ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The Damascus-affiliated forces on Tuesday entered the Druze city of Suwayda following days of nascent violence between the community and Bedouin groups. The defense minister announced a ceasefire following a deal with the Druze notables.
“To all units operating inside the city of Suwayda; we announce a complete ceasefire after the agreement with the city's dignitaries and notables, with response only to sources of fire and dealing with any targeting by outlaw groups,” Defence Minister Murhaf Abu Qasra said in a statement.
This came after security forces affiliated with the interim government entered the southern city of Suwayda to curb the deadly violence between Druze community and Bedouins - which has claimed the lives of around 100 people so far.
The minister added that they have deployed forces to the city “to regulate military behavior and hold violators accountable.”
Earlier in the day, Sheikh Hikmat al-Hajari, spiritual leader of Syria’s Druze minority, said in a statement that the community is facing “extermination” and that a statement welcoming Damascus-affiliated forces into Suwayda was issued under pressure in order to stop further bloodshed.
“The statement we issued a short while ago with its complete details was imposed upon us from Damascus and pressure from foreign countries for the sake of [sparing the spilling of] our son’s blood,” he said in a video message. He added that despite accepting to publish the “humiliating statement… they broke their pact and promise, and the random shelling of defenseless civilians continued.”
Fighting between Druze and Bedouin groups over the past two days in Suwayda province has triggered concern from the United Nations and Kurdish-led authorities in northeast Syria (Rojava).
According to the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), at least 99 people have been killed - 60 of them Druze, including two women and two children, as well as 18 Bedouins. The toll also includes 14 members of Syria’s defense ministry and seven unidentified fighters.
Hajari called on the global community to intervene. “We appeal to you, people of nobility, from everywhere and from all countries, old and young, men and women, to confront this barbaric campaign with all available means,” he said.
Earlier, the Druze leadership had issued a statement calling on fighters in Suwayda to cooperate with incoming regime forces and stop clashes to protect civilians and state institutions. The statement welcomed the deployment of forces from Syria’s interior and defense ministries and urged a ceasefire until a civilian safety agreement is reached.
Hajari said the statement followed “numerous negotiations with Damascus that yielded no results.”
On Monday, Israeli army spokesperson Avichay Adraee said Israeli forces had targeted tanks moving toward Suwayda “to impede their arrival,” warning that their presence could pose a threat to Israel. “We will not allow a military threat to exist in southern Syria,” he said.
Israel has repeatedly emphasized its commitment to the Druze community in Syria and has acted to prevent the buildup of hostile military forces near its border.
However, Damascus’s entry into the southern province comes as a Syrian diplomatic source told AFP that a Syrian and an Israeli official held a meeting in Baku on Saturday during interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa’s visit to Azerbaijan.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz said in a joint statement that they had “instructed the IDF to immediately strike regime forces and weapons that were brought into the Sweida region in the Druze Mountain area of Syria for regime operations against the Druze.”
They also expressed their commitment to “preventing harm to the Druze in Syria due to the deep bond of brotherhood with our Druze citizens in Israel and their familial and historical ties to the Druze in Syria. We are acting to prevent the Syrian regime from harming them and to ensure the continued demilitarization of the area adjacent to our border with Syria.”
This is not the first time the new authorities in Syria attempt to enter the province. In late December, the now-dissolved Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) - which formed into the new government - were denied access to Syria’s southern Suwayda province after local Druze militias demanded they turn back.
Hajari, who has been an outspoken critic of the current government, previously rejected Syria’s new constitutional declaration introduced in March, calling it a “declaration of tyranny” and warning it threatens the country’s ethnic and sectarian makeup.
The constitution, signed by Sharaa and introduced by Syria’s Islamist-led interim government, prioritizes Islamic jurisprudence as a legislative foundation - drawing opposition from Christian, Alawite, Kurdish, and Druze communities.
This also marks the second bout of violence in Suwayda this year. In April and May, sectarian tensions erupted after an offensive audio recording allegedly from a Druze cleric circulated online, sparking clashes that left more than 100 people dead, according to SOHR.
Hajari in April also denied making any political agreements with Damascus, calling the current government “extremist in every sense of the word.”
