The Syrian government has announced the formation of an emergency committee to coordinate humanitarian aid and restore services in Sweida, where escalating violence between Bedouin tribal forces and armed Druze factions has raised fears of wider conflict.
Information Minister Hamza al-Mustafa said on Saturday that the steps taken in the southern province were aimed at protecting civilians and de-escalating tensions, not launching a military campaign.
He stressed that the government's response was not premeditated but came in reaction to the deteriorating security situation.
The government declared a new ceasefire on Saturday morning — its fourth in recent weeks — after renewed clashes broke out on Friday. Armed groups affiliated with senior Druze cleric Sheikh Hikmat al-Hajri were reported to have forcibly displaced members of Sunni Bedouin tribes and committed violations against them, triggering further violence.
Preventing direct confrontations
Mustafa outlined that the latest ceasefire agreement includes deploying internal security forces to areas prone to clashes, establishing humanitarian corridors between Suwayda and neighboring Daraa, and reactivating government institutions across the province if the truce holds.
The goal, he said, is to prevent direct confrontations, evacuate civilians safely, and gradually restore state authority and normal life.
He accused Sheikh al-Hajri and his supporters of breaching previous agreements with the state and promoting rhetoric that invites foreign involvement.
In a strong rebuke, the minister said the Druze leader had made a “serious strategic error” by appealing to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, which he warned could endanger the entire Sweida population.
Clashes erupted on July 13 between Bedouin Arab tribes and Druze militant groups, escalating into wider unrest.
In the aftermath, Israel carried out air strikes on Syrian military targets in and around Damascus, with the pretext of protecting Druze communities.
Damascus has rejected this justification and accused Israel of exploiting sectarian tensions.
External interference threatens national cohesion
Most Druze leaders inside Syria have publicly distanced themselves from external actors and reaffirmed their commitment to Syria’s unity and sovereignty. Mustafa said such disinformation campaigns and external interference threaten to inflame sectarian divides and undermine national cohesion.
Israel has intensified air strikes across southern Syria and formally declared the collapse of the 1974 Disengagement Agreement, effectively erasing the buffer zone along the occupied Golan Heights.
Despite these challenges, the Syrian government says it remains committed to safeguarding national unity, protecting all communities without discrimination, and resisting attempts to fragment the state through sectarian conflict or foreign intervention.
