S8 Ep530: Preview for later today: Ahmad Sharawi reports on reconciliation between Damascus and the Druze of Sueda province, including prisoner exchanges to rebuild trust after past massacres.

0:00This is John Bachelors, a conversation with my colleague, Ockman-Shurari of the Foundation for the Defense of Democracy, for a piece of good news that appears to be coming out of the Syrian Civil War. And a rapprochement and accommodation between the droves of Soweda Province who suffered attacks and murder last summer, and the central government in Damascus, Al-Sharis government. Some kind of accommodation. Ockman describes the beginning of it. More of this tonight. I mean, as I said, it's in my report. It's a positive step towards reconciliation between Damascus and the droves. And both sides have been keeping prisoners. And the droves side, from the droves side, they kept the government forces as well as some of the Bedouin community, members of the Bedouin community. Same for Damascus, they kept some droves civilians and some members of their own factions.

1:02And I mean, given that this has been happening since July, or this happened in July, I mean it. I think the prisoner exchange was a sign that things might be improving or in terms of a political solution is on the horizon to determine the status of Soweda and the droves community there, especially because a lot of them have been calling for autonomy and sub-determination since July. I think this is a good step of building trust that has been significantly eroded because of the massacres that were committed.