SWEIDA: Calm has returned to southern Syria’s Sweida province following a week of sectarian violence that left more than 1,000 dead, according to monitors and AFP correspondents.
A ceasefire announced on Saturday appeared to hold, with no clashes reported on Sunday morning.
Government forces were deployed to enforce the truce, while the first humanitarian aid convoy entered the city under coordination with local Druze authorities.
However, the Syrian government claimed a Druze group blocked its own aid convoy from entering.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights confirmed a “cautious calm” since midnight, with roads blocked to prevent tribal fighters from entering.
The updated death toll included 336 Druze fighters, 298 civilians, 342 government personnel, and 21 Sunni Bedouin.
Witnesses and Druze factions accused government forces of siding with Bedouin groups and committing abuses, including summary executions. A doctor in Sweida described the city as “totally calm” for the first time in a week.
Interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa pledged to protect minorities after renewed sectarian violence, while the UN reported over 128,000 displaced.
US envoy Tom Barrack urged an immediate end to hostilities, warning that continued violence undermines stability.
Israel, which bombed government positions earlier, claimed its actions were in defence of the Druze community.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio called for justice for atrocities committed during the clashes. - AFP
