Syria, Jordan, US unveil road map to stabilize Suwayda after clashes: What to know
The news comes along with reports that Syria has withdrawn heavy weaponry from the south, seemingly complying with Israel's demands for a demilitarized zone in southern Syria.
Officials from Syria, Egypt and the United States met on Tuesday to unveil a multistep plan aimed at ensuring peace in the Druze-majority southern province of Suwayda, which was rocked by heavy fighting earlier this summer.
Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad Al-Shibani, Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi and US special envoy to Syria Tom Barrack met in Damascus and spoke to press afterward, during which Shibani announced a national road map for the area of Suwayda.
Violence in Suwayda erupted mid-July, when clashes between Druze fighters and Sunni Bedouin tribes escalated, prompting the government to deploy security forces to the area. Government-aligned fighters stand accused of extrajudicial executions and other human rights violations against the Druze minority.
Israel, which has a longstanding relationship with the Druze in Syria, intervened with its own airstrikes on government targets, which it claimed it launched in an effort to protect the Druze community.
