Syria evacuates Bedouin from Druze-majority Sweida
DAMASCUS
TOPSHOT - Evacuating members of the Bedouin community ride in the back of a truck stopping at a security checkpoint in Taarah, in Syria's southern Sweida province on the way to Daraa, on July 21, 2025
Syrian authorities on July 21 evacuated Bedouin families from the Druze-majority city of Sweida, after a ceasefire in the southern province halted a week of sectarian bloodshed.
The government coordinated with some officials in Sweida to bring in buses to evacuate some 1,500 Bedouins in the city.
Syrian Interior Minister Ahmad al-Dalati told the Syrian state media SANA that the initiative will also allow displaced civilians from Sweida to return, as the fighting has largely stopped and efforts for a complete ceasefire are ongoing.
“We have imposed a security cordon in the vicinity of Sweida to keep it secure and to stop the fighting there,” al-Dalati told the agency. “This will preserve the path that will lead to reconciliation and stability in the province."
Buses filled with Bedouin families were accompanied by Syrian Arab Red Crescent vehicles and ambulances.
They were headed for reception centers in neighboring Daraa province and to the capital Damascus. Some families left on trucks with their belongings.
Syrian authorities did not give further details about the evacuation and how it ties into the broader agreement, following failed talks for a hostage swap deal on July 19.
However, Britain-based war monitor the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said that as part of the agreement, the Bedouin fighters would have to release Druze women they were holding captive and leave the province.
The Bedouin fighters had withdrawn from Sweida city on July 20 and alongside other tribesman from other parts of the country stood on the outskirts while security forces cordoned off the area.
The ceasefire announced on July 19 put an end to the sectarian violence that has left more than 1,100 dead, most of them Druze fighters and civilians.
Clashes began on July 13 between Druze and Bedouin tribes, who have had tense relations for decades, and were complicated by the intervention of Sunni Arab tribes who converged on Sweida in support of the Bedouin.
More than 450 bodies had been brought to the Sweida national hospital by July 20 evening, with more still being recovered from the streets and homes.
