Syrian security forces evacuate Bedouin families from Suwayda

Special units of Syria’s internal security forces have launched an operation to evacuate residents held hostage by Druze community self-defense squads in the city of Suwayda (90 km from Damascus), head of the provincial interior ministry department General Ahmed al-Dallati told the SANA news agency.

"The first stage saw the evacuation of 1,500 people from Bedouin families, who had been captured and held for several days by local armed groups," he said. "The detainees are being transported by bus to the neighboring Daraa province through the checkpoint in the city of Bosra al-Harir."

Al-Dallati emphasized the need for all parties to adhere to the ceasefire regime in effect in the province and called for cooperation in the authorities’ efforts to de-escalate the situation. "Thanks to mediation efforts, all Bedouin families will be released in the coming hours and temporarily housed in refugee centers," he noted.

Earlier, Sham TV reported that the swap of detainees and hostages between the Druze and Arab tribes planned for the evening of July 20 was derailed due to a ceasefire violation north of Suwayda. On July 19, Nureddin al-Baba, a representative of the Interior Ministry in the Arab Republic’s transitional government, announced that Arab tribal units had been fully withdrawn from Suwayda and the surrounding area. Earlier, Syrian President for the transitional period Ahmed al-Sharaa introduced a ceasefire across the entire southern province.