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The National
4 days ago
- Politics
- The National
'We fled a civil war': Syrian civilians bear the brunt of Sweida sectarian violence
Not a single civilian remained in Mazraa, a Druze-majority town in the western suburbs of Sweida in Syria, on Friday. Thick black smoke billowed over the city as Bedouin fighters roamed the roads in cars and on scooters, after having effectively taken control of the town. Torched and looted buildings stood silent watch over streets lined with charred vehicles. One fighter, wearing a Lacoste cap, chanted 'Allahu akbar' while standing behind a wall scrawled with graffiti reading 'Druze pigs' and 'Down with the collaborators'. The Druze, a religious minority whose beliefs derive from a branch of Islam, also have communities in Lebanon and Israel. Israel has long portrayed itself as a protector of the Druze. The renewed violence on the outskirts of Sweida erupted despite a fragile ceasefire reached on Wednesday, which halted four days of indiscriminate bloodshed in the Druze-majority city. The fighting, which began on Sunday as tit-for-tat attacks between local Sunni Bedouin tribes and Druze militias, two long-standing rivals, quickly escalated into widespread violence. Government forces intervened to quell the clashes, but were accused of committing widespread abuses against the Druze. Israel also joined the fray, launching attacks on government forces, saying it was acting to protect the Druze. A ceasefire reached on Wednesday had raised hopes for a return to calm after days of mayhem. But the respite was short lived. Hours after the ceasefire was agreed, Druze militiamen launched retaliatory attacks on Sunni Bedouin communities, according to Syria's state news agency, Sana, which condemned what it called 'violations' against local Bedouin tribes. Sectarian clashes reignited. On Thursday night, Bedouin tribes advanced towards the city of Sweida and set fire to properties in Druze-majority villages in the western suburbs of the regional capital, including Mazraa. Fierce fighting continued on Friday in the nearby village of Walgha, pitting Druze militia factions against Bedouin tribes. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based war monitor, said no casualties had been reported so far from the renewed fighting. There was no presence of Syrian government forces in Mazraa, after they withdrew from Sweida province following the ceasefire. Security General convoys were seen on Friday driving in Deraa province, located east of Sweida, but did not enter the area. At least 594 people have been killed in Sweida province in the recent violence, including civilians and fighters from Bedouin groups, Druze militias and government forces, SOHR said on Thursday evening. The monitor said 300 members of the Druze religious minority were killed, including 146 fighters and 154 civilians. At least 257 government personnel and 18 Bedouin fighters were also killed, while three Bedouin civilians were executed by Druze fighters, SOHR added. The UN's migration agency said on Friday that nearly 80,000 people have been displaced by sectarian violence. Civilians bearing the brunt Civilians from both sides have been bearing the brunt of the vicious violence. Inside Sweida, residents said a precarious calm had held throughout the day, despite fighting raging on the outskirts of the city and fears it could spread further. Many described harrowing scenes as they ventured back into the streets after days of confinement amid indiscriminate shelling, with bodies lying in the streets, torched cars and looted homes. Ramzi, who had evacuated to a safer area in the southern part of the province before fighting resumed, said he returned on Friday morning to find his home looted. 'They stole everything. Everything,' he said. Locals, speaking to The National by phone under pseudonyms for security reasons, said the city was completely sealed off. 'Sweida is under siege,' said Cham, adding that they only had some flour and vegetables left and were running low on infant formula. Amid the escalating humanitarian crisis, the Ministry of Emergency and Disaster Management announced on Friday the creation of a joint operations room to co-ordinate relief, evacuation and ambulance services. It said hundreds of families had been evacuated to safer areas. A dozens of kilometres from Sweida, in the town of Busra Al Harir, in neighbouring Deraa province, many displaced Bedouin families were seen camping in the open on Thursday. Families said they fled out of fear of reprisals by Druze factions in Sweida. Among them was Jumaa Al Khalaf, 70, who fled his village. 'We were displaced because Druze fighters told us, that if they find us, they will kill us,' he said. 'We ask the authorities to hear our voice. We need aid. We need tarpaulins, we need tents,' Mr Al Khalaf said. 'We fled a civil war. We are with none of the sides. We've been here for about 15 years, just trying to make a living.'
