Kolkata: Syria has announced that its army is withdrawing from Sweida, a city in the southern part of the country. The process of withdrawal began on Wednesday, after Israel attacked Syria and the US requested government forces to leave the majority-Druze southern city.
The United States, a strong ally of Israel, is trying to revive and improve its relationship with Syria. The US government said an agreement had been reached so that the area would become peaceful. Also, the US has reportedly urged “all parties to deliver on the commitments they have made”.
Earlier, the Syrian government announced there is a new ceasefire in Sweida. As a result, military operations have come to a halt there, after clashes since Sunday that have reportedly left over 300 people dead.
A statement from the country’s defence ministry said that the Syrian army has started to withdraw from Sweida as the country implements the terms of the adopted agreement, “after the end of the sweep of the city for outlaw groups”. However, it is unclear if other government security forces are being withdrawn. The forces were deployed there to oversee a previous truce agreed with Druze community leaders after days of deadly fighting with local Bedouin tribes.
However, the ceasefire was probably ineffective as government forces reportedly teamed up with the Bedouin to attack Druze fighters and civilians as the city was gripped in violence. As per the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, the violence killed over 300 people, including government forces, local fighters and 27 Druze civilians. The Syrian presidency has promised to probe the violence.
