The Syrian Ministry of Defence has announced a ceasefire in the Druze-majority city of Suwayda, saying an agreement has been reached with the city’s “notables and dignitaries” after days of deadly clashes with Bedouin tribes.
“To all units operating within the city of Suwayda, we declare a complete ceasefire,” Defence Minister Murhaf Abu Qasra posted on X on Tuesday, shortly after the ministry deployed government forces to halt the violence that killed dozens since Friday.
A curfew was also imposed on the city following the violence, which spread across the Suwayda governorate, killing at least 166 people, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor.
The monitor accused Syrian government forces and allied groups of killing 19 Druze civilians in “field executions” around Suwayda, including 12 shot dead at a guest house.
Bedouin and Druze factions have a longstanding feud in Suwayda, with violence occasionally erupting.
Meanwhile, Israel launched air attacks on Suwayda on Tuesday after Syrian government forces entered the Druze city. Israel had pledged to protect Syria’s Druze minority, which it sees as potential allies.
Syria holds Israel responsible for internal unrest
Damascus said it holds Israel “fully responsible” for a new round of attacks on its southern territory, warning of consequences following deadly air strikes in Suwayda and Deraa.
In a statement on Tuesday, Syria’s foreign ministry reaffirmed its commitment to protecting all citizens, including the Druze minority, amid growing tensions in the southwest.
The US Syria envoy Tom Barrack said the United States was in contact with all sides “to navigate towards calm and integration”.
Israeli forces launched air raids on Syrian military positions for a second consecutive day, claiming the attacks were intended to keep the border area demilitarised and to shield the Druze community.
Israel also acknowledged that dozens of its citizens had crossed into Syria from Majdal Shams, a Druze town in the occupied Golan Heights. Israeli military officials said they were working to bring them back safely, though it remains unclear how they crossed one of the region’s most fortified borders unnoticed.
The Druze spiritual leadership had earlier resisted any deployment of Syrian troops in the southern city, but then urged Druze fighters to lay down their arms and allow government forces in.
On Tuesday afternoon, however, Druze political leadership changed course, with Sheikh Hikmat al-Hajri, who has been strongly opposed to the new leadership in Damascus, saying Syrian troops had breached any arrangements by continuing to fire on residents.
“We are being subject to a total war of extermination,” he said in a recorded video statement, calling on all Druze “to confront this barbaric campaign with all means available”.
Earlier on Tuesday, Syrian military columns were seen advancing towards Suwayda, with heavy artillery deployed nearby. The Defence Ministry later said they had entered the city, and urged people to “stay home and report any movements of outlaw groups”.
It was the first time government forces were deployed to Suwayda since the overthrow of longtime Syrian ruler Bashar al-Assad in December and the formation of an interim government under President Ahmed al-Sharaa.
Saudi Arabia condemns Israel ‘aggression’
The Druze religious sect is a minority group that originated as a 10th-century offshoot of a branch of Shia Islam. In Syria, the 700,000-strong community primarily resides in the southern Suwayda province and some suburbs of Damascus, mainly in Jaramana and Ashrafiyat Sahnaya to the south.
Al Jazeera’s Osama Bin Javaid, reporting from Deir Az Azor in Syria, said fighting in the city had been ongoing since Friday.
“It escalated and more than two dozen people were killed. The government sent its reinforcements and then there was an ambush of the government troops as well, where at least 18 soldiers we believe were either killed or wounded,” he said.
Bin Javaid said the situation has been exacerbated by Israeli attacks on government positions in Syria.
Israel, which has attempted to portray itself as a protector of the Druze in Syria and sees them as potential allies, bombed several Syrian tanks on Monday.
“There have been a number of attacks by Israel, and the Israelis have said any movement of personnel or hardware in the south of Syria will continue to be monitored by the Israeli army and [they] will continue to attack them as well,” Bin Javaid said.
Regional power Saudi Arabia, which has sought to help Syria rebuild, condemned what it called repeated Israeli “aggression” and violations of Syria’s sovereignty. Riyadh expressed support for Damascus’s efforts to reassert state authority and called on the international community to act.
“The Kingdom reaffirms its rejection of any interference in Syria’s internal affairs and urges a firm response to these attacks,” said the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
