DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) 鈥 Renewed clashes broke out overnight between Druze armed groups and members of Bedouin clans in southern Syria, and government forces were preparing to deploy again to the area Friday after pulling out under a ceasefire agreement that halted several days of violence earlier this week, officials said.
Government security forces agreed with some of the Druze factions that they would re-enter the area to impose stability and protect state institutions, according to two Syrian officials who spoke Friday on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly.
Syrian government forces had largely pulled out of the Druze-majority southern province of Sweida after linked to the Druze religious minority that threatened to unravel the country鈥檚 fragile post-war transition.
The conflict drew airstrikes against Syrian forces by neighboring Israel in defense of the Druze minority before most of the fighting was halted by that was mediated by the U.S., Turkey and Arab countries. Under that agreement, Druze factions and clerics would be left to maintain internal security in Sweida, Syria鈥檚 interim President said Thursday.
The clashes initially began between Druze militias and local Sunni Muslim Bedouin tribes Sunday before government forces intervened, nominally to restore order, but ended up taking the Bedouins鈥 side against the Druze. The fighting killed hundreds of people over four days, with allegations that government-affiliated fighters executed Druze civilians and looted and burned homes.
Israel intervened, launching dozens of airstrikes on convoys of government fighters and headquarters in central Damascus in a major escalation of its involvement.
The Druze form a substantial community in Israel, where they are seen as a loyal minority and often serve in the Israeli military.
After the ceasefire and withdrawal of government forces, clashes once again flared between the Druze and Bedouin groups in parts of Sweida province. State media reported Druze militias carried out revenge attacks against Bedouin communities, leading to a wave of displacement.
The governor of neighboring Daraa province said in a statement that more than 1,000 families had been displaced to the area from Sweida as a result of 鈥渁ttacks on Bedouin tribes by outlaw groups.鈥
The began as a 10th-century offshoot of Ismailism, a branch of Shiite Islam. More than half of the roughly 1 million Druze worldwide live in Syria. Most of the other Druze live in Lebanon and Israel, including in the Golan Heights, which Israel captured from Syria in the 1967 Mideast War and annexed in 1981.
While predominantly Druze, Sweida is also home to Bedouin tribes who are Sunni Muslim and have periodically clashed with the Druze over the years. The latest escalation began with members of a Bedouin tribe in Sweida setting up a checkpoint and attacking and robbing a Druze man, which triggered tit-for-tat attacks and kidnappings.
Ahmed Aba Zeid, a Syrian researcher who has studied armed groups in southern Syria, said there is 鈥渘o specific reason鈥 for the historic tensions between the groups.
鈥淎ll of Syria is full of social problems that have no reason,鈥 he said.
In this case, however, 鈥淭he state exploited the latest problem to try to change the situation in Sweida, and this only increased the scope of it,鈥 he said.
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Sewell reported from Beirut.
