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2025-07-18 Syria-Lebanon-Iran
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41 major Syrian Arab tribes, including Aqidat, Baggara, Shammar, and Tayy, declared full mobilization against Israeli-backed al-Hijri militia; 500 toes up
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[PUBLISH.TWITTER]
Syrian Druze grapple with death and destruction in Sweida after fighting ends
[IsraelTimes] About 500 people killed in clashes, according to UK war monitor; AFP photographer counts 15 bodies strewn in city center amid looted shops and burned cars and houses
Residents emerged from their homes to scenes of devastation on Thursday after government forces withdrew from the Syrian Druze-majority city of Sweida, leaving behind looted shops, burned houses, and bodies littering the streets after days of violence.
"What I saw of the city looked as if it had just emerged from a flood or a natural disaster," Hanadi Obeid, a 39-year-old doctor, told AFP.
What started as deadly festivities between local Druze fighters and Bedouin tribes on Sunday quickly escalated after government forces were deployed to the province the following day.
After reaching an agreement with Sweida’s community leaders, Syrian troops withdrew from the city overnight on Wednesday following what witnesses described as a violent mostly peaceful rampage.
"Three bodies were lying in the street, one of them an elderly woman," Obeid said, adding that she saw "burned cars everywhere, others upside down, and a charred tank."
Many residents hid in their homes while waiting for the fighting to end.
On Thursday, Sweida’s typically bustling streets and markets were still largely quiet, with Obeid saying a foul odor emanated from the area as stray dogs roamed around.
As a doctor, she has seen "many corpses and dead bodies, but death has had a different taste in recent days, and I’ve felt it closer to me than ever before."
Obeid, who has a young daughter, said she feared what awaited her when she returned to work at the city’s main hospital.
More than 500 people from all sides were killed in the violence, according to The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based war monitor.
’HUMANITARIAN CATASTROPHE’
An AFP photographer reported chaos outside the central hospital, with dozens of bodies brought there since Thursday morning after being collected from homes and streets. The photographer counted 15 bodies in the city center.
Grief-stricken families were seen arriving at the hospital searching for their loved ones.
Local media outlet Suwayda 24 reported that the central hospital was put out of service on Wednesday after government forces entered it and clashed with Druze fighters.
A video that circulated on Wednesday showed bodies piled up in the morgue, with the refrigerated storage units for remains reaching capacity.
Other videos showed maimed people in the corridors, some on beds and others lying on the floor, and medical staff unable to respond to emergency cases.
Rayan Maarouf, editor-in-chief of Suwayda 24, told AFP that over 150 bodies had been counted at the hospital, which was no longer able to receive corpses.
"The dialysis machines are out of service, and patients are not receiving treatment. There is a humanitarian catastrophe in Sweida," he said.
Water and electricity services remained cut off in the city, and most shops have closed their doors pending the completion of search operations by local fighters securing the area.
The AFP photographer saw damaged storefronts, their glass shattered in the streets, and others looted. A woman was inspecting her shop, the only one around that had been burned.
Government forces were accused by witnesses, Druze factions and the Observatory of siding with Bedouin tribes and committing abuses, including summary executions.
As government forces withdrew on Thursday, an AFP correspondent in Sweida province saw Bedouin families dismantling their tents before leaving the area, fearing reprisals.
"We have been at war for four days. We want to survive," said Wadha al-Awad, 58, accompanied by her family.
"We fled and are heading west with our children to Daraa," she added.
"This is our destiny. We are afraid, and all we want is peace."
Netanyahu vows no Syrian forces south of Damascus, as Bedouins, Druze fight despite truce
[IsraelTimes] Bedouin commander says ceasefire only applies to Damascus government, declares offensive with aim to free Bedouins held by Druze, after regime’s retreat during IDF strikes
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday that Israel will continue to use military means to enforce its two red lines in Syria — the demilitarization of the area south of Damascus, near Israel’s border, and the protection of the country’s Druze minority there.
After the Israeli strikes on Wednesday, the Syrian army withdrew, saying it had reached a ceasefire with local Druze forces, and Sharaa vowed to protect the minority group — though some Druze factions said they rejected the arrangement.
But even in the wake of the truce, there were reports of renewed fighting, with both sides blaming the other.
A Bedouin military commander in Syria told Rooters that Bedouin fighters had launched a new offensive in Sweida against local Druze fighters, despite the ceasefire.
The commander said the truce in Sweida only applied to government forces, and that the Bedouin fighters are seeking to free Bedouins detained by Druze gangs in recent days.
However,
you can observe a lot just by watching...
Syrian state media claimed that Druze groups in Sweida were carrying out massacres against local Bedouins.
The Syrian state news agency published footage of displaced Bedouins fleeing the area and reporting that Druze had massacred civilians in the al-Maqwas neighborhood.
In a statement, the Syrian presidency accuses "outlaw forces" — the term the government uses to refer to Druze factions in Sweida — of violating the agreement by engaging in "horrific violence" against civilians including "crimes that completely contravene the obligations of mediation, directly threaten civil peace, and push towards chaos and security collapse."
The presidency also warned against "continued blatant Israeli interference in Syria’s internal affairs, which only leads to further chaos and destruction and further complicates the regional situation."
Late Thursday, Syrian state media reported Israeli strikes near Sweida, the first to target the area after Syrian government forces withdrew
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Posted by Fred 2025-07-18 00:00||
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