The National
4 days ago
- Politics
- The National
'We fled a civil war': civilians bear the brunt of Sweida sectarian violence
Not a single civilian remained in Mazraa, a Druze-majority town in the western suburbs of Sweida in Syria, on Friday. Thick black smoke billowed over the city as Bedouin fighters roamed the roads in cars and on scooters, after having effectively taken control of the town. Torched and looted buildings stood silent watch over streets lined with charred vehicles. One fighter, wearing a Lacoste cap, chanted 'Allahu akbar' while standing behind a wall scrawled with graffiti reading 'Druze pigs' and 'Down with the collaborators'. The Druze, a religious minority whose beliefs derive from a branch of Islam, also have communities in Lebanon and Israel. Israel has long portrayed itself as a protector of the Druze. The renewed violence on the outskirts of Sweida erupted despite a fragile ceasefire reached on Wednesday, which halted four days of indiscriminate bloodshed in the Druze-majority city. The fighting, which began on Sunday as tit-for-tat attacks between local Sunni Bedouin tribes and Druze militias, two long-standing rivals, quickly escalated into widespread violence. Government forces intervened to quell the clashes, but were accused of committing widespread abuses against the Druze. Israel also joined the fray, launching attacks on government forces, saying it was acting to protect the Druze. A ceasefire reached on Wednesday had raised hopes for a return to calm after days of mayhem. But the respite was short lived. Hours after the ceasefire was agreed, Druze militiamen launched retaliatory attacks on Sunni Bedouin communities, according to Syria's state news agency, Sana, which condemned what it called 'violations' against local Bedouin tribes. Sectarian clashes reignited. On Thursday night, Bedouin tribes advanced towards the city of Sweida and set fire to properties in Druze-majority villages in the western suburbs of the regional capital, including Mazraa. Fierce fighting continued on Friday in the nearby village of Walgha, pitting Druze militia factions against Bedouin tribes. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based war monitor, said no casualties had been reported so far from the renewed fighting. There was no presence of Syrian government forces in Mazraa, after they withdrew from Sweida province following the ceasefire. Security General convoys were seen on Friday driving in Deraa province, located east of Sweida, but did not enter the area. At least 594 people have been killed in Sweida province in the recent violence, including civilians and fighters from Bedouin groups, Druze militias and government forces, SOHR said on Thursday evening. The monitor said 300 members of the Druze religious minority were killed, including 146 fighters and 154 civilians. At least 257 government personnel and 18 Bedouin fighters were also killed, while three Bedouin civilians were executed by Druze fighters, SOHR added. The UN's migration agency said on Friday that nearly 80,000 people have been displaced by sectarian violence. Civilians bearing the brunt Civilians from both sides have been bearing the brunt of the vicious violence. Inside Sweida, residents said a precarious calm had held throughout the day, despite fighting raging on the outskirts of the city and fears it could spread further. Many described harrowing scenes as they ventured back into the streets after days of confinement amid indiscriminate shelling, with bodies lying in the streets, torched cars and looted homes. Ramzi, who had evacuated to a safer area in the southern part of the province before fighting resumed, said he returned on Friday morning to find his home looted. 'They stole everything. Everything,' he said. Locals, speaking to The National by phone under pseudonyms for security reasons, said the city was completely sealed off. 'Sweida is under siege,' said Cham, adding that they only had some flour and vegetables left and were running low on infant formula. Amid the escalating humanitarian crisis, the Ministry of Emergency and Disaster Management announced on Friday the creation of a joint operations room to co-ordinate relief, evacuation and ambulance services. It said hundreds of families had been evacuated to safer areas. A dozens of kilometres from Sweida, in the town of Busra Al Harir, in neighbouring Deraa province, many displaced Bedouin families were seen camping in the open on Thursday. Families said they fled out of fear of reprisals by Druze factions in Sweida. Among them was Jumaa Al Khalaf, 70, who fled his village. 'We were displaced because Druze fighters told us, that if they find us, they will kill us,' he said. 'We ask the authorities to hear our voice. We need aid. We need tarpaulins, we need tents,' Mr Al Khalaf said. 'We fled a civil war. We are with none of the sides. We've been here for about 15 years, just trying to make a living.'
