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Syria-Sweida/Withdrawal
Sweida, Syria - July 16, 2025 (CGTN - No Access Chinese Mainland/Orient TV/Syria Alshaab TV/Zanoubia TV/Alhurra TV/ANN TV/Al Jazeera/ Al-Arabiya TV)
1. Various of road sign of Sweida
2. Various of damaged vehicle, tank
3. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Syrian military officer (name not given):
"We've received orders from the Defense Ministry leadership to enter Sweida province to resolve the clashes resulting from the security breakdown that occurred there over the past 48 hours. This breakdown led to many casualties and a very large number of wounded individuals. This situation required that reinforcements from Defense Ministry forces be brought in, and coordinated with security forces and the Interior Ministry, to enter Sweida province and establish control."
4. Various of vehicles carrying servicemen, traffic
5. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Mohammed Farhan al-Hariri, doctor (partially overlaid with shot 6):
"We were informed in the morning that there were a number of injuries, so we opened the clinic and the health unit and received many wounded individuals. Their number was approximately 27 cases, including seven deaths. The cases ranged from moderate to severe injuries, including women and children. We've provided medical services to most of the cases here, and they have been transferred to advanced centers. Now the center is being equipped with the necessary medical supplies and medical staff. We have volunteer cadres who greatly support the medical staff at the center. Most of the staff are from neighboring villages and provide great support to us."
++SHOT OVERLAYING SOUNDBITE++
6. Various of ambulances
++SHOT OVERLAYING SOUNDBITE++
7. Damaged military vehicle
8. Various of vehicles carrying servicemen
9. Tank on road
The Syrian interim authorities said Thursday that the government forces have withdrawn from the southern province of Sweida in response to a U.S.-Arab mediation effort aimed at de-escalating the deadly violence, after days of clashes with militias linked to the Druze minority.
The withdrawal came after Syrian government officials and Druze minority leaders announced a new ceasefire Wednesday.
However, the ceasefire is believed to be fragile as prominent Druze leader Sheikh Hikmat Al-Hijri disavowed the deal, and Israeli airstrikes continued despite the announcement. Before the new ceasefire, a previous agreement announced Tuesday quickly collapsed.
Convoys of Syrian government forces were deploying in Sweida before the new ceasefire was announced.
"We've received orders from the Defense Ministry leadership to enter Sweida province to resolve the clashes resulting from the security breakdown that occurred there over the past 48 hours. This breakdown led to many casualties and a very large number of wounded individuals. This situation required that reinforcements from Defense Ministry forces be brought in, and coordinated with security forces and the Interior Ministry, to enter Sweida province and establish control," said a military officer.
The death toll from this week's deadly clashes in Sweida has approached 600, as tensions continued Thursday amid an Israeli airstrike on the outskirts of the provincial capital of Sweida, state-run media and a war monitor reported.
According to Syria's official news agency SANA, an Israeli warplane launched a new air raid targeting the vicinity of Sweida city, a day after Israeli strikes hit military and symbolic state sites in Damascus. No immediate casualties were reported from Thursday's strike.
The escalation comes as the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said at least 597 people had been killed since July 13, when fighting erupted between local Druze armed groups and Syrian government forces, sparking what the watchdog described as one of the deadliest episodes of intra-Syrian conflict in years.
Local medical facilities have been overwhelmed by the scale of casualties.
"We were informed in the morning that there were a number of injuries, so we opened the clinic and the health unit and received many wounded individuals. Their number was approximately 27 cases, including seven deaths. The cases ranged from moderate to severe injuries, including women and children. We've provided medical services to most of the cases here, and they have been transferred to advanced centers. Now the center is being equipped with the necessary medical supplies and medical staff. We have volunteer cadres who greatly support the medical staff at the center. Most of the staff are from neighboring villages and provide great support to us," said Mohammed Farhan al-Hariri, a doctor.
