Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said today that a ceasefire in Syria was “achieved by force,” after Israel struck military targets in Damascus in response to government troops’ attacks on Druze.
“This ceasefire was achieved by force. Not by demands, not by pleading – by force,” he said.
Government troops began withdrawing from the Druze province of Sweida in southern Syria on Wednesday night.
The withdrawal came after President Ahmed al-Shara said in a televised address that “responsibility” for security in Sweida would be handed over to religious elders and some local factions “based on the supreme national interest.”
Syrian government troops were sent to the Sweida region this week to quell fighting between Druze fighters and armed Bedouins, but ended up clashing with Druze militias.
Israel responded by launching strikes on Syrian forces, including their military headquarters in Damascus.
According to the text of the new ceasefire agreement, published by the Interior Ministry, there will be a “complete and immediate cessation of all military operations” and the formation of a committee made up of government officials and Druze spiritual leaders to oversee its implementation, Reuters reports.
