Syria’s Interior Ministry denies reports that government forces are being redeployed to Suwayda amid renewed fighting.
Heavy fighting has flared up again between the Druze and Bedouin tribes in the restive southern Syrian province of Suwayda, as another ceasefire has collapsed a day after Syrian troops pulled out of the area.
The resumption of clashes on Friday came as the Syrian Ministry of Interior denied reports that government forces are being redeployed to the Druze-majority governorate.
“We confirm that no official statement has been issued in this regard, and we categorically deny the veracity of what was published,” state media quoted spokesperson Noureddine al-Baba as saying.
The spokesperson said government forces were in a normal state of readiness, and there had been no deployment to Suwayda so far.
This comes after an Israeli official, who declined to be named, told reporters that “in light of the ongoing instability in southwest Syria, Israel has agreed to allow limited entry of the [Syrian] internal security forces into Suwayda district for the next 48 hours”.
Israel, which on Wednesday carried out heavy air attacks on Suwayda and the Syrian capital, had previously warned Damascus to withdraw from the south. The government condemned the Israeli attacks as a violation of Syrian sovereignty and an attempt to sow division and chaos in the country.
Separately, footage published online and verified by media documented the sound of clashes between Bedouin tribes and Druze fighters in rural Suwayda earlier on Friday. Other verified clips also showed the arrival of reinforcements to support the tribesmen spread throughout the area.
Earlier, a video showed Bedouin tribal leader Abdul Moneim al-Naseef, surrounded by armed tribesmen, issuing a call “to the tribes in all Syrian provinces to head immediately to Suwayda to save our people from massacres and ethnic cleansing”.
The latest reports of violence come despite a ceasefire agreed on Wednesday and the pulling out of government forces from Suwayda, after days of deadly clashes involving local armed groups as well as government forces.
The Syrian Network for Human Rights, a group that documents human rights violations, said 321 people have been killed in and around Suwayda since Sunday.
Raed al-Saleh, Syria’s minister of disaster management and emergency response, said hundreds of families have been evacuated from Suwayda after calls for help from citizens caught up in the violence. More than 570 wounded are being treated, and the bodies of 87 victims have been recovered, he said.
Hundreds of families evacuated
The conflict drew air attacks against Syrian forces by Israel, which claimed its attacks aimed to protect the Druze community in Suwayda. Most of the fighting was halted by the truce announced on Wednesday. Under that agreement, Druze factions and scholars would be left to maintain internal security in Suwayda, Syria’s interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa said on Thursday.
“It is an old fault line between Bedouin tribes and some Druze factions, and there have been bouts of violence since the fall of the regime … But this time around, it is a different situation because Bedouin tribes are calling for the state’s intervention,” Khodr said.
“The big question is what will Israel do,” she added, noting that Tel Aviv has previously said it would not allow the presence of Syrian government forces in the south.
However, Labib al-Nahhas, a Syrian political analyst, said Israel may now agree to allow local security forces to enter Suwayda for 48 hours to prevent more violence between the Bedouins and the Druze, as more Bedouin tribes are expected to join the fighting in the south.
“[Israel’s] allies are under threat, so they need to intervene and the middle ground solution … is to allow in security forces – not the [Syrian] army, security forces – for a limited period of time to prevent clashes between the Bedouins and the Druze,” he told media.
Meanwhile, the United Nations Human Rights Office on Friday said credible reports indicate widespread rights violations have been committed by all factions fighting in Suwayda, including summary executions, arbitrary killings, kidnappings, destruction and looting of homes.
Among the reported perpetrators were members of the security forces, government-affiliated elements, as well as Druze and Bedouins, it added.
“This bloodshed and the violence must stop, and the protection of all people must be the utmost priority, in line with international human rights law,” UN rights chief Volker Turk said.
The UN refugee agency added it is “very concerned” about the effect of hostilities in Suwayda on its aid operations.
“It is very difficult for us to operate there … at the moment, our capacity to deliver aid is very limited. We are calling on all parties to allow humanitarian access,” spokesperson William Spindler told reporters in Geneva on Friday.
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