Syrian authorities and Druze factions on Thursday exchanged prisoners who had been held in the south of the country since deadly clashes last July, the government's media office for Sweida region said.
The swap, overseen by the International Committee of the Red Cross, involved at least 25 Druze men and 61 government personnel. It comes in partial fulfilment of a peace deal brokered by the US last September to end the conflict between Syrian government forces and the predominantly Druze Sweida region. The sect's leadership has largely resisted the authorities' push to assert control over the area.
Official television said the government sent those being released by bus from a prison in Damascus to a roadblock in Sweida, where the exchange then took place.
They were traded for 25 security personnel held by a militia called the National Guard. The 25 were transferred to a compound in Sweida city, the provincial capital, where their relatives were waiting. “The switch has occurred,” independent activist Rayyan Maarouf said.
The September deal stipulated that the two sides “release all detainees and abductees” held during a government offensive on Sweida in July, during which hundreds of civilians, mostly Druze, were killed by the attacking forces. Thousands of tribal auxiliaries joined the government in the fighting, which drew Israeli military intervention.
Fighting broke out last summer after months of resistance from Hikmat Al Hijri, the most senior Druze spiritual leader, to government attempts to impose control in Sweida and appoint new officials in the region. The area has been surrounded by government forces since, with the population reliant on UN and Red Cross aid convoys. The conflict has yet to be fully resolved.
