ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The Damascus authorities must immediately reel in “violent jihadists,” hold them accountable, and prevent their entry to the southern Druze-majority Suwayda province, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Sunday, as Syrian authorities declared a halt to the fighting.
“If authorities in Syria want to preserve any chance of achieving a unified, inclusive, and peaceful Syria … they must end this calamity by using their security forces to prevent ISIS [Islamic State] and any other violent jihadists from entering the area and carrying out massacres,” Rubio said on X.
He called on Damascus to bring the perpetrators of atrocities in the area to justice, “including those in their own ranks.”
“The rape and slaughter of innocent people which has and is still occurring must end,” Rubio asserted, adding that Washington is in touch with Israeli, Jordanian, and Syrian authorities over the developments in Suwayda.
Syria’s interior ministry said on Sunday that fighting in Suwayda had “halted” after tribal fighters pulled out of the city.
“The city of Suwayda was evacuated of all tribal fighters and clashes within the city’s neighborhoods were halted,” ministry spokesperson Noureddine al-Baba said, adding that Syrian troops were deployed to the province’s north and west.
The ceasefire, called for by the Syrian government, came after a Washington-brokered deal that sought to prevent further Israeli intervention.
On Sunday, US Special Envoy for Syria Tom Barrack described the events in southern Syria as a “profound shock,” saying “brutal acts by warring factions on the ground undermine the government’s authority and disrupt any semblance of order.”
“All factions must immediately lay down their arms, cease hostilities, and abandon cycles of tribal vengeance. Syria stands at a critical juncture - peace and dialogue must prevail - and prevail now,” he stressed.
Barrack further urged the Damascus authorities to capitalize on US President Donald Trump’s decision to lift sanctions on the war-torn country.
A day prior, Barrack met with Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) chief Mazloum Abdi to discuss the situation in Syria.
“They also discussed practical steps towards integration into a unified Syria for a peaceful, prosperous, inclusive and stable future for all Syrians. They agreed the time for unity is now,” the US Embassy in Syria said on X.
Clashes in Suwayda erupted on Saturday between Druze fighters and tribal groups despite an internationally sponsored ceasefire, which pushed the death toll to around 940 people, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor.
Israel has come out in support of the Druze and hit several targets, including Syrian state forces and an airstrike on the building of the defence ministry in Damascus.
Clashes erupted last week between the Druze and Sunni Bedouin tribes. The Syrian army intervened and took control of most of the province, which had been under Druze rule since the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime in December. A ceasefire was reached with US mediation and after Israel carried out strikes in support of the Druze. On Wednesday, interim Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa announced state forces were pulling out of the province.
