WALGH, Jul 18: Heavy fighting has flared up again between the Druze and Bedouin tribes in the restive southern Syrian province of Suwayda, as another ceasefire has collapsed a day after Syrian troops pulled out of the area.
The resumption of clashes on Friday came as the Syrian Ministry of Interior denied reports that government forces are being redeployed to the Druze-majority governorate.
"We confirm that no official statement has been issued in this regard, and we categorically deny the veracity of what was published," state media quoted spokesperson Noureddine al-Baba as saying.
The spokesperson said government forces were in a normal state of readiness, and there had been no deployment to Suwayda so far.
This comes after an Israeli official, who declined to be named, told reporters that "in light of the ongoing instability in southwest Syria, Israel has agreed to allow limited entry of the [Syrian] internal security forces into Suwayda district for the next 48 hours".
Israel, which on Wednesday carried out heavy air attacks on Suwayda and the Syrian capital, had previously warned Damascus to withdraw from the south. The government condemned the Israeli attacks as a violation of Syrian sovereignty and an attempt to sow division and chaos in the country.
The AFP news agency also said fighters on both sides confirmed the exchange of fire to its correspondents.
Separately, footage published online and verified by Al Jazeera documented the sound of clashes between Bedouin tribes and Druze fighters in rural Suwayda earlier on Friday. Other verified clips also showed the arrival of reinforcements to support the tribesmen spread throughout the area.
Earlier, a video showed Bedouin tribal leader Abdul Moneim al-Naseef, surrounded by armed tribesmen, issuing a call "to the tribes in all Syrian provinces to head immediately to Suwayda to save our people from massacres and ethnic cleansing".
The latest reports of violence come despite a ceasefire agreed on Wednesday and the pulling out of government forces from Suwayda, after days of deadly clashes involving local armed groups as well as government forces.
The Syrian Network for Human Rights, a group that documents human rights violations, said 321 people have been killed in and around Suwayda since Sunday.
Raed al-Saleh, Syria's minister of disaster management and emergency response, said hundreds of families have been evacuated from Suwayda after calls for help from citizens caught up in the violence. More than 570 wounded are being treated, and the bodies of 87 victims have been recovered, he said.
The conflict drew air attacks against Syrian forces by Israel, which claimed its attacks aimed to protect the Druze community in Suwayda.
Most of the fighting was halted by the truce announced on Wednesday. Under that agreement, Druze factions and scholars would be left to maintain internal security in Suwayda, Syria's interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa said on Thursday. �"AGENCIES
