Syria govt swap dozens of detainees with Druze factions

SWEIDA, Feb 26: Syria's government and Druze factions conducted an exchange of 86 detainees held since the two sides fought a deadly battle last year, the International Committee of the Red Cross said Thursday.

Druze factions battled Bedouin fighters in the southern Syrian province of Sweida last July, in some of the worst internecine violence the country had seen since the ouster of longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad in 2024.

Security forces then intervened in the fighting on the side of the Bedouins, alongside other tribal groups, in a battle that saw more than 2,000 people killed, including 789 Druze civilians, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor.    �"AFP