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L'Orient-Le Jour
2 days ago
- Politics
- L'Orient-Le Jour
Death toll from violence in Sweida rises to more than 1,260
The violence in Syria's Sweida province (south) has left more than 1,260 dead before a cease-fire took effect Sunday, according to an updated toll published Monday by the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR). The NGO said it has documented new deaths that occurred before the truce began. Among the dead are 505 Druze fighters and 298 Druze civilians, including 194 who were "summarily executed by members of the Defense and Interior Ministries." The toll also includes 408 members of government security forces and 35 Sunni Bedouins, including three civilians "summarily executed by Druze fighters." Fifteen government soldiers were also killed in Israeli strikes, according to SOHR.
Memri
2 days ago
- Politics
- Memri
The Wolf In Sheep's Clothing: How Al-Joulani Turned From Perpetrator Of A Massacre Into Being Applauded By The West As Peace-Maker
Abu Mohammad Al-Joulani (Ahmed Al-Sharaa), who declared himself the president of the transitional government in Syria, is playing a psychopathic game that the West does not understand. Mohammad Al-Joulani (Ahmed Al-Sharaa) STEP 1: Al-Joulani sends Bedouin Sunni militias (operating under his command) to massacre hundreds of Druze in Sweida. They murder children, women and elderly in their homes. STEP 2: Al-Joulani declares to the media: "There's violence between groups! I'm sending the army to restore peace!" STEP 3: Instead of stopping the perpetrators (whom he sent), he sends his army to suppress the Druze – the VICTIMS! STEP 4 – Ultimate cynicism: After an "agreement" mediated by the U.S. and Turkey, Al-Joulani gives a speech BLAMING the Druze victims and PRAISING the militias, who invaded their homes, murdered, slaughtered, raped and burned. In the same speech, in which the West sees a "moderate leader," he is actually sanctifying the massacre and crowning the killers as heroes. On July 16, 2025, the Syrian Observatory of Human Rights (SOHR) published on its Facebook page a video showing a Syrian soldier wearing an ISIS patch on his body armor. In the video, the soldier said that the Ansar Al‑Tawhid Brigades of the Syrian 82nd Division were preparing to enter the Druze city of Sweida in order to "purify it" from what he called the "filth" of Druze leader Hikmat Al‑Hijri and his followers. (See MEMRI TV clip No. 12156, Syrian Soldier Wearing ISIS Patch Says Before Entering Druze City Of Sweida: We Will Purify The City Of Druze Filth, Jul 16, 2025) Medical Catastrophe It is worth noting that the siege has caused a complete collapse of Sweida's hospitals. Critical shortages of life-saving medications, surgical equipment, and basic medical supplies. Patients are dying from treatable conditions. Diabetics without insulin. Cancer patients without chemotherapy. Wounded victims bleeding without proper care. Urgent Appeal To Medical and Humanitarian Organizations: Druze are traditionally called "Bani Ma'roof [Sons of Kindness]" – because of their religious tradition to help anyone in need, regardless of religion, race, or nationality. The very people who made helping others their core religious value are now being slaughtered and dying from medical neglect with no help at all. As a doctor, I appeal to: -The World Health Organization (WHO), the Red Cross, Doctors Without Borders: emergency medical intervention is needed NOW. - International hospitals: mobile medical units are urgently needed. - Pharmaceutical companies: emergency medication supplies are needed. - United Nations: humanitarian corridors must immediately be opened. J'Accuse...! Al-Joulani executed the massacre, punished the victims, created medical catastrophe, and received international blessing for "stopping violence" that he created himself. This is exactly what Al-Joulani does. And the West applauds him for bringing "peace" and calls him a "responsible leader." WAKE UP WORLD! You're being played by a master manipulator! *Dr. Ziad Dabour is an Israeli Druze, Clinical Pharmacologist, Ph.D. Medical Sciences.
