CAIRO, July 18. /TASS/. Syria’s interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa has accused "illegal armed formations" of violating the ceasefire in the southern province of Suwayda, according to a statement released by his office via the SANA news agency.
"On July 16, the country’s leadership decided to withdraw troops from Suwayda after receiving guarantees that illegal armed groups would not target civilians. However, following the military’s withdrawal, these groups committed horrific crimes against the civilian population - a blatant violation of the agreements reached," the statement said.
Al-Sharaa called on all sides to exercise calm and restraint, pledging to bring to justice those responsible for the violence "regardless of their ethnicity." He also warned Israel against interfering in Syria’s internal affairs, stating that such actions "only exacerbate and aggravate the situation in the region."
On July 17, SANA reported that illegal armed groups had massacred Arab Bedouin militiamen in the city of Suwayda following the army’s departure. The newspaper Al Watan alleged that the violence was sparked by supporters of radical Druze cleric Sheikh Hikmat al-Hijri, who has called for defiance of Damascus and supports closer ties with Israel.
Clashes between Arab militias and Druze self-defense units first broke out in Suwayda province on July 13. On July 15, the Syrian army entered the city and launched a sweep operation to stabilize the situation. Shortly afterward, Israel began striking Syrian military columns, citing the need to protect the Druze population.
The Druze are an Arabic-speaking ethnic and religious minority residing in Syria, Lebanon, Israel, and Jordan. In Syria, they number around 700,000, making them the country’s third-largest minority after the Kurds and the Alawites.