الرئاسة السورية: وقف شامل لإطلاق النار في السويداء

The Syrian presidency announced a comprehensive and immediate ceasefire, hours after the U.S. envoy to Damascus, Thomas Barrack, stated that Israel and Syria had agreed to a ceasefire following clashes in the Druze-majority area. The Syrian presidency warned in its statement today (Saturday) against any violation of the ceasefire, emphasizing that it would be a violation of sovereignty.

The U.S. envoy called on the parties in Syria to lay down their arms and build a unified Syria.

He said, "We call on the Druze and the Bedouins to lay down their arms," adding that the agreement came with the support of Turkey, Jordan, and neighboring countries.

Syrian security forces began to deploy in the Sweida Governorate to protect civilians and stop the chaos, according to the spokesperson for the Ministry of Interior, Nour al-Din al-Baba.

He stated in a message on Telegram that internal security forces had started to deploy in the Sweida Governorate as part of a national mission, the primary goal of which is to protect civilians and stop the chaos.

Meanwhile, Druze leader Sheikh Hikmat al-Hajri once again called today for reason over weapons. He said, "We extend our hands to every honorable person to end the current clashes," pointing out that the Druze have never been advocates of division and strife.

There were intermittent clashes in the Sweida axes, but a state of calm prevailed in the city after the American announcement.

For its part, the spiritual leadership of the Druze once again called for a ceasefire and for reason to prevail. Syrian media reported that the Ministry of Defense gave Bedouin tribal fighters until dawn on Saturday to leave the Sweida Governorate. Reports indicated that the ministry requested the tribal fighters to hand over the weapons they had seized from warehouses belonging to armed groups in Sweida. It is likely that the entry of security and defense ministry forces into the governorate was to resolve the clashes.

The Syrian newspaper "Al-Watan" quoted sources as saying that the agreement included the entry of state administrative and security institutions into the governorate, the integration of elements from the factions in Sweida into the security and defense ministry, and assigning them to cooperate with other units to maintain police and security within the governorate, as well as the handover of heavy and medium weapons from the Bedouins and Druze, with the integration of the Druze into the political future in the coming phase, and discussing the possibility of allowing those who reject the agreement to exit through a safe route outside the country, and holding accountable those who commit violations according to the law from both sides.

On Friday evening, clashes occurred at the western entrance of the city of Sweida between armed members of the tribes and the Druze factions present inside.

According to sources, about 200 tribal fighters clashed with machine guns and shells with the fighters present inside the city. The Syrian presidency commented that it had followed with great concern and deep regret the bloody events that occurred in southern Syria. It stated that this was a result of the expansion of armed groups outside the law, which took up arms as a means to impose facts on the ground, endangering the lives of civilians, including children, women, and the elderly. The statement emphasized the state's full commitment to civil peace, and that the logic of revenge is rejected; it does not respond to chaos with chaos, but rather protects the law with the law and responds to aggression with justice, not with vengeance.