A UK-based monitoring team said “cautious peace” returned to the Syrian city of Suveda after a deadly clash of clans between Druze fighters, Bedouin gunmen and government forces.
The Syrian Human Rights Observatory (SOHR) said residents reported that the fight had ceased on Sunday, and the Syrian Human Rights Observer (SOHR) said the Syrian Islam-led government declared that the Bedouin had withdrawn from the city of Druze “after several days of bloody fighting and chaos.”
This is after the Syrian president announced a ceasefire on Saturday. The battle did not quell immediately.
More than 1,000 people have been killed in the conflict and the city is now suffering a severe shortage of medical supplies, SOHR added.
“Activists reported that Suveda had been experiencing cautious calm since early Sunday morning,” the monitoring team said.
“At the same time, Syrian government security forces closed the road to Suweida to the tribe through soil barriers to prevent vehicles from passing, except for ambulances, to control tensions.”
Sohr added that the city is still under the control of local Druze fighters, and the tribal gunmen have withdrawn from several areas of the province.
The long-term tension between the Druze and the Bedouin tribes broke out a week ago in a deadly sectarian conflict as Druze merchants kidnapped on the roads in the capital Damascus. Druze and Bedouin fighters have been accused of atrocities over the past seven days.
On Saturday, Syria’s interim President Ahmed Al-Sharaa announced a ceasefire and sent security forces to Suweida to end the battle.
Druze fighters reportedly drove the Bedouin gunmen out of the city on Saturday night – but violence continues in other parts of the province. The BBC has not confirmed this yet.
AFP reporters near Suveda reported that on Sunday morning, the fight could not be heard.
Meanwhile, SOHR warns that the humanitarian situation in the city is deteriorating, indicating a “severe shortage” of essential medical supplies.
An unnamed resident said assistance was needed immediately and told Reuters news agency: “The smell of the body is spread in the national hospital.”
Kenan Azzam, a local dentist, was troubled by what he called “tensive and calm”, saying the hospital was “a disaster, service”.
Suweida Medic told AFP that “no relief or medical assistance” entered the city before Sunday.
