U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Saturday (July 19, 2025) referred to as on the Syrian government’s safety forces to prevent jihadists from coming into and “carrying out massacres” within the conflict-stricken south of the nation.
“If authorities in Damascus want to preserve any chance of achieving a unified, inclusive and peaceful Syria… they must help end this calamity by using their security forces to prevent ISIS and any other violent jihadists from entering the area and carrying out massacres,” Mr. Rubio stated in an announcement posted to X, utilizing one other title for the Islamic State group (IS).
Sectarian clashes between armed Bedouin forces and the Druze in the neighborhood’s Sweida heartland had drawn in Syria’s Islamist-led government, Israel and different armed tribes.
U.S.-brokered negotiations have sought to avert additional Israeli army intervention, with Syrian forces agreeing to withdraw from the area.
“The U.S. has remained heavily involved over the last three days with Israel, Jordan and authorities in Damascus on the horrifying & dangerous developments in southern Syria,” Mr. Rubio stated.
He referred to as for the Syrian government to “hold accountable and bring to justice anyone guilty of atrocities including those in their own ranks.”
“Furthermore the fighting between Druze and Bedouin groups inside the perimeter must also stop immediately,” Mr. Rubio added.
Once accountable for giant swathes of Syria, the IS was territorially defeated in Syria in 2019 largely due to the efforts of Kurdish-led forces supported by a world coalition.
Violence between the Druze and Bedouin teams that started on July 13 has left an estimated 940 lifeless, in accordance to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based conflict monitor.
The rely included 326 Druze fighters and 262 Druze civilians, 165 of whom have been summarily executed, in accordance to the Observatory.
The monitor additionally included 312 government safety personnel and 21 Sunni Bedouin within the toll.
