Concerns grow in Lebanon as Suwayda counts the dead in fighting between the army and the Druze
The fighting is over thanks largely to the intervention of US Secretary of State Rubio. The interim Syrian president has "transferred" responsibility for maintaining security to the Druze. He reiterated his desire to avoid "open war" with Israel. The provisional toll from the fighting stands at 350 dead. For Jumblatt, “Israel has no protégés, only instruments”.
Beirut (AsiaNews) – After four days of violent clashes between Druze fighters and regular Syrian troops, supported by extremist Sunni groups, calm has returned to Suwayda, the capital of the eponymous province, as Syrian army troops and most Syrian Interior Ministry's forces pulled out.
As of Thursday, the death toll from the fighting stood at 350 from, according to a provisional count. A ceasefire was agreed on Wednesday, which residents hope to see hold.
Holed up in their homes for several days, besieged by gunfire and explosions, residents are now beginning to cautiously emerge in search of supplies, reports the relative of an Armenian woman living in Suwayda, reached by phone.
Episodes of destruction and looting have been reported. Online images show a major shopping street in the middle of Suwayda, with a store on fire. “They even looted the goldsmith shops," said Wissam, a volunteer with a paramedic organisation, reporting from the national hospital in Suwayda.
He is waiting "among 300 wounded” after a shell hit his house, causing a slight injury to his foot, L'Orient-Le Jour reported. "Let's be honest, some groups of attackers treated us with respect, but there are also terrorists and mercenaries who attack us for our (Druze) identity," he explained.
Whole swathes of Suwayda and surrounding villages were emptied of their residents during the fighting, according to the local press. The population headed to areas spared by the fighting, such as the town of Salkhad, 35 kilometres away.
A tentative return movement began yesterday with men travelling home to inspect the damage before bringing their families back.
Security duty transferred to the Druze
Calm did not return to Suwayda on its own, but rather after the Israeli army intervened alongside the Druze rebels. Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa announced yesterday the transfer of responsibility for maintaining security in Suwayda to the Druze.
“We have decided that local factions and wise sheikhs will assume responsibility for maintaining security in Suwayda," said the Syrian interim president, citing "the need to avoid descending into a new large-scale war" after four days of violence.
“We had two options: open war with the Israeli entity at the expense of our Druze people, their security, and the stability of Syria and the entire region, or giving the Druze elders and sheikhs the opportunity to come to their senses and prioritise the national interest,” he explained.
In his speech, Ahmed al-Sharaa promised to hold accountable those responsible for flagrant abuses committed during the fighting, such as summary executions reported by the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR).
“The Syrian state intervened to put an end to the clashes between armed groups in Suwayda and neighbouring regions,” he reiterated.
"Save the region"
Sharaa accused Israel of "resorting to wide-scale targeting of civilian and government facilities to undermine these efforts, which significantly complicated the situation and pushed matters toward a large-scale escalation, except for the effective intervention of American, Arab, and Turkish mediation, which saved the region from an unknown fate.”
He did not specify which Arab countries had intervened in the mediation, but it is known that US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Wednesday announced “specific steps that will bring this troubling and horrifying situation to an end tonight” in Syria.
Israel carried out strikes on Wednesday against army headquarters in Damascus and on a “military target” near the presidential palace. Syrian authorities reported three deaths.
Strikes were also reported “around the Mezzeh military airport” near Damascus, according to Syrian authorities. Others targeted Suwayda and the Damascus-Deraa highway, according to the SANA news agency.
No illusions about Israel in Lebanon
The episode has deepened mistrust between the Druze community and the Syrian Islamist government. “However, we have no illusions about this," said Salah Takieddine, secretary general of the Order of Lebanese Press Editors. "Israel wants to prevent regular Syrian troops from establishing themselves on its flank. Defending the Druze is the last of its concerns. »
A meeting of Druze lawmakers was held at 11 am today at the Lebanese Ministry of Defence to coordinate efforts to calm tensions. The Damascus Road, which hundreds of Druze men blocked on Tuesday responding to a call by former minister Wi'am Wahab, attacking vehicles with Syrian plates, is now guarded by the army throughout the predominantly Druze regions it runs through. In some villages, Syrian refugees and workers were advised not to move around at night.
“We appeal to the world’s conscience. [. . . ] What this regime (of Ahmed al-Sharaa) is doing is against no law. We reject aggression, whether it comes from us or targets us. We live with dignity and die with dignity," said one of the community's elders, Sheikh Anwar al-Sayegh, during a mass rally in Sharoun (Aley district), attended by all Druze parties.
A statement issued after the meeting emphasised “the unity of the destiny of the Druze community, whether in Lebanon, Syria, or Palestine.” Walid Jumblatt, lucidly, reportedly told the Druze in Syria that Israel “has no protégés, only instruments.”
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