Damascus [Syria], July 21: Residents reported calm in Syria's Sweida on Sunday after the government announced that Bedouin fighters had withdrawn from the predominantly Druze city and a US envoy signalled that a deal to end days of fighting was being implemented.
Interior Minister Anas Khattab said on Sunday that internal security forces had managed to calm the situation and enforce the ceasefire, "paving the way for a prisoner exchange and the gradual return of stability throughout the governorate".
Iimages showed interior ministry forces near the city, blocking the road in front of members of tribes congregated there. The Interior Ministry said late on Saturday that Bedouin fighters had left the city.
US envoy Tom Barrack said the sides had "navigated to a pause and cessation of hostilities". "The next foundation stone on a path to inclusion, and lasting de-escalation, is a complete exchange of hostages and detainees, the logistics of which are in process," he wrote on X.
Kenan Azzam, a dentist, said there was an uneasy calm but the city's residents were struggling with a lack of water and electricity.
"The hospitals are a disaster and out of service, and there are still so many dead and wounded," he said by phone.
The Syrian state news agency said an aid convoy sent to the city by the government was refused entry while aid organised by the Syrian Red Crescent was let in. The fighting began a week ago with clashes between Bedouin and Druze fighters. Damascus sent troops to quell the fighting, but they were drawn into the violence.
Sharaa on Thursday promised to protect the rights of Druze and to hold to account those who committed violations against "our Druze people". He has blamed the violence on "outlaw groups".
While Sharaa has won US backing since meeting President Donald Trump in May, the violence has underscored the challenge he faces stitching back together a country shattered by 14 years of conflict, and added to pressures on its mosaic of sectarian and ethnic groups.
Source: Qatar Tribune