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Sat, Dec 13, 2025 | Jumada al-Thani 22, 1447 | Fajr 05:32 | DXB 
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Syria's Druze reach new ceasefire deal with government in Sweida
An earlier ceasefire announced on Tuesday night collapsed after only a few hours
Syria's Druze have reached a ceasefire agreement with the Syrian government in Sweida that will take immediate effect, Druze religious leader Sheikh Yousef Jarbou said in a video broadcast by state media on Wednesday.
An earlier ceasefire announced on Tuesday night collapsed after only a few hours. There was still fire from government forces in the predominantly Druze city of Sweida after the announcement was made, according to a Reuters witness.
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Syrian government forces on Tuesday entered the majority-Druze city of Sweida, in the country's south, with the stated aim of overseeing a ceasefire agreed with Druze community leaders after clashes with local Bedouin tribes left dozens dead.
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However, witnesses reported that the government forces joined with the Bedouin in attacking Druze fighters and civilians in a bloody rampage through the city.
The fighting marks the most serious outbreak of violence in Syria since government forces battled Druze fighters in Sweida province and near Damascus in April and May leaving more than 100 people dead.
Earlier on Wednesday, Israel bombed the Syrian army headquarters in Damascus after warning the Islamist-led government to leave the Druze minority alone in its Sweida heartland, where a war monitor says sectarian clashes have killed nearly 250 people.
Israel has presented itself as a defender of the Druze, although some analysts say that is a pretext for pursuing its own military goal of keeping Syrian government forces as far from the border as possible.
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