Key Points

"There is no longer a single fighter from government forces in Sweida," said Rami Abdulrahman, director of the Britain-based monitor, adding it remains unclear whether internal security units, which were deployed to the province before the escalation, will return.

Meanwhile, the province is facing an imminent humanitarian crisis as dead bodies remain strewn in conflict-torn neighbourhoods, and the wounded lack basic medical assistance.

The escalation in Sweida began Sunday after armed members of a Bedouin tribe in the countryside of Sweida, a predominantly Druze province, reportedly assaulted and robbed a young Druze man near the town of al-Masmiyah, along the Damascus-Sweida highway. The brutal attack sparked retaliatory kidnappings, spiralling into full-scale clashes between local Druze fighters, government troops, and Bedouin militias.

On Wednesday, Israel carried out several waves of strikes on Damascus and Sweida, claiming to prevent the Druze minority from being harmed. The attacks have met with immediate strong condemnation from the international community.

The death toll of the violence has so far topped 370, including 207 from government troops, 107 civilians and fighters from Sweida, 27 civilians executed extrajudicially, 14 unidentified bodies found in newly-recovered areas, and 18 killed by Israeli airstrikes on Damascus and Sweida, the SOHR said Thursday, adding that the number could further rise.

"The humanitarian situation requires immediate relief and a collective national effort to heal the wounds," the SOHR stressed.

Hours after the Israeli airstrikes on Wednesday, a fragile ceasefire between Syria's interim government and Druze spiritual leaders entered into effect, which includes a complete cessation of hostilities, the return of army units to their barracks, and the full reintegration of Sweida into state control.

Still, it is too early to tell whether the ceasefire will hold, or whether humanitarian and political recovery can take root in the war-scarred province.

Sheikh Youssef Jarbouh, top spiritual leader of Syria's Druze community, confirmed the terms of the ceasefire and urged all sides to honour the accord. However, in a sign of continued division, influential Druze cleric Sheikh Hikmat al-Hijri issued a separate statement rejecting any agreement with the transitional government, vowing to continue what he called "legitimate resistance" until Sweida is fully "cleansed" of armed government forces.

Amid the lingering split, Syrian interim leader Ahmed al-Sharaa reaffirmed at dawn on Thursday the government's commitment to protecting all Syrians, especially the Druze community, and strongly condemned the Israeli airstrikes, Xinhua news agency reported.

Addressing Syria's Druze community, al-Sharaa reaffirmed its place as an integral part of the nation. "Protecting your rights and freedoms is a top priority," he said. "We reject any effort to drag you into foreign agendas or sow internal division."

Turning to Israel, al-Sharaa accused the "Israeli entity" of consistently targeting Syrian stability and seeking to incite internal conflict since the fall of the former Syrian government. He charged that Israel aims to turn Syria into a permanent battlefield, weaken its national cohesion, and obstruct its reconstruction process.

"Syria is not a testing ground for foreign conspiracies, and we won't allow external ambitions to be realised at the expense of our children and our future," he added.

- IANS