A new round of clashes between Druze armed groups and Government forces in the province of Sweida in southern Syrian had subsided Friday but left fears of another escalation. Clashes on Thursday led to both sides blaming each other for violating a ceasefire that ended several days of violent fighting in July. There were reports of people wounded on both sides, but no deaths reported. The National Guard, the de facto military in Sweida, accused Government forces of launching an attack on the town of al-Majdal Thursday, “employing heavy and medium weapons and attack drones, in an aggressive attempt to breach our defence lines and target vital locations.”
“Our forces bravely and with high combat efficiency repelled this attack, inflicting heavy losses on the attacking forces in terms of equipment and personnel,” it said in a statement. The Government in Damascus accused the Sweida factions of violating the ceasefire first. Mustafa al-Bakour, the Damascus-appointed governor of Sweida province, said “some factions and the so-called National Guard” launched “attacks on de-escalation points.” The attacks, he added, “constitute a clear violation of international agreements and obstruct efforts to rebuild and prepare for the return of residents to their villages.”
Saber Abou Ras, a political analyst who lives in Sweida city, said Thursday’s clashes “were very intense and violent” and included attacks with drones, anti-aircraft machine guns and mortar shells. He said Israeli warplanes could be heard over the city of Sweida, but it was not clear if they launched any strikes. Abou Ras said he believes the Government forces had launched “a retaliatory attack” after the police chief of the local governmental body in Sweida, along with a “large group of officers” took over a checkpoint formerly controlled by Syrian Government security forces in the northern countryside of the province.
Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shibani, speaking at an event held by the Chatham House international affairs think tank during a visit to London said there had been “mistakes made by all sides” in Sweida. meeting, “Please consider Indonesia your second home and Indonesia respects you highly.”
