A week-long wave of violence in southern Syria’s Sweida province has come to an end, with fighters withdrawing after killing more than 1,000 people and displacing over 128,000. The situation is now described as “tense calm” by local residents, but aid convoys are preparing to enter the city amid reports of a severe shortage of medical supplies.
The violence began in response to a dispute between a Bedouin tribesman and a Druze resident, which escalated into days of terror for local people. Israel launched airstrikes on Syria’s defence ministry in Damascus and dozens of military targets in the south, prompting a ceasefire agreement between Syria and Israel announced by the US early on Saturday.
US special envoy Tom Barrack called on all factions to lay down their arms and abandon cycles of tribal vengeance, warning that “peace and dialogue must prevail – and prevail now.” The US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, also issued a warning to Syria’s new government, urging them to prevent Isis and other violent jihadists from entering the area.
Humanitarian organizations have announced aid convoys are on their way to Sweida, with 32 trucks loaded with food, medicine, water, fuel, and other supplies. The Syrian Arab Red Crescent has said they are sending aid to support the displaced population.
The situation in Sweida has tempered international hopes for the new Syrian government, which came to power last December after the sudden fall of the Assad regime. Western governments have lifted sanctions in an effort to aid Syria’s battered economy and economic reconstruction.
Source: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/jul/20/tense-calm-syria-sweida-province-week-deadly-violence-bedouin-druze