Syrian foreign minister Asaad al-Shaibani announced on Tuesday a plan backed by Jordan and the United States to restore calm to Druze-majority Sweida province, which witnessed deadly sectarian violence in July.
The situation in the province has been tense since the clashes, which the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said killed more than 2,000 people, including 789 Druze civilians “summarily executed by defence and interior ministry personnel”.
“The Syrian government has laid out a clear roadmap for action… that supports justice and builds trust,” Shaibani said in a press conference, adding that the plan involves holding accountable those who attacked civilians, compensating those affected and “launching a process of internal reconciliation”.
The implementation will be accompanied by a United Nations investigation into the violence, according to Shaibani.
Jordanian foreign minister Ayman Safadi, present at the event with US envoy Tom Barrack, said a “joint Syrian-Jordanian-American mechanism” would ensure the plan’s implementation.
The bloodshed erupted on July 13 with clashes between Druze fighters and Sunni Bedouin but rapidly escalated, drawing in government forces and tribal fighters from other parts of Syria.
Syrian authorities have said their forces intervened to stop the clashes, but witnesses, Druze factions and the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights have accused them of siding with the Bedouin and committing abuses against the Druze.
The Britain-based monitor, which relies on a network of sources inside Syria, said 516 Druze, including 103 women, had been abducted from the province since the violence erupted.
Barrack said the steps taken by the Syrian government on Tuesday were “historic”.
Washington is trying, according to Barrack, to work with neighbouring countries to bring “those threads of help, understanding, assistance, together in a new tapestry, and I think today is a major milestone in that for all three of us”.
Earlier in the day, Syrian authorities announced the creation of a new internal security chief position for Sweida city, naming a member of the Druze community to the post.
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© Agence France-Presse
