Khaberni -The Syrian Ministry of Defense announced on Wednesday the renewal of clashes with armed groups in the city of Sweida.
The official Syrian News Agency (SANA) quoted the Ministry of Defense as saying: "After concluding a ceasefire agreement with notables and dignitaries of the city of Sweida, outlaw groups returned to attack army and internal security forces inside the city".
It added, "The army forces continue to respond to sources of fire inside the city of Sweida, taking into account the rules of engagement to protect the residents and prevent their harm, and to achieve a safe return for those who left the city to their homes," according to the ministry.
The death toll in the Sweida province in southern Syria has reached 203 people since the clashes erupted on Sunday between "Druze factions and Bedouin gunmen," according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
The Observatory explained that the dead included 92 Druze, among them 21 civilians "executed on the spot by government elements," in addition to the deaths of 93 government forces and 18 Bedouins, amid widespread tension and a heavy deployment of regime forces in the province.
In a related context, the "Axios" site quoted a US official that the Trump administration asked Israel to stop its air raids on Syrian forces in the south of the country, noting that Israel informed Washington that it would stop carrying out the attacks on Tuesday evening, according to journalist Barak Ravid via platform X.
However, the Syrian Observatory reported, early Wednesday, that Israeli fighter jets launched airstrikes targeting military sites on the Tha'lah and Shqraiya roads in the countryside of Sweida, and around Brigade 52 in the Harak countryside of Daraa, where forces belonging to the Ministry of Defense are stationed, resulting in human losses.
A video circulated on social media showed at least 10 people in civilian clothes covered in blood inside the guest house, some thrown on the ground and others on couches, with pictures of Druze sheikhs thrown on the floor and furniture wrecked and scattered, as reported by the French Press Agency.
The Observatory spoke about the execution by a government-affiliated armed group of "four Druze civilians including a woman in the guest house of Al-Mazloum family in the village of Tha'lah" in the countryside of Sweida.
It mentioned that "an armed group affiliated with the Public Security patrols shot directly at three brothers near Basha roundabout north of the city of Sweida, while they were with their mother, who witnessed their field execution".
The Syrian authorities have not yet commented on these accusations.
However, the Syrian Presidency confirmed in a statement, "the necessity for all public and private civil and military entities to prevent any form of transgression or violation under any pretext," starting from "the state's concern to preserve rights, prevent bloodshed, uphold the law, and ensure the regular operation of its institutions."
The Presidency stated in a statement that it had "directed the supervisory and executive agencies concerned to take immediate legal action against anyone found to have overstepped or misbehaved, regardless of his rank or position."
This comes after the Syrian Defense Minister, Marhef Abu Qusra, announced earlier on Tuesday a complete ceasefire in Sweida following the agreement with the city's elders, hours after his forces had entered it, coinciding with violent clashes and Israeli bombing.
The Syrian government forces mentioned the imposition of a curfew across Sweida.
The Syrian Ministry of Interior stated on Tuesday evening that its security forces had managed to expel outlaw groups from the center of the city of Sweida, securing civilians, and restoring stability to the city.
According to a ministry statement, the agreement that took place in the early hours between the parties "was breached as the armed groups that were outside the law returned to launch treacherous attacks targeting police and security elements in an attempt to disrupt the security scene and undermine the local understandings reached".
"Significant displacement movement"
Internal security forces continue to deploy within the neighborhoods of the city of Sweida to "protect the residents and properties and prevent any transgressions, while continuing to respond to sources of fire by the lawless groups," according to what the official Syrian News Agency "SANA" quoted from a security source in the city.
The Observatory accused "elements from the Public Security apparatus of kidnapping men and women from the village of Green in the western countryside of Sweida".
The Observatory reported that elements belonging to the Ministry of Defense carried out systematic acts of vandalism that affected the homes and properties of civilians in several villages and towns in the countryside of Sweida."
It accused these elements of "stealing household contents, breaking doors and windows, and then setting some of it on fire, resulting in widespread destruction and significant material losses."
Men in military uniforms were seen burning and looting homes and shops and setting a liquor store on fire, according to Reuters.
One of the residents of Sweida stated that the city was subjected to "heavy shelling" on Tuesday, despite the announced ceasefire, while he observed Israeli aircraft flying in the city's skies and targeting the forces that entered Sweida.
He described the situation in the city in an audio recording sent to the BBC as "disastrous," noting that the shelling audible in the recording was still continuing, adding that the gunfire on Monday and Tuesday was "random and targeted residential neighborhoods and civilians," prompting "many city residents to flee to the countryside despite the announced curfew," as he put it.
The speaker, who says he is in the heart of the city, said it "was targeted by mortar shells and rockets."
