Syria sees ‘cautious calm’ in Suweida after deadly clashes

A “cautious calm” has returned to the Syrian city of Suweida after a week of deadly tribal clashes between Druze fighters, Bedouin gunmen and government forces, a UK-based monitoring group has said.

Residents reported that fighting stopped on Sunday as Syria’s Islamist-led government declared the Bedouins had withdrawn from the predominantly Druze city “after days of bloody battles and chaos”, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) said.

It followed a ceasefire announced by Syria’s president on Saturday, which did not quell fighting straight away.

More than 1,000 people have been killed in the clashes and there is now a severe shortage of medical supplies in the city, the SOHR added.

At least 128,000 people have been displaced by the violence, the United Nations migration agency said on Sunday.

“Activists have reported that Suweida has been experiencing a cautious calm since the early hours of Sunday morning,” the SOHR said.

“Meanwhile, the Syrian government security forces closed roads leading to Suweida to tribes, using soil barriers to prevent vehicles from crossing, except for ambulances, in a move to contain tensions.”

The SOHR added that the city remains under the control of local Druze fighters, while tribal gunmen have withdrawn from several areas within the province.

Long-running tensions between Druze and Bedouin tribes erupted into deadly sectarian clashes a week ago, after the abduction of a Druze merchant on the road to the capital Damascus.

Interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa’s government responded by deploying forces to the city.

Both Druze and Bedouin fighters have been accused of atrocities over the past seven days, as well as members of the security forces and individuals affiliated with the interim government.

On Saturday, al-Sharaa announced a ceasefire and sent security forces to Suweida to end the fighting.

It has been reported that Druze fighters pushed Bedouin gunmen out of the city on Saturday evening – but violence continued in other parts of the province. This has not been verified by the BBC.

On Sunday morning, fighting could not be heard, AFP correspondents near Suweida reported.

Meanwhile, the SOHR warned that the humanitarian situation in the city was worsening, pointing to a “severe shortage” of basic medical supplies.

An unnamed resident said that aid was needed immediately, telling the Reuters news agency: “The smell of corpses is spread throughout the national hospital.”

Kenan Azzam, a local dentist speaking as the city was gripped by what he called a “tense calm”, said the hospitals were “a disaster and out of service”.

A Suweida medic told AFP that “no relief or medical assistance” had entered the city before Sunday.