mideast War.

The collapse of the Assad family, which put an end to decades of oppressive rule, was widely applauded by Syria’s Druze. Many wanted to handle things delicately, even if they were worried about Al-Sharaa’s de facto Islamist government. However, a rising number of Druze in the region are becoming less confident in peaceful coexistence and increasingly distrustful of Damascus’ new leadership as a result of the recent clashes.

From Beirut, Chehayeb provided a report.

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