Amid violence in Syria, pressure on interim government grows
Although the ceasefire in the southern Syrian province of Sweida is currently holding, the conflict between the groups involved is far from resolved. As a precaution, the Syrian government was sending Bedouin-Sunni families out of the area over the weekend, the country's state media outlet SANA reported. Altogether, around 1,500 people were transported out of the province by bus.
Violence escalated after conflict broke out between local Druze fighters and Bedouin communities in Sweida around 10 days ago. According to the Netherlands-based monitor, Syrian Network for Human Rights, around 600 people have been killed so far. Another organization in the UK, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, has suggested the death toll could be twice as high.
The deadly violence and large casualty count has put the country's new interim government, headed by former rebel militia leader Ahmad al-Sharaa, under even more pressure. It's most urgent task now is to end the violence in Sweida — permanently.
That necessitates reconciliation between different community groups in the country, groups that have been split for decades, with the previous authoritarian Assad regime using their differences to remain in power.
The violence in Sweida between Druze and Sunni-Bedouins is not the first of its kind since the Assad regime was ousted in December. In March, clashes between members........
© Deutsche Welle
