Latest news with #DruzeMilitia
South China Morning Post
5 days ago
- Politics
- South China Morning Post
Syria's Sweida: a city of corpses and ruin as Druze reel from bloodshed
One elderly man had been shot in the head in his living room. Another in his bedroom. The body of a woman lay in the street. After days of bloodshed in Syria's Druze city of Sweida, survivors emerged on Thursday to collect and bury the scores of dead found across the city. A ceasefire overnight brought an end to ferocious fighting between Druze militia and government forces sent to the city to quell clashes between Druze and Bedouin fighters. The violence worsened sharply after the arrival of government forces, according to accounts to Reuters by a dozen residents of Sweida, two reporters on the ground and a monitoring group. Residents described friends and neighbours being shot at close range in their homes or in the streets. They said the killings were carried out by Syrian troops, identified by their fatigues and the insignia on them. A health worker fills out a list of victims of the recent clashes. Photo: AFP Reuters was able to verify the time and location of some videos showing dead bodies, but could not independently verify who conducted the killings or when they occurred. In a video statement early on Thursday, Syrian leader Ahmed al-Sharaa said that protecting the rights of Druze was among his priorities and blamed 'outlaw groups' seeking to inflame tensions for any crimes against civilians.
Wall Street Journal
5 days ago
- Politics
- Wall Street Journal
A Violent Week for the Syrian Experiment
The talk of Syria joining the Abraham Accords, common as recently as last week, now appears premature, to put it lightly. After regime forces committed atrocities against the Druze minority in southern Syria, Israeli jets bombed Syria's military headquarters in Damascus and struck near the presidential palace on Wednesday. This halts the momentum of Ahmed al-Sharaa's new Damascus regime, which seems to have miscalculated and failed to restrain its own forces. Israel will also need to be careful wading into Syria's sectarian conflict. It's one thing to prevent a massacre by bombing Syrian forces advancing on the Druze-majority province of Sweida, and another to make ostentatious strikes on the Syrian capital. The conflict in Sweida picked up with communal violence between Bedouins and Druze, a non-Muslim minority. Syria's Defense and Interior ministries took that as an opening to do what Israel has warned against: Deploying troops south of Damascus to bring the Druze to heel. After walking into an ambush by a Druze militia, Syrian forces escalated. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reports that 83 people were executed by regime forces, out of 597 dead on all sides over four days. Looting and destruction were widespread, and videos circulated of soldiers humiliating Druze men and clerics.
Reuters
5 days ago
- Politics
- Reuters
Bodies and looted homes: Syria's Druze reeling after Sweida bloodshed
BEIRUT, July 17 (Reuters) - One elderly man had been shot in the head in his living room. Another in his bedroom. The body of a woman lay in the street. After days of bloodshed in Syria's Druze city of Sweida, survivors emerged on Thursday to collect and bury the scores of dead found across the city. A ceasefire overnight brought an end to ferocious fighting between Druze militia and government forces sent to the city to quell clashes between Druze and Bedouin fighters. The violence worsened sharply after the arrival of government forces, according to accounts to Reuters by a dozen residents of Sweida, two reporters on the ground and a monitoring group. Residents described friends and neighbours being shot at close range in their homes or in the streets. They said the killings were carried out by Syrian troops, identified by their fatigues and the insignia on them. Reuters was able to verify the time and location of some videos showing dead bodies, but could not independently verify who conducted the killings or when they occurred. In a video statement early on Thursday, Syrian leader Ahmed al-Sharaa said that protecting the rights of Druze was among his priorities and blamed "outlaw groups" seeking to inflame tensions for any crimes against civilians. He vowed to hold accountable those responsible for violations against the Druze, but did not say whether government forces were responsible. The government's earlier statement on a ceasefire for the region said a fact-finding mission would investigate the "crimes, violations and breaches that happened, determine who was responsible and compensate those affected... as quickly as possible". The residents of Sweida who Reuters spoke to said the bloodshed had deepened their distrust of the Islamist-led government in Damascus