Syria on Saturday (19 July) announced an “immediate ceasefire” in Sweida amid intensifying violence between the Druze community and the Bedouin tribe in the region.
The declaration by the Syrian presidency follows an earlier announcement by the United States that Israel and Syria have agreed to halt hostilities.
This is the second ceasefire declaration in as many days — on Friday, Turkey’s US ambassador, Tom Barrack, said Syria and Israel had agreed to a truce backed by regional neighbours, including Turkey and Jordan.
Syria’s interim president, Ahmed al-Sharaa, said in a televised statement that he had “received international calls to intervene in what is happening in Sweida and restore security to the country.”
The Syrian Presidency’s statement said the ceasefire aims “to spare Syrian blood, preserve the unity of Syrian territory, and the safety of its people”. Al-Sharaa also accused Israel of fuelling the bloodshed in Sweida, claiming it had “reignited tensions”.
He extended his gratitude to the Donald Trump-led United States for its support.
In response to the escalating clashes, Syrian government forces have been redeployed to Sweida to prevent further violence. Convoys of security forces were seen along the highway between Damascus and Daraa in the south, awaiting further instructions.
“The internal security forces are gathering to enter Sweida province to prevail security and safety, and to settle the dispute between the Arab tribes and outlaws, to protect the state’s institutions and protect civilians and innocent children and to protect all sects,” said security officer Yousef Al Ahmad.
Earlier, on 17 July, Ahmed al-Sharaa had warned against external intervention, declaring it his duty to protect Syria’s minorities. “Protecting your rights is our priority, and we reject any attempt to drag you into the hands of an external party.
The Syrian state is everyone's state... and unity is Syria's weapon, and we need everyone to build the country. The Druze are part of the nation's fabric, and their protection is a priority,” al-Sharaa said.
He added, “We were faced with the choice of war with Israel or allowing Druze leaders to reach an agreement, so we chose to protect the homeland….We will not allow Syria to be dragged into new wars.”
The current clashes erupted after members of a Bedouin tribe in Sweida province reportedly set up a checkpoint where they attacked and robbed a Druze man, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based war monitor.
The incident sparked a cycle of tit-for-tat attacks and kidnappings between the Bedouin tribes and Druze armed factions.
Although government security forces were deployed to restore order, they were perceived as siding with the Bedouin tribes against the Druze, leading to military incursions into Druze strongholds and triggering Israeli airstrikes.
The Syrian government’s call for disarmament is being met with distrust by the Druze community, partly due to Ahmed al-Sharaa’s past links with al-Qaeda. Syria’s diverse religious and ethnic communities continue to express anxiety over their place in the country’s evolving power structure.
Memories of past traumas run deep in Sweida, where in 2018, the Islamic State group killed around 200 Druze and took more than two dozen hostages.
Israel’s intervention stems from its concern over militants operating near its northern border. Since the fall of the Assad regime, Israeli forces have seized control of a UN-monitored buffer zone in Syria near the Israel-annexed Golan Heights and carried out numerous airstrikes on military installations.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said Israel remains “committed to preventing harm to the Druze in Syria due to the deep brotherly alliance with our Druze citizens in Israel, and their familial and historical ties to the Druze in Syria.”
Israel had also unilaterally declared a demilitarisation zone inside Syria that “prohibits the introduction of forces and weapons into southern Syria.”
Israel, wary of extremist groups along its frontier, has maintained a confrontational stance toward al-Sharaa despite efforts by the Trump administration to broker Syrian-Israeli reconciliation and extend the Abraham Accords.
Following Assad’s downfall, Israel has occupied additional territories within Syria, further complicating an already fragile situation.
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