CTV News
4 days ago
- Politics
- CTV News
Druze-Bedouin clashes flare up again after government forces pull out of southern Syria
Bedouin fighters stand in front a burned shop at Mazraa village on the outskirts of Sweida city, during clashes between the Bedouin clans and Druze militias, southern Syria, Friday, July 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Ghaith Alsayed) MAZRAA, Syria — Syrian government forces prepared to return to a southern region Friday after renewed clashes broke out between Druze armed groups and members of Bedouin clans, leaving tens of thousands of people displaced in a worsening humanitarian crisis. The government forces had withdrawn from Sweida province following a ceasefire agreement announced Wednesday that halted much the violence that plagued the area earlier in the week, but which ultimately did not stop the fighting. Officials were negotiating with Druze factions on an agreement to re-enter the area to impose stability and protect state institutions, according to two Syrian officials who spoke Friday on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly. They said an agreement was reached, but later said the deployment was delayed, without giving an explanation. Tens of thousands of people remained displaced by the violence and the United Nations has been unable to bring in much-needed humanitarian and medical aid because of ongoing clashes. A complex conflict Clashes began Sunday between Druze militias and local Sunni Muslim Bedouin tribes. Government forces intervened, nominally to restore order, but ended up taking the Bedouins' side against the Druze. Israel later in the week launched airstrikes against Syrian forces in defence of the Druze. The fighting killed hundreds of people over four days, with allegations that government-affiliated fighters executed Druze civilians and looted and burned homes. Israel launched dozens of airstrikes on convoys of government fighters and even struck the Syrian Defence Ministry headquarters in central Damascus. The Druze form a substantial community in Israel, where they are seen as a loyal minority and often serve in the Israeli military. A truce mediated by the U.S., Turkiye and Arab countries was announced Wednesday. Under the accord, Druze factions and clerics were to maintain the internal security in Sweida as government forces pulled out, Syria's interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa said Thursday. Renewed fighting and displacement By late Thursday clashes were flaring again between the Druze and Bedouin groups in parts of Sweida province. State media reported Druze militias carried out revenge attacks against Bedouin communities, leading to a new wave of displacement. The governor of neighbouring Daraa province said in a statement that more than 1,000 families had been displaced to the area from Sweida as a result of 'attacks on Bedouin tribes by outlaw groups.' The United Nations' migration agency said Friday that nearly 80,000 people had been displaced altogether since clashes started on Sunday. It also noted that essential services, including water and electricity, have collapsed in Sweida, telecommunications systems are widely disrupted, and health facilities in Sweida and Daraa are under severe strain. Meanwhile 'there are severe disruptions to supply routes, with insecurity and road closures blocking aid deliveries,' Adam Abdelmoula, UN Resident and Humanitarian Affairs Coordinator in Syria, said in a statement Friday. The World Health Organization was able to send trauma care supplies to Daraa province, but Sweida remains inaccessible, he said. 'Once conditions allow, we are planning to send a mission to assess needs and provide critical aid, in full co-ordination with authorities,' Abdelmoula said. Bedouin groups and supporters arrived Friday from other areas of Syria to join the fight. On the outskirts of Sweida, groups of them gathered in front of buildings that had been set ablaze. An armed man who gave his name only as Abu Mariam ('father of Mariam') said he had come from the eastern province of Deir ez-Zor to 'support the oppressed.' 'We will not return to our homes until we crush Al-Hijri and his ilk,' he said, referring to a prominent Druze leader opposed to the government in Damascus, Sheikh Hikmat Al-Hijri. 'We have nothing to do with civilians and innocent people as long as they stay in their homes.' Problems that 'have no reason' The Druze religious sect began as a 10th-century offshoot of Ismailism, a branch of Shiite Islam. More than half of the roughly one million Druze worldwide live in Syria. Most of the 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. While predominantly Druze, Sweida is also home to Bedouin tribes who are Sunni Muslim and have periodically clashed with the Druze over the years. The latest escalation began with members of a Bedouin tribe in Sweida setting up a checkpoint and attacking and robbing a Druze man, which triggered tit-for-tat attacks and kidnappings. Ahmed Aba Zeid, a Syrian researcher who has studied armed groups in southern Syria, said there is 'no specific reason' for the historic tensions between the groups. 'All of Syria is full of social problems that have no reason,' he said. In this case, however, 'The state exploited the latest problem to try to change the situation in Sweida, and this only increased the scope of it,' he said. Calls for unity In Israel, members of the Druze community had called for intervention to protect the Druze in Syria. But elsewhere in the region, Druze leaders have rejected Israeli intervention. The spiritual leader of the Druze community in Lebanon, Sheikh Sami Abi al-Muna, said Friday at a gathering of Druze officials in Beirut that sectarian clashes in Syria 'give an excuse for Israeli intervention and for blowing up the situation in the region.' 'We do not accept to request protection from Israel, which we believe is harmful to our history and identity,' he said. Al-Muna called for all parties to adhere to the ceasefire agreement reached Wednesday and for a national dialogue to address the issues between different communities in Syria. Lebanese Druze leader Walid Joumblatt, who had been one of the regional figures mediating the ceasefire reached Wednesday, at the same gathering called for formation of and investigative committee to investigate violations against both Druze and Bedouins in Syria. ___ Sewell reported from Beirut. Ghaith Alsayed And Abby Sewell, The Associated Press
