Fighting renewed on Friday in the southern Syrian city of Sweida despite a ceasefire that was announced earlier, amid Israeli strikes and incursions into the Syrian territory.
Local sources reported clashes between Druze groups and Bedouin tribes who are allied with the new authorities in Syria. Medium weapons and rockets were employed in the clashes that erupted in the city and the nearby towns, according to the sources.
Medical and local sources put the death toll of clashes that erupted several day ago at 600, including at least 275 members of the Syrian security forces and allied armed factions.
Interior ministry belonging to the new authorities in Damascus, led by Ahmad Al-Sharaa, said on Friday that security forces were preparing to redeploy to Sweida, just a little over a day after they withdrew from the area.
The announcement came after the Syrian presidency accused Druze fighters of violating the ceasefire that had led to the withdrawal of government forces.
In a statement, the presidency accuses “outlaw forces” — the term the government uses to refer to Druze fighters in Sweida — of violating the agreement by engaging in “horrific violence” against civilians including “crimes that completely contravene the obligations of mediation, directly threaten civil peace, and push towards chaos and security collapse.”
The presidency also warned against “continued blatant Israeli interference in Syria’s internal affairs, which only leads to further chaos and destruction and further complicates the regional situation.”
Israeli Strikes, Incursions
Meanwhile, Syrian state media reported Israeli strikes near Sweida.
SANA said “Israeli occupation aircraft carried out a raid on the outskirts of Sweida city.”
It is likely that the strike targeted positions belonging to Bedouin tribes allied with Syrian security forces, local sources reported.
Other strikes also targeted tribes in the central city of Homs, according to the sources.
The Zionist air raids on Syria were accompanied by the enemy’s daily incursions into the Syrian territory.
The so-called Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported a sudden Israeli incursion into the Druze-majority town of Qalaat Jandal in the Damascus countryside, 35 kilometers from the capital.
Local sources also reported that Israeli occupation forces had reached the town of Qatna, some 10 kilometers from Damascus.
The Syrian army had entered Sweida earlier this week amid fighting between Druze and Bedouin tribes, which reportedly began after Bedouin gunmen assaulted a Druze vegetable vendor on Sunday.
However, witnesses reported that the government forces joined with the Bedouin in attacking Druze fighters and civilians in a bloody rampage through the city.