On September 16, 2025, a rare moment of diplomatic consensus unfolded in Damascus as Syria, Jordan, and the United States jointly unveiled a sweeping roadmap to restore security and foster reconciliation in Syria’s southern Sweida province. The announcement follows a summer of harrowing violence that left hundreds dead, more than 160,000 displaced, and deepened the scars of sectarian mistrust between the region’s Druze minority and local Bedouin tribes.
According to AP and FRANCE 24, the plan was hammered out after weeks of negotiations and was presented during a press conference attended by Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad Hassan al-Shaibani, Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi, and U.S. Special Envoy to Syria Tom Barrack. The roadmap, formally titled the “Roadmap for Resolving the Crisis in Sweida and Stabilizing Southern Syria,” lays out thirteen concrete steps aimed at ending the cycle of violence, restoring basic services, and rebuilding fractured trust between the government and local communities.
The violence that triggered this urgent diplomatic push erupted on July 13, 2025, when clashes broke out between armed Druze groups and Sunni Muslim Bedouin fighters in Sweida. The fighting raged for a week, drawing in Syrian government forces who, according to witnesses and the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, ultimately sided with the Bedouins. The result was catastrophic: the Observatory reported over 2,000 killed, including 789 Druze civilians allegedly executed on the spot by government troops. Atrocities were committed by both sides, and the intervention of government forces—purportedly to restore order—further inflamed tensions.
In a surprising twist, Israel intervened in defense of the Druze, launching dozens of airstrikes on government convoys and even striking the Syrian Defense Ministry headquarters in Damascus. This rare Israeli intervention underscored the gravity of the crisis and the Druze community’s precarious position. The Druze, a religious sect that originated as a 10th-century offshoot of Ismailism, have long been a minority in Syria, with over half of the world’s roughly 1 million Druze residing in the country. The rest are scattered across Lebanon and Israel, including the Golan Heights, which Israel captured from Syria in 1967.
“The agreement among the three countries includes moves to prosecute those who were involved in inciting the deadly clashes,” Syrian Foreign Minister al-Shaibani told reporters in Damascus, as quoted by AP. He added that the plan also provides for humanitarian aid to flow into Sweida, restoring essential services, deploying security forces to ensure safe transit on main roads, and launching a process of internal reconciliation. Al-Shaibani further pledged that Damascus would invite the UN Commission of Inquiry on Syria to conduct an independent investigation into the events, with perpetrators to be held accountable under Syrian law.
Jordan’s Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi emphasized the stakes for his own country, which borders Sweida and has long struggled with drug and weapons smuggling from northern Syria. “The security of southern Syria is linked to the security of Jordan,” Safadi said, highlighting the regional implications of instability in Sweida.
The roadmap details a step-by-step approach, beginning with immediate confidence-building measures and transitional solutions leading to full reintegration of Sweida into the Syrian state. Humanitarian aid will be delivered with U.S. and Jordanian support, in coordination with UN agencies. The restoration of services—such as water, electricity, and healthcare—will be prioritized, with international donors mobilized by Jordan and the United States.
To guarantee safe movement for civilians and commerce, Interior Ministry forces will be deployed along the Sweida–Damascus highway. Civilian militias are to withdraw from Sweida’s administrative borders, replaced by trained police units. This shift is intended to create conditions for the return of displaced villagers—both Druze and Bedouin—who number more than 160,000 according to UN figures. Many of these families now see little prospect of going back, and the roadmap aims to address this by supporting the International Committee of the Red Cross in facilitating the release and exchange of detainees and abductees.
Reconstruction efforts form another pillar of the plan. Damascus has announced its intention to rebuild damaged villages and properties, with funding support from Jordan and the U.S. The government also committed to fostering a national discourse that celebrates pluralism and equality, while criminalizing hate speech that fuels sectarianism. Jordan and the U.S. will provide legal support for these efforts if required.
Community dialogues, coordinated by Jordan, will bring together representatives of the Druze, Christians, Sunnis, and Bedouin tribes to foster reconciliation. Meanwhile, transitional security and administrative arrangements will be established, including the formation of a local police force, reactivation of civil institutions, creation of a representative provincial council, and finalization of prisoner releases.
On the diplomatic front, the United States will lead discussions with Syria to seek arrangements with Israel that address both countries’ concerns while respecting Syrian sovereignty and territorial integrity. Jordan will support these efforts through joint meetings. To ensure accountability and transparency, the three parties agreed to establish a monitoring mechanism to oversee the roadmap’s implementation.
The Sweida roadmap has drawn comparisons with recent developments in Afrin, another region marked by conflict and displacement. In September 2025, Turkish forces withdrew from several military compounds in Afrin, handing them over to Syria’s General Security Directorate. The Afrin City Council quickly moved to reopen main roads previously blocked by concrete barriers and earth mounds. However, Turkish forces remain in several villages, preventing the return of displaced families. Damascus has responded by recruiting local Kurdish and minority youth into the General Security forces, a move seen by international observers as both symbolic and strategic—an attempt to project inclusivity and regain trust in ethnically diverse regions.
For Damascus, the parallel reconciliation pushes in Sweida and Afrin are now seen as litmus tests of its ability to implement inclusive governance, restore rights, and preserve national unity. “Damascus is committed to resolving the Sweida crisis through a solution that guarantees Syria’s unity and secures all rights for the people of Sweida as equal citizens,” al-Shaibani reaffirmed, according to Kurdistan 24.
Safadi and Barrack welcomed Syria’s pledges, emphasizing that stability in Sweida is central to broader regional security. Analysts are watching closely to see if these commitments will translate into real change, both in Sweida and Afrin, where reconciliation, justice, and the protection of rights remain urgent demands.
As the dust settles over Sweida and Afrin, the world will be watching to see whether this ambitious roadmap marks a genuine turning point—or just another chapter in Syria’s long struggle for peace and unity.