Government forces withdraw from Druze-majority in Sweida

Syrian government forces have withdrawn from the entire Druze-majority province of Sweida in southern Syria, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) and witnesses told AFP on Thursday.

The withdrawal of government forces comes after a cease-fire agreement announced on Wednesday. Interim Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa announced overnight the transfer of "security responsibility to local factions" in Suwayda, the scene of communal clashes that have left more than 350 dead since Sunday.

"The Syrian authorities have withdrawn their military forces from the city of Suwayda and the entire province, and Druze fighters have deployed," SOHR director Rami Abdel Rahman told AFP.

Members of government forces told an AFP correspondent stationed on the outskirts of Suwayda province that they had received orders to withdraw shortly before midnight and had completed their pullout by dawn.

"The city of Sweida appears empty of all government forces," Rayan Maarouf, editor-in-chief of the local website Suwayda 24, told AFP, adding that the situation was "catastrophic, and bodies litter the streets".

Clashes between Sunni Bedouin tribes and Druze fighters, whose relations have been tense for decades, broke out Sunday. The Syrian government deployed forces to the region on Tuesday with the stated goal of restoring order.

But SOHR, witnesses and Druze groups accused it of fighting the Druze factions. Israel, hostile to any Syrian military presence near its border and saying it wants to protect the Druze community, responded by bombing Damascus and other areas of the country.

State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce on Wednesday called on the Syrian government to leave the conflict zone in the south of the country to ease tensions with Israel.