and their worries about how Sharaa would ensure that Syria's minority groups were protected. In sectarian violence in Syria's coastal region in March hundreds of people from the Alawite minority were killed by forces aligned to Sharaa. "I can't keep up with the calls coming in now about the dead," said Kenan Azzam, a dentist who lives on the eastern outskirts of Sweida and spoke to Reuters by phone. He said he had just learned of the killing of a friend, agricultural engineer Anis Nasser, who he said had been taken from his home by government forces this week. "Today, they found his dead body in a pile of bodies in Sweida city," Azzam said. Another Sweida resident, who asked to be identified only as Amer out of fear of reprisals, shared a video that he said depicted his slain neighbours in their home. The video, which Reuters was not able to independently verify, showed the body of one man in a chair. On the floor were an elderly man with a gunshot wound to his right temple and a younger man, face down, in a pool of blood. Like the other cases of descriptions of killings in the city, Reuters could not verify who was responsible. Spokespeople for the interior and defence ministries did not immediately respond to questions from Reuters on whether government forces were responsible for the killings in the homes and streets. The Syrian Network for Human Rights, a rights monitor that documented violations throughout the civil war and has continued its work, said it had verified 254 people killed in Sweida, including medical personnel, women and children. Its head, Fadel Abdulghany, said the figure included field executions by both sides, Syrians killed by Israeli strikes and others killed in clashes, but that it would take time to break down figures for each category. Abdulghany said the Network had also documented cases of extrajudicial killings by Druze militias of government forces. The government did not give a death toll for its troops or for civilians killed in Sweida. The health ministry said dozens of dead government forces and civilians were found in the city's main hospital, but did not give further details. Syria's Druze follow a religion derived from Islam and is part of a minority that also has members in Lebanon, Israel, and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. Ultra-conservative Sunni groups including Islamic State consider the Druze as heretics and attacked them throughout Syria's conflict, which erupted in 2011. Druze militias fought back, and Sweida was largely spared the violence that engulfed Syria. The 14-year war ended with the ousting of President Bashar al-Assad last December. When Sharaa's forces began fighting their way from northwest Syria to Damascus last year, many minorities feared the rebels and were heartened when fighters passed their towns and went straight to the capital. A reporter in Sweida who asked not to be identified said he witnessed government forces shoot four people at close range, including a woman and teenage boys. He said bodies littered the streets. One of them, a woman, lay face up on the pavement with an apparent stab wound to the stomach, he said. One resident, who asked to remain anonymous, showed the reporter the body of his slain brother in a bedroom of their home on Tuesday. He had been shot in the head. A video verified by Reuters showed two bodies on a commercial street in central Sweida. Another showed bodies, several with gunshot wounds to the chest, in the Al-Radwan guest house in Sweida. Ryan Maarouf of local media outlet Suwayda24 told Reuters on Thursday he had found a family of 12 killed in one house, including naked women, an elderly man and two young girls. It was not possible to verify who killed the people in these cases. The reporter said he heard government forces yell "pigs" and "infidels" at Druze residents. The reporter said troops looted refrigerators and solar panels from homes and also burned homes and alcohol shops, including after the ceasefire was announced on Wednesday. Some of the residents interviewed by Reuters said government forces used razors, scissors and electric shavers to shave off the moustaches of Druze men - a humiliating act. Spokespeople for the interior and defence ministries did not immediately respond to questions on troops looting, burning homes, or using sectarian language and shaving moustaches. As the violence unfolded, Israel's military began strikes on government convoys in Sweida and the defence ministry and near the presidential palace in Damascus. U.S. intervention helped end the fighting. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said "historic longtime rivalries" between Druze and Bedouin communities had "led to an unfortunate situation and a misunderstanding, it looks like, between the Israeli side and the Syrian side."
