Following days of sectarian bloodshed and air strikes in Syria’s southwest Suwayda region, US ambassador to Turkiye, Tom Barrack, announced that the two countries have reached a ceasefire.
Early on Saturday, Barrack claimed in a post on X that Turkiye, Jordan, and Syria’s neighbors “embraced” and “supported” the ceasefire between Syria and Israel.
In a statement announcing the ceasefire, Barrack urged the US to “put down their weapons and work with other minorities to create a new and prosperous Syrian identity with its neighbors.”
Syrian or Israeli officials have not yet made any comments.
According to an Israeli official who declined to be identified, Israel had agreed to allow the “limited entry of the]Syrian internal security forces into Suwayda district for the next 48 hours” in light of the “ongoing instability in southwest Syria.”
Israel launched heavy airstrikes on Syria’s Ministry of Defense in Damascus on Wednesday, striking both Syrian government forces in the country’s Suwayda region.
In Suwayda, where ethnically charged clashes between Druze and Bedouin armed groups and government forces have reportedly left hundreds dead, Israel claims to have launched attacks to protect Syria’s Druze minority.
The Druze, who are reportedly one million in Syria and 150, 000 in Israel, are described by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as “brothers.”
Druze leaders and the Syrian government reached a ceasefire agreement on Wednesday through the US, Turkiye, and Arab nations. However, Israel launched airstrikes on Syria the same day, causing at least three fatalities and 34 other injuries.
In a televised speech on Thursday morning, interim Syrian president Ahmed al-Sharaa stated that while Syria was wary of fighting with Israel, it was concerned about protecting its Druze citizens and their rights.
Al-Sharaa added that Syria would withstand Israel’s aggression’s attempts to splinter the nation.
Source: Aljazeera
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