Syria begins withdrawing troops from Sweida after deadly clashes, Israeli strikes
Clashes in Druze heartland have left over 300 people dead and prompted a wave of Israeli strikes on Syria’s capital
Syria announced that its army had begun to withdraw from violence-hit Sweida on Wednesday, following a wave of Israeli strikes on the capital and a US call for government forces to leave the majority-Druze southern city.
The United States, which is close allies with Israel and has been trying to reboot its relationship with Syria, said an agreement had been reached to restore calm in the area, and urged “all parties to deliver on the commitments they have made”.
The Syrian government earlier announced a new ceasefire in Sweida that would bring a halt to military operations there, after clashes that a war monitor said had left more than 300 people dead since Sunday.
The Syrian army “has begun withdrawing from the city of Sweida in implementation of the terms of the adopted agreement, after the end of the sweep of the city for outlaw groups”, a defence ministry statement said.
The statement did not mention any withdrawal of other government security forces, which had deployed to the city on Tuesday with the stated aim of overseeing a previous truce agreed on with Druze community leaders following days of deadly fighting with local Bedouin tribes.