ALBAWABA - There were fierce fights in and around the city of Sweida in southern Syria between clan fighters and armed groups that the government called "outlaws." This led the Syrian Interior Ministry to call for immediate help.
According to reports in the area, tribal troops moved into some parts of Sweida before pulling back early Friday morning. They then regrouped around the city to wait for help from other tribe areas in Syria. The violence got worse after attacks on Bedouin villages made things worse.
As the leader of Syria's Tribal and Clans Council, Sheikh Abdul Moneim Al-Nassif called for all tribes to rush to Sweida to "rescue civilians" from what he called a killing of local Bedouins.
As a result, the Interior Ministry has started to send in troops to restore order and protect the people living there, according to a Syrian security source who stated that they had received requests from people in the province.
Tribal fighters had earlier started a counteroffensive in western rural Sweida, retaking towns like Taara, Al-Dour, and Al-Mazraa. This was done in response to claims that Druze armed groups attacked Bedouins after the government pulled its troops out.
According to state media, illegal groups attacked the Maqous neighborhood, which was home to Bedouin families. They killed and hurt many citizens, including women and children. Bedouins' homes and neighborhoods were also set on fire.
Along with the over 500 families who have left their homes because of violence and damage, more than 1,000 Bedouin people are said to be being held in the town of Shahba.
Sheikh Hikmat Al-Hijri, a well-known Druze imam, asked the Syrian government to send in military troops to stop more killing. He said in a video message that no one group should be blamed for the bloodshed and that unity and tolerance were very important.
Al-Hijri had previously asked for the international community to protect the Druze community, but other Druze leaders have said they are loyal to Syria and don't want foreign interference.
Thursday, the Syrian president said that some bad people had broken a peace that had been worked out by U.S. and Arab officials and started fighting again. The government said it had pulled back troops to support the peace plan, but armed groups broke the deal by killing many people and putting the country's unity at risk.
The president asked the rest of the world to back Syria's efforts to make things more stable and spoke out against Israel's continued meddling, saying that it was making things less stable in the area.
At first, the trouble was caused by fights between Druze and Bedouin gangs. Since then, state troops have been called in, and heavy Israeli bombings are said to have been launched against anti-government groups.
The Syrian government said that its top objectives are still to protect people and keep the country together.