Al Bawaba
5 days ago
- Politics
- Al Bawaba
Star of David placed on Druze flag and raised over Sweida governorate building
Published July 17th, 2025 - 12:17 GMT ALBAWABA - In a shocking video, a group of armed Druze men were spotted in front of the governorate building in Sweida city in Syria while raising two flags, one of which was the national Druze flag, and the other had the "Star of David" on it. Syrians were surprised after the video went trending on social media, showing Druze militia men standing near the governorate building in Sweida city after the withdrawal of Syrian government forces from the area on Thursday morning. In the footage, two of the group of men were holding flags, but what caused the controversy online was that one of the flags was slightly different, as it carried the "Star of David". Some activists said that the Druze flag with the Star of David on it belongs to the "Israeli Druze" as a similar flag was in 2018 spotted in the Druze town of Daliat al-Karmel, northern Israel, according to The Jerusalem Post. عادت ميليشيا الدروز إلى السويداء بعد انسحاب الجيش السوري، ورفعت عملها ورسم عليه نجمة داوود اليهودية على مبنى محافظة السويداء.منذ الصباح، قُتل عشرات المدنيين، ووقعت إعدامات ميدانية بحق أبناء العشائر السورية بعد أن هاجمتهم ميليشيا الدروز. العشائر هم جزء من الدولة السورية، ومن… — Tamer | تامر (@tamerqdh) July 17, 2025 The Druze flag is rectangular in shape and features five horizontal stripes of different colors: red, yellow, blue, green, and white, arranged from top to bottom. Clashes in Sweida started when Syrian government forces were dispatched to Sweida on Monday, July 14, to halt fighting between Druze fighters and Bedouin men, and restore peace, but they ended up clashing with the Druze militias, according to France 24. Federico Jachetti, the Norwegian Refugee Council's (NRC) Syria Country Office Director, said regarding Sweida unrest, "With hundreds of deaths reported among civilians, at least 1,200 families have fled their homes to seek shelter with friends and relatives elsewhere in Sweida, in rural areas south of the city, and the neighbouring Daraa governorate." © 2000 - 2025 Al Bawaba (
CNN
6 days ago
- Politics
- CNN
After powerful Israeli strikes on Damascus, Syria withdraws troops from Suwayda city
Israel carried out a series of powerful strikes on the Syrian capital Damascus Wednesday, escalating a campaign it says is in support of the country's Druze population - an Arab minority group involved in deadly clashes with Syrian government forces. The strikes, which Syria said killed at least three people in its capital, sent US officials scrambling to prevent a larger clash between the neighboring countries, with Syria agreeing to with withdraw its troops from the southern city of Suwayda and a new ceasefire deal with Druze militia in the area. In a televised address to the nation early Thursday, Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa said the nation was faced with two options: either 'an open war' with Israel 'at the cost of our Druze citizens,' or allowing Druze clerics 'to return to reason and prioritize the national interest.' 'We are not afraid of war, our history is filled with battles to defend our people, but we chose the path that puts the welfare of Syrians above chaos and destruction,' said al-Sharaa. Israel has stepped up strikes against Syria despite pressure from the US, which has made moves to end the country's international isolation after rebels seized power following the fall of the Assad regime late last year. Wednesday's airstrikes on Damascus targeted several government buildings in the Syrian capital. One video from a Syrian television channel showed the Ministry of Defense building being hit live on air, forcing the anchor to take cover. In his address Thursday, al-Sharaa accused Israel of trying to divide the Syrian people and vowed to protect the rights of the Druze population. 'The Israeli entity, known for its repeated attempts to destabilize us and sow division, once again seeks to turn our land into a battlefield of chaos and to dismantle the fabric of our people,' he said. US secretary of state Marco Rubio on Wednesday said the Trump administration had engaged with all parties of the conflict to end the clashes in Syria. 'We have agreed on specific steps that will bring this troubling and horrifying situation to an end tonight. This will require all parties to deliver on the commitments they have made and this is what we fully expect them to do,' Rubio said on X. Rubio also described the latest tension between Israel and Syria as a 'misunderstanding' saying, 'we have been engaging with them all morning long,' in a video Rubio shared on X showing him in the Oval Office with US President Donald Trump. The Syrian government said on Wednesday night local time its army forces started withdrawing from Suwayda, according to the country's state-run SANA news agency. Video on Syrian TV purportedly showed a convoy of military vehicles driving out of Suwayda city. 