ISTANBUL

Syrian Information Minister Hamza al-Mustafa announced the formation of an emergency committee composed of government agencies on Saturday to provide humanitarian aid and services in the southern province of Suwayda.

“Steps taken by the state in Suwayda were aimed at protecting civilians and preventing the conflict from escalating further,” Mustafa told a press conference.

He stressed that events in the province did not constitute a military campaign or a premeditated operation, but were rather a state response to the worsening violence in the province.

The Syrian government has announced four ceasefire agreements in Suwayda, the most recent of which was declared on Saturday morning.

The previous three ceasefire deals did not hold for long.

Clashes renewed on Friday after a group affiliated with senior Druze leader Sheikh Hikmat al-Hajri forcibly displaced several members of Sunni Bedouin tribes and committed violations against them.

Outlining the details of the latest agreement, Mustafa stated: "The first phase of the agreement includes the deployment of internal security forces to de-escalate tensions and prevent clashes in most of the western and northern countryside of Suwayda, as well as on major roads outside city centers to avoid direct friction."

The second phase "involves opening humanitarian corridors between the provinces of Daraa and Suwayda to enable the evacuation of civilians, the wounded, and anyone wishing to leave Suwayda,” he added.

The minister said that the third phase will begin once the ceasefire is stabilized and will include "the gradual reactivation of state institutions and the deployment of internal security forces throughout the province in accordance with agreed terms to ensure a return to normal life and the enforcement of the rule of law."

In his criticism of al-Hajri, the Syrian minister said that he and other parties breached the agreements made with the state and “promoted rhetoric calling for foreign involvement.”

He stressed that al-Hajri “committed serious strategic errors by turning to (Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu, endangering the people of Suwayda.”

On July 13, clashes broke out between Bedouin Arab tribes and armed Druze groups in Suwayda.

Violence escalated and Israeli airstrikes followed, including on Syrian military positions and infrastructure in Damascus. Israel cited the need to protect Druze communities as a pretext for its attacks.

However, most Druze leaders in Syria have publicly rejected any foreign interference and reaffirmed their commitment to a unified Syrian state.

Following the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime in December 2024, Israel intensified its air campaign in Syria and declared the buffer zone between the two countries defunct alongside the 1974 Disengagement Agreement.