New clashes erupt in Syria's Druze stronghold as Bedouin reinforcements arrive
The renewed violence raised fresh doubts over interim leader Ahmed al-Sharaa's control, as he struggles to manage rising unrest among Syria's religious and ethnic minorities, including Kurds in the northeast and Alawites along the Mediterranean coast.
The United Nations condemned the bloodshed, urging an 'independent' investigation into the unrest, which the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said has killed nearly 600 people since fighting erupted on Sunday.
HOSPITALS OVERWHELMED
In Sweida National Hospital, bodies were stacked in refrigerated storage units as the morgue reached capacity. A small team of exhausted doctors and nurses treated the wounded in crowded hallways, AFP reported.
'We have received more than 400 bodies since Monday morning,' said Dr Omar Obeid, president of the Sweida branch of the Order of Physicians. 'There is no more room in the morgue, the bodies are in the street.'
TRIBAL FIGHTERS DEPLOY
Tribal fighters from across Syria were seen arriving in villages around Sweida on Friday, responding to calls for help from local Bedouin amid a deepening feud with the Druze community.
Anas al-Enad, a tribal chief from Hama, said he travelled to the village of Walgha to support the Bedouin. An AFP correspondent saw burning shops and homes in the village, now under tribal control.
The UK-based Observatory said the government had facilitated the movement of tribal reinforcements, as Syrian troops are barred from entering Sweida under a security arrangement brokered with Israel.
ISRAEL SENDS HUMANITARIAN AID
Israel, which bombed military sites in Sweida and Damascus earlier this week, said on Friday it was delivering emergency aid to the Druze population in Sweida.
'In light of the recent attacks targeting the Druze community and the severe humanitarian situation, Foreign Minister Gideon Saar has ordered the urgent transfer of aid,' Israel's foreign ministry said.
The aid package, worth two million shekels (nearly US$600,000), includes food parcels and medical supplies.
A ceasefire was meant to take effect on Thursday, but Sharaa's office accused Druze fighters of violating the truce. The fighting has heavily damaged infrastructure, leaving Sweida's residents without water, electricity, or communication.
UN DEMANDS INQUIRY
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said nearly 2,000 families have been displaced by the violence.
'The humanitarian situation is catastrophic. We cannot find milk for children,' said Rayan Maarouf, editor-in-chief of local news outlet Suwayda 24.
UN Human Rights Commissioner Volker Turk demanded a halt to the violence and called for 'independent, prompt and transparent investigations into all violations.'
'Those responsible must be held to account,' Turk said.
TRIGGERED BY KIDNAPPING
The latest unrest began on Sunday after a Druze vegetable merchant was kidnapped by local Bedouin, triggering retaliatory abductions and escalating into armed conflict, according to the Observatory.
While the army was deployed to restore order, witnesses and monitors said the troops sided with the Bedouin and committed abuses against Druze civilians.
The interim government, which ousted Bashar al-Assad in December, has faced criticism for failing to build inclusive ties with Syria's minority communities.
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4 hours ago
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Bedouin civilians evacuate Syria's Sweida as tense truce holds
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5 hours ago
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Bedouin civilians evacuate Syria's Sweida as tense truce holds
Find out what's new on ST website and app. Bedouin families ride in a vehicle with belongings as they leave the village of Al-Mazraa, as residents reported calm in Syria's Sweida on Sunday after the Islamist-led government announced that Bedouin fighters had withdrawn from the predominantly Druze city and a U.S. envoy signaled that a deal to end days of fighting was being implemented, in Sweida, Syria, July 21, 2025. REUTERS/Karam al-Masri DAMASCUS - Hundreds of Bedouin civilians were evacuated from Syria's predominantly Druze city of Sweida on Monday as part of a U.S.-backed truce meant to end fighting that has killed hundreds of people, state media and witnesses said. With hundreds reported killed, the violence in the southern province of Sweida has posed a major test for interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa, drawing Israeli airstrikes on his Islamist-led government last week and deepening fissures in a country fractured by 14 years of sectarian civil war. 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According to the United Nations, at least 93,000 people have been uprooted by the fighting - most of them within Sweida province but others to Daraa province to the west, or north to the countryside around the capital Damascus. The U.N. said on Sunday that humanitarian convoys with medical supplies had been waiting to enter Sweida for two days but were not granted access. It said only a convoy of the Syrian Arab Red Crescent had been allowed to enter. PRESSURES ON SYRIA'S MOSAIC The Druze are a small but influential minority in Syria, Israel and Lebanon who follow a religion that is an offshoot of a branch of Islam. Some ultra-conservative Sunni Muslims deem Druze beliefs to be heretical. The fighting began a week ago with clashes between Bedouin and Druze fighters. Damascus sent troops to quell the fighting, but they were drawn into the violence and accused of widespread violations against the Druze. 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Straits Times
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