Al Bawaba
2 days ago
- Politics
- Al Bawaba
Druze shrine bombed, vandalized in Mount Hermon, Syria
Published July 21st, 2025 - 07:42 GMT ALBAWABA - A Druze religious shrine that is located in the Mount Hermon area of the Damascus countryside in Syria was bombed and attacked on Sunday, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR). Also Read What's the current situation in Sweida, Syria? The Observatory detailed that an unknown group bombed and vandalized the Sheikh Abdullah shrine in the town of Beit Jinn. It added, "This act comes in the context of ongoing attempts by extremist groups to incite sectarian conflict and target religious symbols of minorities in the country," and warned that such acts could incite more religious rift among Syrians. جريمة جديدة ضد المقدسات, قامت المجموعات الأرهابية التابعة للجولاني والمرتبطة بما يسمى وزارة الدفاع, في منطقة بيت جن بريف #دمشق الغربي, بتفجير مقام الشيخ عبدالله الواقع قرب جبل حرمون, بهدف تدمير الهوية الروحية والثقافية #للدروز — Amer alshaer (@Amer_alshaeer) July 20, 2025 The Sheikh Abdullah Shrine is one of the most prominent historical religious shrines among the Druze community in Syria and Lebanon, as it holds a significant spiritual significance as it is attributed to one of the region's most prominent Sufis. It is worth noting that the latest clashes in Sweida in southern Syria killed at least 1,120, according to a new death toll released by the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights on Sunday. © 2000 - 2025 Al Bawaba (
The Guardian
3 days ago
- Health
- The Guardian
‘Tense calm' returns to Syria's Sweida province after week of deadly violence
An uneasy calm returned to southern Syria's Sweida province on Sunday, after fighters withdrew following a week of violence estimated to have killed more than 1,000 people. Local people told news agencies the area was calm after Syria's Islamist-led government said Bedouin fighters had left the predominantly Druze city. The London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) said Sweida had been experiencing 'a cautious calm since the early hours of Sunday morning', but warned of 'the deterioration of the humanitarian situation' including a severe shortage of basic medical supplies. The SOHR reported on Sunday that more than 1,000 people had been killed in armed clashes, bombardment, extrajudicial executions and Israeli airstrikes since the violence in Sweida province began a week ago. The United Nations migration agency said the number of people displaced by the violence had risen to more than 128,000. One local resident, dentist Kenan Azzam, told Reuters on Sunday morning the situation was one of 'a tense calm' but people were still struggling with a lack of water and electricity. 'The hospitals are a disaster and out of service, and there are still so many dead and wounded,' he said. Agence France-Presse correspondents on the outskirts of Sweida city reported there were no sounds of fighting, adding humanitarian convoys were preparing to enter the Druze-majority town. The Syrian Arab Red Crescent humanitarian organisation announced it was sending 32 trucks to Sweida loaded with food, medicine, water, fuel and other aid, after the fighting left the province with power cuts and shortages. The state-run Syrian Arab News Agency said the health ministry was also sending a convoy of trucks. The violence was triggered by a dispute between a Bedouin tribesman and a member of the Druze, who are a minority in wider Syria, which prompted government forces to intervene. Druze fighters resisted their entry into the province and violence escalated, turning into days of terror for local people. In response, Israel, which has vowed to protect the Druze community, launched airstrikes on Syria's defence ministry in Damascus and dozens of military targets in the south of the country. A ceasefire agreement between Syria and Israel had been announced by the US early on Saturday to prevent further Israeli military intervention. Early on Sunday, the US stepped up calls for an end to the fighting. 'All factions must immediately lay down their arms, cease hostilities, and abandon cycles of tribal vengeance,' the US special envoy to Syria, Tom Barrack, wrote on X. 