X007-SIRIA EVACUACIONES

STORY: A group of armed men opened fire in the direction of a convoy evacuating civilians from Sweida on Tuesday (July 22) as it passed through T'ara.

Footage showed crowds of people surrounding Red Crescent buses carrying civilians and shots being fired in their direction.

Hundreds of Bedouin civilians were evacuated from Syria's predominantly Druze city of Sweida on Monday (July 21) as part of a U.S.-backed truce meant to end days of bloodshed in southern Syria, state media and witnesses said.

With hundreds reported killed, the violence in the southern province of Sweida has posed a major test for interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa, drawing Israeli airstrikes last week and deepening fissures in a country fractured by 14 years of war.

A ceasefire took hold on Sunday (July 20) as interior ministry security forces deployed on Sweida's outskirts. Interior Minister Anas Khattab said on Sunday the truce would allow for the release of hostages and detainees held by the sides.

The fighting began a week ago, pitting Druze fighters who distrust the Islamist-led government against Sunni Muslim Bedouin. Damascus sent troops to quell the fighting, but they were drawn into the violence and accused of widespread violations against Druze.

Sharaa has blamed the violence on "outlaw groups" and promised to protect the rights of Druze - a minority group whose faith is deemed heretical by some hardline Muslims. Calling the Druze a fundamental part of Syria's national fabric, Sharaa has vowed to hold to account those who committed violations against them.

Syria's new leadership, which has roots in the insurgency led by Sunni Muslim Islamist groups against Assad, a member of the Alawite minority sect, has long sought to reassure minorities that they will be safe.

However, safety of minorities has become a major issue with hundreds of people killed in clashes between government security forces, Sunni Bedouin fighters and militants from the Druze sect in Sweida.