Syrian gov’t withdraws its forces from Druze areas after 350 dead & heavy Israeli strikes on Damascus

After over 350 people were killed in the days-long fighting in southern Syria’s Suwayda province, the Syrian regime started withdrawing its forces on Wednesday evening after escalating Israeli strikes and intense diplomatic efforts and mediation by the U.S.

According to Syria’s interior ministry, a ceasefire agreement reached with the Druze leadership called for a “total and immediate halt to all military operations,” as well as the formation of a committee of government officials and Druze to supervise its implementation.

The defense ministry later confirmed it had “begun withdrawing from the city of Suwayda in implementation of the terms of the adopted agreement after the end of the sweep of the city for outlaw groups.”

Despite the government’s claims that its forces were sent to impose order, reports by Druze in Suwayda indicated they had joined the fighting on the side of Bedouin tribes, attacking Druze-populated areas and committing atrocities.

In a televised speech on Wednesday evening, President Ahmad al-Sharaa accused Israel of trying to foment instability in Syria through its airstrikes and blamed the unrest on “lawless groups” while promising to protect the rights of the Druze community.

According to statistics by the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which is widely cited but not always reliable, over 350 people have died in the clashes since Sunday.

This is said to include 79 Druze fighters and 55 civilians, about half of whom were murdered in summary executions by government forces. The rest were government-affiliated fighters and Bedouin tribesmen.

The observatory is based in the UK and relies on local reports that can’t be immediately verified.

According to Ayman Shib Al Deen, a Druze lawyer who talked to the Wall Street Journal, at least 150 people were killed and around 300 wounded. He counted deaths by visiting hospital morgues, indicating his numbers will continue to climb as more bodies will be brought to the morgues after the end of the fighting.

Israel quickly declared its support of the Druze community in Syria and conducted hundreds of airstrikes in Suwayda and Damascus to deter the regime.

According to the SOHR, 15 regime troops were killed in the Israeli strikes in the area of Suwayda, while attacks on military headquarters in Damascus killed one person and wounded another 18.

President al-Sharaa, who until now had avoided openly attacking Israel and had participated in negotiations over a security agreement, slammed Israel for its strikes in his speech on Wednesday.

“The Israeli entity… is now once again seeking to turn our pure land into a stage of endless anarchy… to fragment the unity of our people and weaken our capabilities to advance in the process of rebuilding,” he said.

However, he also signaled that he isn’t interested in a military confrontation with Israel, saying Syria will “not give them the opportunity to entangle our people in a war.”

Al-Sharaa continued by adressing “our Druze brothers, who are an authentic part of the mosaic of this homeland.”

“We emphasize to you that protecting your rights and freedoms is a top priority for us, and we oppose any attempt to drag you into external influences or create division within our ranks.”

He characterized the clashes as “a domestic conflict between armed groups from Suwayda and other groups in surrounding areas due to prior disputes,” adding that “lawless groups sowed destruction, anarchy, and fraternal wars.”

According to him, the situation was only defused by “the active intervention of American-Arab-Turkish mediation that saved the region from an unknown fate.”

The Druze community of Suwayda does not have a unified leadership.

Sheikh Youssef Jarboua, who has advocated an arrangement with the new regime in Damascus, read out 10 points of the ceasefire agreement on television, saying it also included the eventual “full integration of the province” of Suwayda into the Syrian state.

He also said that a joint committee of Druze leaders and the regime would be established to investigate the “crimes and legal violations” that occurred in recent days.

However, the Men of Dignity (Rijal al-Karameh) movement, one of the two largest Druze militias, said Wednesday that “any agreement that does not include the full withdrawal of the invading forces… will be totally unacceptable,” vowing to keep fighting until “the invaders withdraw from all the villages and towns that they have desecrated.”

The ceasefire was also rejected by Sheikh Hikmat al-Hijri, who is in contact with the Druze leadership in Israel and is seen as advocating Israeli support.

“There cannot be an accord or negotiations with these armed groups that call themselves a government,” he said in a statement.

Nevertheless, reports on Thursday morning indicated that the government troops had fully withdrawn from Suwayda and that fighting had ended.