'Syria stands at a critical juncture – peace and dialogue must prevail – and prevail now.' A few hours earlier, the US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, issued a warning to Syria's new government, whose forces have been accused by Druze factions of committing abuses, including summary executions, when they entered Sweida earlier in the week. Rubio wrote on X: 'If authorities in Damascus want to preserve any chance of achieving a unified, inclusive and peaceful Syria free of Isis [Islamic State] and of Iranian control they must help end this calamity by using their security forces to prevent Isis and any other violent jihadists from entering the area and carrying out massacres. And they must hold accountable and bring to justice anyone guilty of atrocities including those in their own ranks.' Two members of the government forces posted sectarian hate speech against Druze, according to private social media seen by the Guardian's correspondent in Beirut. One posted a video of him and two other soldiers driving through Sweida laughing as he said: 'We are on our way to distribute aid,' while brandishing a machete to the camera. He filmed himself inside a house in Sweida ripping a picture of Druze spiritual leaders off a wall and trampling it with his boots. The last week has been the worst outbreak of violence since March, when 1,500 mostly Alawite citizens were massacred in revenge for a failed attack by supporters of the ousted dictator Bashar al-Assad, who came from the sect. The second round of sectarian violence has tempered international hopes for the new Syrian government, which came to power last December after the sudden fall of the Assad regime. Western governments, the US, the UK and the EU, lifted sanctions in an effort to aid Syria's battered economy and economic reconstruction, after 13 years of civil war and repression by the Assad regime, which killed more than half a million people, leaving 90% of the population in poverty. The EU said on Saturday it was 'appalled by the hundreds of victims' of the recent violence, including that 'reportedly perpetrated by several armed groups against unarmed civilians'. In a statement, the EU foreign service urged 'all parties to immediately stop all acts of violence, to protect all civilians without distinction, and to take immediate steps to prevent incitement and sectarian discourse'. The EU also called on 'Israel and all other foreign actors to fully respect Syria's sovereignty and territorial integrity'. Syria's interim president, Ahmed al-Sharaa, on Saturday announced a ceasefire in Sweida and renewed his promise to protect Syria's ethnic and religious minorities. Sharaa, who was more sympathetic to the Bedouins, had tried to appeal to the Druze community while remaining critical of the militias. He later urged the Bedouins to leave the city, saying they 'cannot replace the role of the state in handling the country's affairs and restoring security'. The interior ministry said overnight that Sweida city was 'evacuated of all tribal fighters, and clashes within the city's neighbourhoods were halted'. A spokesperson for Syria's tribal and clan council told Al Jazeera late on Saturday that fighters had left the city 'in response to the call of the presidency and the terms of the agreement'.
L'Orient-Le Jour
3 days ago
- Politics
- L'Orient-Le Jour
First humanitarian convoy enters Sweida
A first humanitarian aid convoy entered the majority-Druze city of Sweida in southern Syria on Sunday, following a week of deadly intercommunal fighting, a Syrian Red Crescent official told AFP. A fragile cease-fire took effect Sunday in the province of Sweida, where clashes have left over 1,000 dead, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR). An AFP correspondent near the city saw the convoy, made up of white vehicles bearing the Red Crescent emblem. 'This is the first convoy to enter since the latest events, and it is now inside the city of Sweida,' Omar al-Maliki, spokesperson for the Syrian Red Crescent, told AFP. He added that the convoy's entry, the first of several, was 'coordinated between government parties and local authorities in Sweida,' which is controlled by Druze factions. The 32-vehicle convoy carried food, medical supplies, fuel and body bags. Residents say the besieged city is without water and electricity. A second aid convoy, organized by Syrian authorities and including over 40 trucks along with three government ministers, was unable to enter the city, according to Damascus. The Syrian Foreign Ministry claimed that 'armed militias affiliated with Sheikh Hikmat al-Hijri blocked the entry of the convoy.' Sheikh al-Hijri, one of the Druze community's most influential religious figures, has drawn government ire for calling for international protection of the Druze and appealing for help from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Israel, home to a Druze minority, has said it intends to protect the community in Syria. In a statement Sunday, Sheikh al-Hijri said that 'all aid reaching the devastated province of Sweida through international organizations and parties is welcome.' The violence, which erupted on July 13 between Druze fighters and Bedouin tribes before escalating with the intervention of government forces and tribal groups from across Syria, has killed more than 1,000 people, according to SOHR. The morgue of Sweida's government hospital is full, and bodies were seen lying outside the facility, an AFP photographer reported Sunday. Un premier convoi humanitaire entre à Soueida
