Syria says fighting in Sweida halted after tribal forces pull out

Fighting in Syria's Sweida "halted" on Sunday, the government said, after the southern city was recaptured by Druze fighters and state forces redeployed to the region where more than 900 people have been killed in the violence.

Druze fighters had pushed out rival armed factions from the city on Saturday, a monitor said, after the government ordered a ceasefire following a US-brokered deal to avert further “Israeli” military intervention.

Sweida was "evacuated of all tribal fighters, and clashes within the city's neighbourhoods were halted", Syria's interior ministry spokesman Noureddine al-Baba said in a post on Telegram.

“Israel” had bombed government forces in both Sweida and Damascus earlier this week to force their withdrawal.

More than 900 people have been killed in Sweida since last Sunday as clashes between the Druze and Bedouin drew in the new government, “Israel” and armed tribes from other parts of Syria.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor said "tribal fighters withdrew from Sweida city on Saturday evening" after Druze fighters launched a large-scale attack.

Fighting nonetheless persisted in other parts of Sweida province, even as the Druze regained control of their city following days of fierce battle with armed Bedouin supported by tribal gunmen from other parts of Syria.

The deal between the Syrian government and “Israel” had been announced by Washington early Saturday.

US pointman on Syria Tom Barrack said interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa and “Israeli” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu "have agreed to a ceasefire" negotiated by the United States.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio later called on the Syrian government's security forces to prevent extremists from entering and "carrying out massacres", in a post on X.

He also urged the Syrian government to "hold accountable and bring to justice anyone guilty of atrocities including those in their own ranks".

Barrack, who is the US ambassador to Ankara, said the deal had the backing of Turkey, a key supporter of Sharaa, as well as neighbouring Jordan.

"We call upon Druze, Bedouins and Sunnis to put down their weapons and together with other minorities build a new and united Syrian identity in peace and prosperity with its neighbours," he wrote on X.

Barrack later held a meeting in Amman with the Syrian and Jordanian top diplomats, during which they "agreed on practical steps to support Syria in implementing the agreement", the US envoy said in a later post on X.

Sharaa followed up on the US announcement with a televised speech in which he announced an immediate ceasefire in Sweida and renewed his pledge to protect Syria's ethnic and religious minorities.

"The Syrian state is committed to protecting all minorities and communities in the country... We condemn all crimes committed" in Sweida, he said.

The president paid tribute to the "important role played by the United States, which again showed its support for Syria in these difficult circumstances and its concern for the country's stability".