Syria has started pulling its forces out of the southern city of Suwayda following several days of intense fighting with the Druze minority that drew military intervention from Israel.
President Ahmed al-Sharaa announced the withdrawal late Wednesday, framing it as a decision to spare the country from “chaos and destruction.” In a televised address, he said Syria had faced a stark choice: “an open war” with Israel at the cost of its Druze population, or stepping back to prioritize national unity.
The withdrawal follows a new ceasefire agreement between the Syrian government and Druze leaders, after Israel launched airstrikes on Damascus in what it said was an effort to protect the Druze. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio confirmed the Trump administration had mediated between parties and helped broker the truce.
The ceasefire mandates a halt to all military operations, the formation of a joint monitoring committee, and a shift in security responsibilities in Suwayda to local Druze leaders. However, the truce remains fragile — a previous agreement collapsed within hours, and prominent Druze figure Hikmat al-Hijri has already rejected the current deal, urging his followers to keep fighting.
Clashes in Suwayda erupted between Druze militias and Bedouin tribes over the weekend, prompting government troops to intervene. Videos aired on Syrian TV Wednesday night appeared to show military convoys exiting the city.
Israel, meanwhile, struck multiple government sites in Damascus, killing at least three people. One airstrike aired live on a Syrian news channel showed the Ministry of Defense building being hit, forcing the anchor off-air. President al-Sharaa condemned Israel’s actions, accusing it of attempting to “sow division” and turn Syria into “a battlefield of chaos.”
The Israeli military has ramped up operations in Syria in recent weeks, despite U.S. calls for restraint. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has referred to Syria’s new leadership as an “extremist Islamic regime” and a growing threat to Israel’s security.
More than 169 people have been killed and at least 200 injured in the recent violence in Syria’s south, according to the Syrian Network for Human Rights. CNN has not independently verified those figures.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres called for an immediate end to the bloodshed and criticized both the Syrian government and Israel, urging respect for Syria’s sovereignty.
The Druze community, which follows an offshoot of Islam and numbers around one million globally, is largely concentrated in Syria’s south near the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. Israel annexed that territory in 1981, and over 20,000 Druze still live there.
In recent days, hundreds of Druze crossed the Israeli border to support their communities inside Syria — a sign of how deep the sectarian and geopolitical complexities now run.
As Syria attempts to reestablish control after years of civil war, the flare-up in Suwayda highlights the growing instability President al-Sharaa faces, as regional tensions continue to rise.
