Syrian government forces are preparing to return to a southern region after renewed clashes broke out between Druze armed groups and members of Bedouin clans, leaving tens of thousands of people displaced in a worsening humanitarian crisis.
The government forces had withdrawn from the province of Sweida following a ceasefire agreement announced on Wednesday that halted much of the violence that plagued the area earlier in the week, but which ultimately did not stop the fighting.
Officials were negotiating with Druze factions on an agreement to re-enter the area to impose stability and protect state institutions, according to two Syrian officials. They said an agreement was reached, but later said the deployment was delayed, without giving an explanation.
Tens of thousands of people remained displaced by the violence and the United Nations has been unable to bring in much-needed humanitarian and medical aid because of ongoing clashes.
Clashes began on Sunday between Druze militias and local Sunni Muslim Bedouin tribes. Government forces intervened, nominally to restore order, but ended up taking the Bedouins’ side against the Druze. Israel later in the week launched air strikes against Syrian forces in defence of the Druze.
The fighting killed hundreds of people over four days, with allegations that government-affiliated fighters executed Druze civilians and looted and burned homes.
Israel launched dozens of air strikes on convoys of government fighters and even struck the Syrian Defence Ministry headquarters in central Damascus. The Druze form a substantial community in Israel, where they are seen as a loyal minority and often serve in the Israeli military.
A truce mediated by the US, Turkey and Arab countries was announced on Wednesday. Under the accord, Druze factions and clerics were to maintain the internal security in Sweida as government forces pulled out, Syria’s interim president Ahmad al-Sharaa said on Thursday.
By late Thursday clashes were flaring again between the Druze and Bedouin groups in parts of Sweida. State media reported Druze militias carried out revenge attacks against Bedouin communities, leading to a new wave of displacement.
The governor of the neighbouring province of Daraa said in a statement that more than 1,000 families had been displaced to the area from Sweida as a result of “attacks on Bedouin tribes by outlaw groups”.
The UN’s migration agency said on Friday that nearly 80,000 people had been displaced altogether since clashes started on Sunday.
It also noted that essential services, including water and electricity, have collapsed in Sweida, telecommunications systems are widely disrupted, and health facilities in Sweida and Daraa are under severe strain.
Bedouin groups and supporters arrived on Friday from other areas of Syria to join the fight. On the outskirts of Sweida, groups of them gathered in front of buildings that had been set ablaze.
In Israel, members of the Druze community had called for intervention to protect the Druze in Syria. But elsewhere in the region, Druze leaders have rejected Israeli intervention.
The spiritual leader of the Druze community in Lebanon, Sheikh Sami Abi al-Muna, said on Friday at a gathering of Druze officials in Beirut that sectarian clashes in Syria “give an excuse for Israeli intervention and for blowing up the situation in the region”.
“We do not accept to request protection from Israel, which we believe is harmful to our history and identity,” he said.
