US to facilitate Israel-Syria meeting following Suweida violence

US Syria envoy Tom Barrack will lead a meeting with senior officials from Israel and Syria on Thursday, following a bout of violence in Suweida that saw the Israeli military launch airstrikes against government forces and the defence HQ in Damascus.

It is unclear where the meeting will take place, but it is expected to focus on security arrangements in southern Syria and increasing coordination and communication, according to Axios, citing unnamed sources.

The report comes following Barrack's comments to Syrian president Ahmed al-Sharaa, urging him to recalibrate his policies and embrace a more inclusive approach after a new round of sectarian bloodshed 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.

In an interview in Beirut, Barrack told Reuters that without swift change, Sharaa risks losing the momentum that once propelled him to power.

Sharaa should say: "I'm going to adapt quickly, because if I don't adapt quickly, I'm going to lose the energy of the universe that was behind me," Barrack said. He said Sharaa could "grow up as a president and say, 'the right thing for me to do is not to follow my theme, which isn't working so well.'"

Sharaa, who previously headed the hardline Islamist group Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham, came to power in Syria after rebel fighters he led brought down President Bashar al-Assad in December last year after more than 13 years of civil war.

Though his own fighters have roots in Islamist militancy, Sharaa has promised to protect members of Syria's myriad minority sect. But that pledge has been challenged, first by mass killings of members of Assad's Alawite sect in March, and now by the latest violence in the southwest.

Hundreds of people have been reported killed in clashes in the southern province of Suweida between Druze fighters, Bedouin tribes and Sharaa's own forces. Israel intervened with airstrikes, claiming that these were intended to "protect" the Druze community.

Barrack said the new government should consider being "more inclusive quicker" when it comes to integrating minorities into the ruling structure.

But he also pushed back against reports that Syrian security forces were responsible for violations against Druze civilians. He 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.

According to the Syrian Network for Human Rights, at least 558 people, including 11 children, have been killed and 783 others wounded in the violence in Suweida, with the organisation adding that the toll is preliminary and will be updated to classify those killed by parties to the conflict.

'No successor' to Sharaa

The US helped broker a ceasefire last week that brought an end to the fighting, which erupted between Bedouin tribal fighters and Druze factions on 13 July.

Barrack said the stakes in Syria are dangerously high, with no succession plan or viable alternative to the country's new Islamist-leaning government.

"With this Syrian regime, there is no plan B. If this Syrian regime fails, somebody is trying to instigate it to fail," Barrack said. "For what purpose? There's no successor."

Asked if Syria could follow the dire scenarios of Libya and Afghanistan, he said: "Yes, or even worse."

The US has said it did not support Israel's airstrikes on Syria. Barrack said the strikes had added to the "confusion" in Syria.

Israel, which is currently engaged in a genocidal war on Gaza, claims Syria's new rulers are dangerous militants, and has vowed to keep government troops out of the southwest and protect Syria's Druze minority in the area, encouraged by calls from Israel's own Druze community.

Barrack said his message to Israel is to have dialogue to alleviate their concerns about Syria's new leaders and that the US could play the role of an "honest intermediary" to help resolve any concerns.

He said Sharaa had signaled from the beginning of his rule that Israel was not his enemy and that he could normalise ties in due time.

He said the United States was not dictating what the political format of Syria should be, other than stability, unity, fairness and inclusion.

"If they end up with a federalist government, that's their determination. And the answer to the question is, everybody may now need to adapt."