'The withdrawal of Syrian Arab Army forces from Suwayda has begun, in implementation of the agreement reached between the Syrian state and the Druze religious leadership in the city, following the army's completion of its mission to pursue outlawed groups,' SANA said. The Syrian government meanwhile announced a new ceasefire with the Druze but it is unclear whether it will come into force amid splits among the group. At least 169 people have been killed, and 200 others injured during several days of clashes, the Syrian Network for Human Rights (SNHR) said on Wednesday. The escalating violence included extrajudicial killings, exchanges of artillery, and airstrikes by Israeli forces, the monitoring group said. CNN cannot independently verify SNHR's figures and is reaching out to the Syrian government for comment regarding the death toll. Israel, which has been carrying out strikes on Syria since the fall of the Assad regime last December, says it is attacking Syria to protect the Druze, an Arab minority at the center of clashes with government loyalists. Israel's Defense Minister Israel Katz shared the footage of the attacks on Damascus, saying 'the painful blows have begun.' In a press briefing held by the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF), a military official confirmed Israel had targeted the ministry and an area near the presidential palace. However, another incentive behind Israel's decision to strike could be related to its opposition of the current Syrian government. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has previously referred to the new leaders of the country as an 'extremist Islamic regime' and a threat to the state of Israel. Israel's Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar said Wednesday that his country wants to 'maintain the status quo in southern Syria - an area near our border - and prevent the emergence of threats against Israel in that space.' United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres expressed alarm over the continued escalation of violence in Suwayda in a statement on Wednesday. He condemned all violence against civilians, including reports of arbitrary killings and acts that exacerbate sectarian tensions in the country. Guterres also condemned 'Israel's escalatory airstrikes on Suwayda, Daraa and in the center of Damascus,' calling for 'an immediate cessation of all violations of Syria's sovereignty.' Several countries in the region, including Turkey, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Qatar, condemned the Israeli strikes in Syria. Iran – which fought its own war with Israel last month – condemned the Israeli strikes on Syria as 'unhinged aggression.' Antonio Costa, president of the European Council, said he is 'very concerned by the Israeli strikes on Damascus,' calling for respect for Syria's sovereignty in a post on X on Wednesday. The Druze, an Arab sect of roughly one million people who primarily live in Syria, Lebanon and Israel, practice an offshoot of Islam which permits no converts – either to or from the religion – and no intermarriage. The Druze are made up of a network of groups with multiple figureheads. Syria's new President Ahmed al-Sharaa has pledged inclusion and vowed to protect all of Syria's diverse communities, but Sunni extremist forces loyal to him have continued to violently confront religious minorities. Violence broke out over the weekend between Druze forces and Bedouin tribes in the southern Syrian city of Suwayda, prompting an intervention by the Syrian government. The Syrian government claimed a new ceasefire agreement was reached on Wednesday, but a key figure from the religious minority group denied that a truce was reached. An earlier ceasefire collapsed within hours. A statement published by the Syrian government said that, under the new ceasefire, there will be a complete halt to military operations, a monitoring committee will be formed with the Druze leaders and members of the community will be leading security in the province. A Druze spiritual leader representing one of the factions in Suwayda, Youssef Jarbou, confirmed an agreement was reached for a 'complete and immediate halt to all military operations and de-escalation from all sides, with the army returning to its barracks.' However, Hikmat al-Hijri - a prominent Druze figure who had asked for international protection on Wednesday - rejected the ceasefire, calling on his supporters to continue fighting. Clashes continued into Wednesday and Fadi Hamdan, a carpenter from Suwayda, told CNN that 'the situation inside the city is dire.' 'Electricity has been out since yesterday (Tuesday) morning. Mobile service is extremely weak, and the internet barely works,' Hamdan said. 'Landlines are completely down. Water was also cut off yesterday, though it returned briefly this morning.' Hamdan said that the current Syrian interim government 'bears full responsibility for what's happening in Suwayda.' Syria's health ministry said 'dozens of bodies were found in Suwayda National Hospital after the withdrawal of the outlawed groups.' The ministry said those bodies 'belong to Syrian security personnel and civilians,' but without providing further details. In Syria, the Druze community is concentrated around three main provinces close to the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights in the south of the country, and form a majority in the Suwayda province. More than 20,000 Druze also live in the Golan Heights, a strategic plateau that Israel seized from Syria during the Six-Day War in 1967, before formally annexing it in 1981. Hundreds of people from the Druze community have seemingly crossed over from the Golan Heights into Syria in recent days. It's unclear when the crossings happened, but separate videos circulating on social media Tuesday and Wednesday showed people carrying Druze flags crossing a border fence allegedly from the Golan Heights into Syria. They were apparently responding to pleas from Druze leaders to support their community in the ongoing clashes. Addressing the Druze community in Israel and the Golan Heights Wednesday, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu called on them not to cross over the border. 'I have one request for you: You are citizens of Israel. Do not cross the border,' he said. This story has been updated with developments. CNN's Kylie Atwood and Hira Humayun contributed to this report.
