Bedouin tribal fighters have withdrawn from the southern Syrian city of Sweida following a newly implemented ceasefire agreement, authorities announced Saturday night.
“After intensive efforts and the deployment of internal security forces in northern and western Sweida, all tribal fighters have been evacuated, and clashes have ceased inside the city’s neighborhoods,” said Noureddin al-Baba, spokesperson for the interior authorities, in a televised statement.
The three-phase ceasefire, brokered by the United States, Türkiye, Jordan, and other regional actors, aims to halt violence that has claimed at least 940 lives since July 13.
Despite the ceasefire taking effect earlier on Saturday, fierce fighting erupted between Druze armed groups and Bedouin tribal fighters. According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), Druze fighters launched a counteroffensive late Saturday, reclaiming Sweida after hours of clashes. Withdrawing tribal forces responded with mortar attacks, causing damage and potential civilian injuries.
The Druze spiritual leadership accused Bedouin militias of violating the ceasefire and committing “crimes that shame all humanity.” They called on international guarantors to enforce the agreement and end what they described as a “campaign of terror and collective punishment” against Sweida’s residents.
The SOHR warned of a looming humanitarian catastrophe in Sweida, citing widespread infrastructure damage, medical supply shortages, and the collapse of the main hospital.
Syria’s information chief, Hamzah Mustafa, outlined the ceasefire’s three phases: deploying internal security forces to separate warring factions, opening humanitarian corridors between Sweida and the southern Daraa province, and restoring state institutions along with the gradual return of law enforcement.
“This is the path Sweida needs today after months of tension and exhaustion,” Mustafa said during a press conference. “The state remains committed to protecting all Syrians and restoring national unity.”
Raed al-Saleh, Syria’s emergency management chief, noted that 21 shelters have been established in Daraa, with 20 more underway. He also demanded the release of kidnapped civil defense official Hamzah al-Amarin to resume humanitarian operations.
The week-long clashes began after armed members of a Bedouin tribe allegedly assaulted and robbed a young Druze man near the town of al-Masmiyah, along the Damascus-Sweida highway. The incident sparked retaliatory kidnappings and escalated into full-scale clashes involving local Druze fighters, government troops, and Bedouin militias.
