A military official said Tuesday that Syrian government forces have withdrawn heavy weapons from the country’s south, an area where neighboring Israel has called for a demilitarized zone.
"Syrian forces have withdrawn their heavy weapons from southern Syria," the official told AFP on condition of anonymity, adding the process began around two months ago after deadly sectarian violence in Druze-majority Suwayda province.
Israel, which has its own Druze community, used the unrest as a pretext to bomb Syria, claiming it was defending the minority group and pressing its demands for the demilitarization of southern Syria.
Separately, a diplomatic source in Damascus told AFP on condition of anonymity that the heavy weapons withdrawal includes the country's south up to about 10 kilometers (six miles) south of the capital.
Last week, President Ahmed al-Sharaa said Syria was negotiating with Israel to reach a security agreement that would see Israel leave areas it occupied after the overthrow of longtime dictator Bashar Assad.
As anti-regime forces toppled Assad on Dec. 8, Israel deployed troops to the U.N.-patrolled buffer zone on the Golan Heights, which has separated Israeli and Syrian forces since an armistice that followed the 1973 Arab-Israeli war.
Israel has also launched hundreds of air strikes on targets in Syria and carried out incursions deeper into the south.
The diplomatic source said a new meeting between Syrian and Israeli officials would be held in Baku on Friday.
Israel and Syria have no diplomatic relations, with the two countries technically at war since 1948.
Last month, Syrian state media said Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani and Israeli Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer had met in Paris to discuss de-escalation and the situation in Suwayda.
The government has promised investigations into the July violence in Suwayda, with a committee convening its first meeting Saturday. But for now, Suwayda remains a volatile tinderbox – a grim reminder that Syria’s post-Assad transition is far from peaceful.
