Syrian government troops are preparing to go to Suwayda again. The Syrian government had previously withdrawn them when fighting between Druze and Bedouins appeared to be subsiding. The UN has indications that human rights were violated in the fighting.
According to the Syrian Ministry of Interior, the ceasefire in the area is not being observed. The government is sending its troops back to definitively end the fighting between Druze and Bedouins.
The new violence took place west of Suwayda between “authorities-backed tribes and Bedouins on one side and Druze fighters on the other,” reports the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which reports from London. Reporters on the ground heard gunfire back and forth and saw plumes of smoke rising.
Fighters from both camps confirm the reports. Northern groups have come to the aid of the Bedouins, says a tribal leader from central Syrian Hama. According to him, they have taken up positions in villages around Suwayda.
In Suwayda, fighting flared up last weekend between Druze and Sunni Bedouins, nomads who live in the desert. The Syrian government army moved to the city to end the fighting. In practice, it turned out that it was fighting with the Bedouins against the Druze.
Syrian government and Israel intervene in conflict
Israel intervened in the conflict by carrying out bombings on Syria. The country bombed, among other things, the military headquarters in Damascus. Israel said it wanted to protect the Druze with the attacks.
The United States reported on Wednesday that the warring parties in Suwayda had agreed to end the violence. The Syrian government also reported a ceasefire. The Syrian army withdrew from the city. Syrian President Ahmed Al Sharaa promised that the government would protect Druze.
The Druze are a religious minority group in Syria, but form the majority in Suwayda. Druze also live in Israel. The government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has also previously said it does not want a Syrian troop build-up near the border with Israel.
UN has ‘credible reports’ of human rights violations
According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, 594 people have been killed in the fighting since Sunday. Volker Türk, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, says he has “received credible reports” of human rights violations during the fighting in Suwayda.
Türk speaks of indiscriminate killings, kidnappings and looting. According to those reports, members of the security forces and people associated with the new authorities are also said to have been guilty of this.
The UN human rights chief is demanding a swift independent investigation into the bloody violence. Those responsible must not get away with it, Türk believes. He wants to prevent further bloodshed in the area. “Revenge and retaliation are not the solution.”