Syrian leader accuses Israel of turning country into ‘theatre of chaos’ as forces withdraw from Sweida

Ceasefire between Syrian government forces and Druze fighters appears to be holding

Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa has accused Israel of trying to turn Syria into a “theatre of endless chaos” in the wake of IDF strikes on Damascus.

In a televised speech on Thursday, the Syrian leader promised to protect the country’s Druze citizens as government forces withdrew from the southern province of Sweida, where clashes have erupted between Bedouin tribal fighters and Druze militias.

Bedouin clans had fought alongside government forces against the Druze groups.

A ceasefire between Syrian government forces and Druze fighters, mediated by the US and Turkey, appeared to be holding as of Thursday evening. Under the agreement, Druze factions and clerics have been appointed to maintain internal security in Sweida.

“The Israeli intervention, which has consistently targeted our stability and sown discord since the fall of the former regime, now seeks once again to turn our sacred land into a theatre of endless chaos,” Mr al-Sharaa said in a televised address from an undisclosed location.

The Syrian Defence Ministry building in Damascus was heavily damaged by Israeli airstrikes (AP)

The violence escalated on Wednesday when Israel hit Damascus with airstrikes, damaging the defence ministry and striking near the presidential palace.

Western diplomats were passing near the ministry in an armoured convoy when Israel struck the building, according to two people familiar with the matter, including a Syrian eyewitness. Nobody in the convoy was injured.

Israel has demanded the withdrawal of Syrian government forces from the south, citing its responsibility to protect the Druze population in Syria.

“We have set forth a clear policy: demilitarisation of the region to the south of Damascus, from the Golan Heights and to the Druze Mountain area,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said. He claimed Damascus had broken this policy.

“The regime sent troops south of Damascus, into the region that has to be demilitarised, and began slaughtering the Druze,” he said. “That we could not accept in any way, and I therefore directed the IDF to take action – and take powerful action.”

Since fighting broke out, Israel has launched dozens of strikes against government troops and convoys and warned it could escalate its involvement.

Smoke billows following Israeli strikes near the Syrian army and defence ministry headquarters (AFP/Getty)

Armed confrontations broke out between Druze militias and Sunni Bedouin tribes after a Druze merchant was abducted on a highway on Sunday.

The situation worsened when government troops attempted to restore order but ended up clashing with local Druze fighters.

In Sweida, a local Druze journalist – who asked not to be named for security reasons – told The Independent that the national hospital in the city was packed with bodies, most of them civilians.

“There are more than 500 bodies of those killed in the National Hospital in Sweida – almost all of them civilians. There are women, children, people shot in the head,” he said.

Fadel Abdulghany from the Syrian Network for Human Rights said they had documented at least 207 people killed, including six women, six children and two medics.

He said the death toll is probably far higher than that, as the number does not include combatants killed in battle, but instead focuses on those who were subjected to summary executions, other violations and those killed in Israeli strikes.

“This not a final death toll, it’s increasing – there are cases we haven’t been able to reach,” Mr Abdulghany told The Independent.

“The core of the problem is everything has been a mess – there is no real political inclusion [since the fall of Assad], it feels like major centralisation.”

Israeli drone footage shows the missile attack on Syria's military HQ (IDF)

Ryan Marouf of the local TV station Suwayda24 told Reuters he had found a family of 12 people killed in one house, including women and an elderly man. “People are looking for bodies,” he said in a voice recording.

The Druze religious sect began as a 10th-century offshoot of Ismailism, a branch of Shia Islam. It is deeply suspicious of Mr al-Sharaa’s government.

Israel’s defence minister Israel Katz said the “painful blows have begun” in a post on X, alongside a video of a Syrian presenter interrupted live by an airstrike on Syria’s defence ministry.

The explosion caused the camera to shake and the presenter quickly took shelter. A large explosion erupted behind her, with smoke billowing from the scene.

In a separate TRT video, a presenter is shown ducking as a burst of red flares up before the building is engulfed in smoke.

Smoke billows after clashes between Syrian government forces and Druze militias in Sweida, southern Syria (AP)

An Israeli military spokesperson said: “The IDF struck the entrance of the Syrian regime’s military headquarters in the area of Damascus in Syria.

“The IDF continues to monitor developments and the regime’s actions against Druze civilians in southern Syria. The IDF is striking in the area and remains prepared for various scenarios.”

Mr Netanyahu has said he is committed to preventing harm to the Druze in Syria because of their deep ties to those living in Israel and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.

Tensions between forces loyal to the government and Druze fighters have continued since Sunni rebels led a lightning assault to topple former president Bashar al-Assad in early December.