Sawt Falasteen - Syrian forces advance on Sweida as Druze leader says truce talks underway

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor reported 99 people killed since the fighting erupted on Sunday -- 60 Druze, including four civilians, 18 Bedouin fighters, 14 security personnel and seven unidentified people in military uniforms.

As the violence escalated, Israel -- which has previously warned it would intervene in Syria to protect the Druze -- said it struck "several tanks" in the area as a "warning" to Damascus

An AFP correspondent saw Syrian forces on Monday take control of the Druze village of Al-Mazraa, where Bedouin fighters were also located.

A commander, Ezzeddine al-Shamayer, told AFP the forces "are heading toward Sweida" city.

In a statement, the interior ministry declared that "army and internal security forces have moved closer to the centre" of Sweida province.

Bassem Fakhr, spokesperson for the Men of Dignity movement, one of the largest Druze factions in Sweida, told AFP talks were "underway between the notables of the city of Sweida and representatives of the general security (forces) and the defence ministry to reach a solution".

Druze religious authorities had called on Monday evening for a ceasefire in the area, saying they were not opposed to the Syrian central government.

But Sheikh Hikmat al-Hijri, one of the three Druze spiritual leaders in Sweida, expressed his "rejection of the entry" of general security forces into the province, demanding "international protection".

Israel -- which also has a Druze population, and has previously attacked Syria in purported defence of the group -- reported hitting several tanks heading towards Sweida on Monday.

The strikes were "a clear warning to the Syrian regime -- we will not allow harm to be done to the Druze in Syria", Defence Minister Israel Katz posted on X.

- Fear of massacres -

The fighting in the south underscores the challenges facing interim leader Ahmad al-Sharaa, whose Islamist forces ousted president Bashar al-Assad in December after nearly 14 years of civil war.

Syria's pre-war Druze population was estimated at around 700,000, many of them concentrated in Sweida province.

The Druze, followers of an esoteric religion that split from Shiite Islam, are mainly found in Syria, Lebanon and Israel.

Following deadly clashes with government forces in April and May, local and religious leaders reached an agreement with Damascus under which Druze fighters have been providing security in the province.

The streets of Sweida were deserted Monday, with an AFP photographer reporting distant gunfire during funerals.

"We lived in a state of extreme terror -- the shells were falling randomly," said Abu Taym, a 51-year-old father, adding "most shops are closed".

"We fear a repeat of the coastal scenario," said Amal, 46, referring to massacres in March of more than 1,700 mostly Alawite civilians in northwest Syria, where groups affiliated with the government were blamed for most of the killings.

"We are not against the state, but we are against surrendering our weapons without a state that treats everyone the same," she added.

In a post on X, Syrian Defence Minister Murhaf Abu Qasra urged his troops to "protect your fellow citizens" from "outlaw gangs", and to "restore stability to Sweida".

- 'Lack of state institutions' -

The violence began on Sunday when Bedouin gunmen abducted a Druze vegetable vendor on the highway to Damascus, prompting retaliatory kidnappings.

Though hostages were later released, the fighting carried on Monday outside Sweida city, with mortar fire hitting villages and dozens wounded, according to the Suwayda 24 news outlet.

In a Sunday post on X, Interior Minister Anas Khattab said "the lack of state, military and security institutions is a major reason" for the ongoing tensions in Sweida.

The Observatory said members of Bedouin tribes, who are Sunni Muslims, had sided with security forces during earlier confrontations with the Druze.

Bedouin and Druze factions have a longstanding feud in Sweida, and violence occasionally erupts between the two sides.

The wave of coastal massacres in March targeting the Alawite community and the subsequent attacks on Druze areas, as well as a deadly attack on a Damascus church in June, have undermined confidence in the new Syrian authorities' ability to protect minorities.

str-lk-at-mam/nad/smw

O.Salim--SF-PST