Amman, Jordan — Jordan will host a meeting between the United States and Syria to discuss the situation in the war-ravaged country and explore reconstruction efforts, Amman’s foreign ministry said Sunday.
The meeting on Tuesday, which will be attended by Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani and US special envoy for Syria Thomas Barrack, “will discuss the situation in Syria and ways to support the process of rebuilding Syria on foundations that guarantee its security, stability and sovereignty”, according to a statement.
It is a continuation of discussions held between the officials in Amman on July 19 about deadly clashes in the Druze-majority Syrian province of Sweida.
The violence between Druze fighters and Sunni Bedouins in July ultimately drew the intervention of government forces and tribal fighters who came to support the Bedouins, as well as the Israeli military, which carried out strikes in support of the Druze.
A ceasefire put an end to the week of bloodshed — which killed 1,400 people, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights — but the situation remained tense, flaring into violence again in August.
Syria’s minority communities have expressed concerns for their safety since December, when an Islamist-led offensive toppled longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad, who had presented himself as a protector of minorities.
While the new Syrian authorities have repeatedly stated their intent to protect all of the country’s ethnic and religious groups, the killing of more than 1,700 mostly Alawite civilians along the coast in March and the violence in Sweida have raised doubts about their ability to manage sectarian tensions.
