WALGHA (AFP) — The United States (US) said early Saturday that it had negotiated a ceasefire between Israel and Syria’s government as new clashes erupted in Syria’s Druze heartland following violence that prompted massive Israeli strikes.
At least 638 people have died since Sunday in violence between the Druze and Bedouins, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, drawing questions over the authority of Syria’s interim leader Ahmed al-Sharaa.
Israel intervened Wednesday with major strikes in the heart of the capital Damascus, including hitting the army’s headquarters.
Tom Barrack, the US pointman on Syria, said in the early hours of Saturday in the Middle East that Sharaa and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “have agreed to a ceasefire” negotiated by the US.
Barrack, who is US ambassador to Ankara, said the deal was backed by Turkey, a key supporter of Sharaa, as well as neighboring Jordan.
“We call upon Druze, Bedouins and Sunnis to put down their weapons and together with other minorities build a new and united Syrian identity in peace and prosperity with its neighbors,” he wrote on X.
The US on Wednesday announced an earlier deal in which Sharaa pulled government forces out of Sweida, the southern hub of the Druze minority.
Sharaa said the mediation helped avert a “large-scale escalation” with Israel but his office accused Druze fighters of violating it.
Sharaa’s office on Friday evening pledged to deploy fresh forces to the region to break up further clashes in the south, urging “all parties to exercise restraint and prioritize reason.”
Renewed fighting erupted Friday between Bedouin tribal factions and the Druze at the entrance to Sweida, an Agence France-Presse (AFP) correspondent said.