BEIRUT, July 16. /TASS/. The Syrian government has signed a new ceasefire agreement for the city of Suwayda, the administrative center of the province of the same name in the south of the country, the SANA news agency reported.
"The fire has been stopped in Suwayda under an agreement reached with the sheikhs of the Druze community, checkpoints have been set up in the city," the Internal Ministry of the Transitional Government said in a statement provided by the SANA news agency. It states that all parties have committed to stop military escalation and attacks on security posts.
"To monitor the observance of the ceasefire, a monitoring committee has been established, consisting of representatives of the Syrian state and elders of the Druze community," the report says. "Besides, to increase security and ensure the protection of citizens, personnel from residents of Suwayda will be recruited to the provincial internal affairs bodies."
On July 15, a curfew was imposed in Suwayda, and troops from the Interior and Defense Ministry of the Transitional Government cleared downtown city and dislodged local self-defense forces from there. A truce was later declared, and the Druze fighters agreed to hand over their weapons to the government.
However, by the end of the day, the agreement was violated, and fighting resumed. Normalization of relations with Damascus was opposed by the supporters of radical sheikh Hikmat al-Hijri, who called for disobedience.
Now the parties will agree on a mechanism regulating the process of handing over weapons to the authorities "taking into account the social and historical characteristics of the province of Suwayda." A joint committee will also be set up to establish the facts of violations, investigate crimes committed against the civilian population and pay compensation to victims.
Druze spiritual leader Sheikh Yousef Jarbou welcomed the agreement.
"We have contacted the government in Damascus and confirmed our commitment to national sovereignty," Sheikh said on X. "The work of state institutions will be restored in all areas of Suwayda in accordance with Syrian laws and regulations."