DAMASCUS, July 15, 2025 (BSS/AFP) - Negotiations were underway between Syrian authorities and Druze representatives in southern Syria to end clashes that have killed nearly a hundred people, a major Druze armed group told AFP on Monday.

Syrian government forces were pressing towards Druze-majority Sweida, controlled by armed groups from the minority community, following deadly clashes between local fighters and Bedouin tribes.

At least 99 people have been killed in the clashes since Sunday, according to Britain-based war monitor the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

"Negotiations are underway between the notables of the city of Sweida and representatives of the general security (forces) and the defence ministry to reach a solution," said Bassem Fakhr, spokesperson for the Men of Dignity movement, a Druze armed group.

Druze religious authorities called on Monday evening for a ceasefire in the area, saying they were not opposed to the Syrian central government.

Fakhr accused Bedouin fighters of participating alongside government forces in the assault on Druze towns and of committing atrocities by "killing, looting and burning" in Druze villages.

According to him, five towns around Sweida were being occupied by government forces.

An AFP correspondent saw Syrian forces accompanied by tanks take control of al-Mazraa village, near Sweida, where Bedouin fighters were already located.

Fakhr told AFP his movement was not opposed to Damascus and that they, along with other Druze factions, "reached an agreement with the defence ministry months ago stipulating the formation of a military and security body made up of Sweida residents".

"We support the state, but the state has been stalling the implementation of this agreement," he added.

In January, the Men of Dignity, as well as the Mountain Brigade, another large Druze faction in Sweida, said they were ready to join the national army after the fall of longtime leader Bashar al-Assad at the hands of a rebel coalition led by the country's new Islamist authorities.