Syria-Sweida/Withdrawal
Dateline : July 16, 2025
Location : Syrian Arab Republic
Duration : 2'52
Sweida, Syria - July 16, 2025 (CGTN - No Access Chinese Mainland/Orient TV/Syria Alshaab TV/Zanoubia TV/Alhurra TV/ANN TV/Al Jazeera/ Al-Arabiya TV)
1. Various of road sign of Sweida
2. Various of damaged vehicle, tank
3. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Syrian military officer (name not given):
"We've received orders from the Defense Ministry leadership to enter Sweida province to resolve the clashes resulting from the security breakdown that occurred there over the past 48 hours. This breakdown led to many casualties and a very large number of wounded individuals. This situation required that reinforcements from Defense Ministry forces be brought in, and coordinated with security forces and the Interior Ministry, to enter Sweida province and establish control."
4. Various of vehicles carrying servicemen, traffic
5. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Mohammed Farhan al-Hariri, doctor (partially overlaid with shot 6):
"We were informed in the morning that there were a number of injuries, so we opened the clinic and the health unit and received many wounded individuals. Their number was approximately 27 cases, including seven deaths. The cases ranged from moderate to severe injuries, including women and children. We've provided medical services to most of the cases here, and they have been transferred to advanced centers. Now the center is being equipped with the necessary medical supplies and medical staff. We have volunteer cadres who greatly support the medical staff at the center. Most of the staff are from neighboring villages and provide great support to us."
++SHOT OVERLAYING SOUNDBITE++
6. Various of ambulances
++SHOT OVERLAYING SOUNDBITE++
7. Damaged military vehicle
8. Various of vehicles carrying servicemen
9. Tank on road
The Syrian interim authorities said Thursday that the government forces have withdrawn from the southern province of Sweida in response to a U.S.-Arab mediation effort aimed at de-escalating the deadly violence, after days of clashes with militias linked to the Druze minority.
The withdrawal came after Syrian government officials and Druze minority leaders announced a new ceasefire Wednesday.
However, the ceasefire is believed to be fragile as prominent Druze leader Sheikh Hikmat Al-Hijri disavowed the deal, and Israeli airstrikes continued despite the announcement. Before the new ceasefire, a previous agreement announced Tuesday quickly collapsed.
Convoys of Syrian government forces were deploying in Sweida before the new ceasefire was announced.
"We've received orders from the Defense Ministry leadership to enter Sweida province to resolve the clashes resulting from the security breakdown that occurred there over the past 48 hours. This breakdown led to many casualties and a very large number of wounded individuals. This situation required that reinforcements from Defense Ministry forces be brought in, and coordinated with security forces and the Interior Ministry, to enter Sweida province and establish control," said a military officer.
The death toll from this week's deadly clashes in Sweida has approached 600, as tensions continued Thursday amid an Israeli airstrike on the outskirts of the provincial capital of Sweida, state-run media and a war monitor reported.
According to Syria's official news agency SANA, an Israeli warplane launched a new air raid targeting the vicinity of Sweida city, a day after Israeli strikes hit military and symbolic state sites in Damascus. No immediate casualties were reported from Thursday's strike.
The escalation comes as the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said at least 597 people had been killed since July 13, when fighting erupted between local Druze armed groups and Syrian government forces, sparking what the watchdog described as one of the deadliest episodes of intra-Syrian conflict in years.
Local medical facilities have been overwhelmed by the scale of casualties.
"We were informed in the morning that there were a number of injuries, so we opened the clinic and the health unit and received many wounded individuals. Their number was approximately 27 cases, including seven deaths. The cases ranged from moderate to severe injuries, including women and children. We've provided medical services to most of the cases here, and they have been transferred to advanced centers. Now the center is being equipped with the necessary medical supplies and medical staff. We have volunteer cadres who greatly support the medical staff at the center. Most of the staff are from neighboring villages and provide great support to us," said Mohammed Farhan al-Hariri, a doctor.
ID : 8437083
Published : 2025-07-18 16:56
Last Modified : 2025-07-18 20:42:05
Source : China Global Television Network (CGTN)
Restrictions : No Access Chinese Mainland/Orient TV/Syria Alshaab TV/Zanoubia TV/Alhurra TV/ANN TV/Al Jazeera/ Al-Arabiya TV
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