Syrian government troops to redeploy to Suwayda as Israel targets Bedouin convoy

Syria’s Ministry of Interior said the country’s security forces are redeploying to restive Suwayda in the south of the country to quell fighting between the Druze and Bedouin tribes, Al Jazeera writes.

Israel had previously warned the Syrian government to withdraw from the south, and Israeli forces carried out an attack Friday on Syria’s Palmyra-Homs highway, targeting a convoy of Bedouin fighters who were reportedly making their way towards Suwayda, according to Israel’s public broadcaster Kan News.

This comes just two days after Israel carried out heavy attacks on the capital, Damascus.

Bedouin fighters in Syria said they launched a new offensive against Druze fighters late on Thursday, despite the withdrawal of Syrian government forces from Suwayda province, and an attempt by the Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa to draw a line under a recent eruption of deadly violence that killed hundreds.

Al Jazeera’s Zeina Khodr, reporting from Damascus, said a source at the Interior Ministry revealed that the decision by the government to redeploy its forces to Suwayda follows appeals by locals for help.