DAMASCUS — Syrian authorities and Druze militia groups completed their first prisoner swap on Thursday since violent sectarian fighting broke out last summer in the southern city of Sweida, according to the Syrian government’s local media office.
Damascus authorities released 61 detained Druze faction members who had been held at Adra Central Prison near the capital, while the Druze National Guard Forces freed 25 Syrian government officials in return, the media office reported.
International Committee of the Red Cross officials oversaw the prisoner exchange operation.
Violent sectarian fighting between Druze militants and Sunni Bedouin tribal groups began in Sweida last July. The conflict escalated when forces from the Islamist-controlled government deployed to the provincial capital to stop the violence in the predominantly Druze region.
Israel, which supports the Druze population, launched airstrikes against President Ahmed al-Sharaa’s administration during the fighting.
Officials declared a complete ceasefire later that month to end the bloodshed, which claimed hundreds of lives over several days of intense combat.