Later, "SANA" reported that the Syrian army began withdrawing heavy equipment from Sweida, in preparation for handing over the city neighborhoods to the internal security forces.
The Syrian Observatory interpreted the withdrawal of heavy equipment as an "attempt to contain popular anger and reduce tension after widespread criticism of the use of heavy weapons in populated areas and the recording of violations against residents."
Sheikh Hikmat al-Hijri, a prominent Druze leader, welcomed the entry of government forces, but soon called for "resisting this barbaric campaign by all available means." He said in a subsequent video statement, "Despite our acceptance of this humiliating statement for the safety of our people and our children, they broke the covenant and promise and continued the random bombing of unarmed civilians."
In the meantime, the Lebanese Druze politician, Wiam Wahhab, close to Hezbollah, announced the "launch of the Army of Monotheism," calling in a tweet via the platform "X," "everyone to join and start organizing an independent resistance."
After the entry of internal security forces and the Ministry of Defense of Syria and their spread in the streets of Sweida, the city witnessed a "significant displacement wave" of civilians, according to the local platform Sweida 24.
The Syrian Observatory confirmed the "massive displacement movement of a large number of families from the city to the neighboring rural villages and towns," based on that "video recordings and clips published on social media."
The clashes between gunmen from the Druze on one side and the Bedouins on the other brought to the forefront the security challenges faced by the transitional authorities led by President Ahmad al-Shar'a since coming to power after the ousting of Bashar al-Assad in December.
"Casualties and injuries" in Israeli raids
On Tuesday, Israel launched airstrikes on the Syrian government forces, after their entry into the city of Sweida, which is predominantly inhabited by the Druze minority that Israel has pledged to protect.
The Israeli army said it "attacked military vehicles belonging to the Syrian regime" in the Sweida area, after detecting "convoys of armored personnel carriers and tanks moving towards the area," according to "instructions from the political level."
The Israeli army spokesman, Avichai Adraee, explained that the forces had attacked since Monday, "armored vehicles including tanks, armored personnel carriers, and rocket launchers, as well as roads to hinder their access to the area."
He spoke of "dozens of Israeli civilians crossing the border fence into Syrian territory in the area of Majdal Shams," noting that his forces are working to "safely return them to Israeli territory."
In this context, the Israeli Minister of Diaspora, Amichai Shikli, called for the "immediate assassination of Syrian President Ahmad al-Shar'a," following the latest developments in Syria.
Shikli wrote on the X platform, "We should not stand idly by in the face of the Islamic terrorist regime represented by Al-Qaeda," as he put it. He emphasized the need to "fight the terrorist regime in Syria," in his words.
This came after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz in a joint statement directed an "immediate strike against the regime forces and the weapons that were brought into the Druze Mount area in Syria with the aim of carrying out operations against the Druze."
The Syrian news agency talked about raids targeting the city of Sweida and the outskirts of the city of Izra in the southern Daraa countryside.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that Israeli aviation carried out "a series of air raids that targeted vehicles and military columns belonging to the Ministries of Defense and Interior in and around the city of Sweida," resulting in "casualties and injuries."
The Syrian Foreign Ministry condemned what it described as the "treacherous Israeli aggression" targeting areas inside Syrian territories and resulting in the death of a number of Syrian armed forces and civilians.
The ministry considered the attack a "blatant violation of" Syria's sovereignty and a "blatant breach of the principles of international law and the United Nations Charter."
While Damascus affirmed "its steadfast commitment to its legitimate right to defend its land and people by all means permitted by international law," it emphasized its "keenness to protect all its children without exception, including our Druze community members," according to the statement.
The US special envoy to Syria, Thomas Brack, considered the recent clashes in southern Syria "troubling," noting at the same time that work is underway for "calm."
Brick said in a post on the X platform, "We are actively engaged with all components in Syria with the aim of moving towards calm," adding, "The recent clashes in Sweida are troubling for all parties, and we are trying to reach a peaceful and comprehensive outcome for the Druze, the Bedouin tribes, the Syrian government, and the Israeli forces."
The Syrian Observatory has counted, since the beginning of this year, 64 times that Israel has targeted Syrian territories, including 55 air and 10 ground strikes. These strikes have resulted in injuries and the destruction of about 95 targets, including weapons and ammunition warehouses, headquarters, centers, and vehicles.
Politically, Saudi Arabia expressed "satisfaction with the measures taken by the Syrian government to achieve security and stability, preserve civil peace, and achieve the sovereignty of the state and its institutions over the entire Syrian territories, which preserves the unity of Syria and its security and realizes the aspirations of the Syrian people."
The Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned the continued blatant Israeli attacks on Syrian territories and inte
