Months of efforts by US officials helped pave the way for a deal on Thursday that enabled numerous people to be freed by opposing sides in Syria.
Dozens of people who had been detained in Damascus and Sweida since clashes in July between the Druze in Sweida and government forces in Damascus were released in an exchange.
US efforts, including by US envoy Tom Barrack and by Congressman Abe Hamadeh (R-Arizona), played a key role, according to a source with knowledge of the details.
According to Syrian state media SANA, “Syrian Internal Security Forces, in coordination with the Military Police, began transferring 61 detainees to Sweida on Thursday.” This was part of a deal that saw 25 people released by the Druze National Guard that controls Sweida.
“Qutaiba Azzam, director of media relations in Sweida, told SANA that the detainees were being moved to the al-Matouna checkpoint in the province’s northern countryside to complete the agreed exchange process,” the report said.
According to a knowledgeable source, the deal on Thursday came about due to work that had been done over the last few months.
In August, Hamadeh made an unprecedented trip from Jerusalem to Damascus, his office said at the time. He “met with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa and Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad Hassan al-Shaibani to discuss the congressman’s continuing efforts to bring Americans home, advance Peace Through Strength, and advocate for a Syria that looks towards the future and not the past.”
In September, Shaibani made a historic visit to Washington, where he met Hamadeh, along with other US officials and politicians.
Khaldoun al-Hijri, a relative of Syrian Druze leader Hikmat al-Hijri, who has worked as a political envoy for the Druze region, met with Hamadeh in Washington, according to the source.
The goal was to help keep dialogue open and also to discuss civil society and build a rapport. Hamadeh’s office worked incessantly to help move things forward. Along with Barrack’s team, this helped pave the way for the current deal.
Red Cross helped facilitate exchange
The exchange took place with the supervision of the International Committee of the Red Cross. This is the first time that such a deal has taken place between the authorities in Damascus and the Druze in Sweida. Clashes in July saw the two sides harden their positions and Sweida has been largely cut off from the rest of Syria since that time.
Israel carried out airstrikes at the time to deter more attacks on the Druze. In recent months, things have changed in Syria. Israel, Syria, and the US held a trilateral meeting in France in January, for instance.
The Syrian government has also signed a deal with the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces in eastern Syria that has seen Syrian security forces deploy to the east. US forces are also withdrawing from Syria.
