Damascus, July 14 (IANS) At least 89 people were killed and some 200 others injured over the past two days in escalating clashes between Druze militias and Bedouin tribes in southern Syria’s Sweida province, Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Monday.
Meanwhile, the Syrian defence authority, in a statement carried by the state-run SANA news agency, put the death toll at more than 30 and the injuries at some 100.
The violence was caused by an absence of institutional control hindering security intervention, and specialized military units have been deployed to separate warring factions and secure civilian evacuation routes, read the statement.
The defence authority urged restraint, warned that continued fighting would only deepen civilian suffering, and affirmed commitment to restoring stability through coordinated operations with interior forces.
According to a Xinhua news agency correspondent on the ground, despite mediation, heavy fighting persisted Monday with loud explosions reported across western rural Sweida.
A source from “Rijal al-Karama,” Sweida’s largest armed group, told Xinhua that a prisoner exchange is expected to take place Monday between Bedouin tribes in the al-Muqawwas neighborhood and local factions in an attempt to de-escalate the situation.
According to the source, Bedouins have abducted 11 Druze civilians from Sweida, while local armed factions took five Bedouin civilians in retaliation.
The root of the conflict lies in an earlier incident in which a young Druze man was assaulted and robbed by armed Bedouins at a temporary checkpoint near al-Masmiyah. In retaliation, local Druze fighters detained several Bedouin members, escalating the situation.
On July 12, heavy gunfire and the sound of shelling echoed through the city, forcing many residents indoors and prompting urgent calls from community leaders for intervention to de-escalate the situation.
Recurring incidents of kidnapping and armed assault have plagued the vital road linking Sweida to Damascus in recent months. Locals blame the deteriorating security situation and the absence of state control over armed factions for the violence.
–IANS
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