The number of fatalities in the violence in Syria's Sweida Province rose to over 1,300, according to the UK-based Observatory for Human Rights, with at least 300 of them being civilians from the Druze community, out of which 196 were reportedly executed by regime forces.
U.S. envoy to Syria Thomas Barrack said he urged Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa to recalibrate his policies and embrace a more inclusive approach after the massacre last week, or risk losing international support and fragmenting the country.
Barrack said he had advised Sharaa in private discussions to revisit elements of the pre-war army structure, scale back Islamist indoctrination and seek regional security assistance. He told Reuters that without swift change, Sharaa risks losing the momentum that once propelled him to power.
After witnesses, Druze factions and the Observatory accused government forces of siding with the Bedouins, the American envoy pushed back and suggested that Islamic State group militants may have been disguised in government uniforms and that social media videos are easily doctored and therefore unreliable.
"The Syrian troops haven't gone into the city. These atrocities that are happening are not happening by the Syrian regime troops. They're not even in the city because they agreed with Israel that they would not go in," he said.
The Syrian regime said on Tuesday that it had launched investigations into reported extrajudicial killings and promised to punish perpetrators, including any government-affiliated personnel. after a week of sectarian violence, Druze factions and the Observatory have accused government forces of siding with the Bedouin and committing abuses, including summary executions, when they entered Sweida last week.
The interior ministry on Tuesday condemned "in the strongest terms the videos circulating showing field executions carried out by unidentified individuals in Sweida".
The Defense Ministry also said it was looking into "reports of shocking and serious violations committed by an unidentified group wearing military uniform in Sweida city."
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Defense Minister Murhaf Abu Qasra said there would be no tolerance shown to any perpetrator of violence, "even if they are affiliated with the Defense Ministry."
A ceasefire in Sweida took effect on Sunday, after Bedouin and tribal fighters withdrew from Sweida city and Druze groups regained control, while government forces deployed in parts of the province.
The United Nations said Tuesday it was relocating its staff and their families from the city, and that it had handed a new aid shipment to the Syrian Red Crescent destined for Sweida.