US brokers Syria-Israel ceasefire deal as troops move into Druze-majority province amid violence
Damascus, Syria - Syrian interior ministry forces began deploying in Sweida on Saturday under a US-brokered deal intended to avert further Israeli intervention in the Druze-majority province.
Israel had bombed defense ministry forces in both Sweida and Damascus earlier this week to force their withdrawal after they were accused of summary executions and other abuses against Druze civilians during their brief deployment in the southern province.
More than 700 people have been killed in Sweida since Sunday as sectarian clashes between the Druze and Sunni Bedouin drew in the Islamist-led government, Israel, and armed tribes from other parts of Syria.
After the fall of Bashar Al-Assad regime last year, Israel has bombed and invaded Syrian territory with impunity. It continues to illegally occupy the Golan Heights and presents itself as a protector of the area's Druze population.
The office of interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa announced an "immediate ceasefire" in Sweida which it called on "all parties to fully respect."
But AFP correspondents in and around the city reported gunfire and sporadic rocket fire and explosions as Druze fighters battled armed Bedouin who had seized some neighborhoods on Friday with the support of volunteers from other parts of Syria.
The Observatory, a Britain-based war monitor, said the armed volunteers had been deployed with the support of the government although an AFP journalist said security personnel were manning checkpoints on Saturday to prevent further reinforcements getting through.
One armed tribesman told AFP he had come to fight against the Druze clergy and their "pig followers."
"Today we came to their homes and we will slaughter them in their homes," he said.
Trump administration envoy calls for all parties to "put down their weapons"
The deal between the Syrian government and Israel was announced by Washington early on Saturday Damascus time.
The US pointman on Syria, Tom Barrack, said interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu "have agreed to a ceasefire" negotiated by the US.
Barrack, who is US ambassador to Ankara, said the deal had the backing of Turkey, a key supporter of Sharaa, as well as neighboring Jordan.
"We call upon Druze, Bedouins, and Sunnis to put down their weapons and together with other minorities build a new and united Syrian identity in peace and prosperity with its neighbors," he wrote on X.
President Donald Trump's administration, which has sided with Turkey and Saudi Arabia in forging ties with the Islamist president despite his past links with Al-Qaeda, was critical of Israeli air strikes on Syria earlier this week.
Sharaa followed up on the US announcement with a televised speech in which he renewed his pledge to protect Syria's ethnic and religious minorities.
"The Syrian state is committed to protecting all minorities and communities in the country... We condemn all crimes committed" in Sweida, he said.
The president paid tribute to the "important role played by the United States, which again showed its support for Syria in these difficult circumstances and its concern for the country's stability".
Cover photo: REUTERS