Israel strikes military tanks in southern Syria as Syrian forces clash with Druze militias
Dozens of people have been killed in the fighting between local militias and clans in Syria's Sweida province. Government security forces that were sent to restore order on Monday (July 14, 2025) also clashed with local armed groups.
Syria's Interior Ministry has said more than 30 people died and nearly 100 others have been injured in that fighting. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a U.K.-based war monitor, reported at least 64 dead, including two children, a woman and six members of the security forces.
The clashes in Syria initially broke out between armed groups from the Druze and Sunni Bedouin clans, the observatory said, with some members of the government security forces 'actively participating' in support of the Bedouins.
Interior Ministry spokesperson Noureddine al-Baba said government forces entered Sweida in the early morning to restore order.
'Some clashes occurred with outlawed armed groups, but our forces are doing their best to prevent any civilian casualties,' he told the state-run Al-Ikhbariya TV.
The observatory said the clashes started after a series of kidnappings between both groups, which began when members of a Bedouin tribe in the area set up a checkpoint where they attacked and robbed a young Druze man.
Rami Abdurrahman, who heads the observatory, said the conflict started with the kidnapping and robbery of a Druze vegetable seller, leading to tit-for-tat attacks and kidnappings.
Syria's Defence and Interior Ministries were deploying personnel to the area to attempt to restore order.
The Interior Ministry described the situation as a dangerous escalation that 'comes in the absence of the relevant official institutions, which has led to an exacerbation of the state of chaos, the deterioration of the security situation, and the inability of the local community to contain the situation despite repeated calls for calm.'
Israel has previously intervened in Syria in defence of the Druze religious minority. In May, Israeli forces struck a site near the presidential palace in Damascus, in what was seen as a warning to Syrian interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa. The strike came after dozens were killed in fighting between pro-government gunmen and Druze fighters earlier this year in the town of Sahnaya and the Druze-majority Damascus suburb of Jaramana.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz said in a statement at the time that Israel 'will not allow the deployment of (Syrian government) forces south of Damascus or any threat to the Druze community.'
Over half of the roughly 1 million Druze worldwide live in Syria. Most other Druze live in Lebanon and Israel, including in the Golan Heights, which Israel captured from Syria in the 1967 Mideast War and annexed in 1981.
In Israel, Druze are seen as a loyal minority and often serve in the armed forces.
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