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Mint
23-07-2025
- Politics
- Mint
Inside Syria's sectarian cauldron: A kidnapping triggers a cascade of violence
For three days last week, Osama Bshnak Radwan and his family cowered in their townhouse as rockets, artillery and bullets pulverized their Syrian enclave. Then, five armed men in military fatigues arrived at their gate. 'Come out, Druze! Come out, you dogs!" the men shouted, according to Radwan, whose family belongs to the Druze religious minority that lives along Syria's southern border. The gunmen eventually left the gate but they entered the house next door, where they killed more than a dozen members of his extended family, he said. The killings were part of a wave of sectarian violence between Sunni Muslim Bedouins and Druze that swept through Sweida, a majority Druze province, last week. The fighting prompted Israeli warplanes to strike Syrian government forces in what Israel said was an attempt to defend the Druze. The clashes have exposed the seams in the patchwork of tribes, religions and ethnicities in Syria, where a fragile new government, dominated by Sunni Muslims, took power eight months ago. The violence lays bare the challenges of Israel's stated vision for Syria as a loose federation of autonomous states with a weak central government. Analysts say a lack of strong centralized rule will entrench sectarian divides. Even as Syria's fledgling leadership has gained international acceptance, sanctions relief and investment, it has struggled to protect its minorities and unify the nation. The divisions have sparked concerns that the nation could descend into further conflict, driven by deeply entrenched political, ethnic and religious schisms. On Tuesday, a fragile cease-fire—the fourth declared in a week—appeared to be holding amid pressure from the Trump administration, Turkey and Arab nations, though residents said Sweida remained tense. The fighting marked at least the fourth time sectarian strife has escalated into serious violence since the fall of Bashar al-Assad's regime in December. The Wall Street Journal reconstructed the events of last week's cascading violence through interviews with witnesses, community leaders and residents from both the Druze and Bedouin populations, as well as analysis of dozens of social-media posts and videos. For several centuries, the Bedouin and Druze, whose religion stems from an early offshoot of Shiite Islam, have lived together in southern Syria, at times sharing each other's traditions. They fought together against French colonialist rule in the 1920s. But the two communities have also clashed over land rights and other disputes. The current upheaval began on July 11 when an armed Bedouin gang kidnapped a Druze vegetable merchant, stealing his wares, car and roughly $700 in local currency. The man was beaten as his captors yelled religious insults. The merchant's relatives then kidnapped Bedouin tribal members in Sweida, leading Bedouin tribesmen to kidnap more than a dozen Druze. The tit-for-tat attacks escalated and by the time the merchant was released and tribal mediations began two days later, the violence had spread across Sweida province and attracted fighters from across the country. Hundreds of armed Arab Bedouin tribesmen descended on Sweida on July 13. They had to pass through dozens of government checkpoints, mostly run by Sunni Muslim forces, from as far away as Hama, Homs in the north, and on the other side of the country to the east near the Iraqi border in Deir Ezzour. There, dozens of young men were filmed entering a white trailer truck guarded by armed fighters. 'These are the people of Deir Ezzour," one man with a regional accent said in the video, according to footage verified by Storyful, which is owned by News Corp, the parent company of The Wall Street Journal. 'We are coming for you Druze." Syrian government forces moved into Sweida to restore order but many Druze, who say the government collaborates with the Bedouins, saw their arrival as an invasion. Druze say they distrust Syria interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa and his forces—who are former al Qaeda-linked jihadists who toppled Assad—and describe their feelings of exclusion from the Sunni Muslim-dominated government. A spokesman for Sharaa's office didn't respond to a request for comment. In a July 19 televised address, Sharaa described the Bedouin tribes as "a symbol of noble values and principles," and praised their nationwide mobilization to defend their community. In the same speech, he referred to Druze militias as 'outlaws." Israel, which has a large Druze population, said the Syrian government's intervention was an attempt to harm Druze communities. Cultivating ties with Syria's Druze is an essential part of Israel's strategy to create a demilitarized buffer zone populated by Israel-friendly Druze along its border with southern Syria to prevent cross border attacks on Israeli citizens. The community, however, is divided over Israel's entry into Syria and the Sharaa government. Some fear being viewed as collaborators if they support Israel, while others say Israel's involvement keeps Syria weak. Some Druze say they want to give Syria's new leaders a chance to unify the nation. When Syrian government troops reached Sweida on July 14, their tanks came under attack from Israeli warplanes. Meanwhile, Druze militias battled both government forces and Bedouin fighters. Syria's Defense Ministry announced the death of at least six of its soldiers after an ambush by 'unlawful groups," a term they use to refer to Druze militias. On July 15, the next day, a government-announced cease-fire fell apart after influential Druze leader Hikmat al-Hijri—who has strong ties to the Druze in Israel—refused to give it his backing, accusing government forces of continued attacks against Druze civilians. 'We are being subjected to a campaign of complete extermination," he told his followers in a video. 'We must resist this barbaric assault with every means available." The surge of sectarian bloodletting intensified, as artillery and rockets pounded Sweida, with hundreds of Druze and Bedouin civilians killed, according to the United Nations. Thousands of Druze residents of Sweida fled toward the Jordanian border, while others escaped to the countryside. At Radwan's residence where he and his family hid, his 20-year-old daughter made a plea. ''Dad, for God's sake, if they get in and want to kill us, kill me yourself,'" Radwan recalls her saying. ''Strangle us, hit us on the head. Just don't let them be the ones to kill us.'" When the gunmen arrived at their compound, they fired and shouted 'Allahu akbar," meaning God is great, Radwan recalls. 'All of us were frozen," he says. 'We couldn't cry or make a sound. God protected us. They shut the gate and walked away." After gunfire next door, one of his wounded family members sent a voice message to the family WhatsApp group. 'Only a few are still breathing," the family member said in the message heard by the Journal. The men killed at least 13 members of Radwan's family that day. On Friday, Volker Türk, U.N. High Commissioner for human rights, said that his office had documented the attack. 'Armed individuals affiliated with the interim authorities deliberately opened fire at a family gathering," he wrote. A spokesperson for Sharaa's office didn't respond to a request for comment. By the end of July 15, bodies were piling up outside the main hospital in Sweida, according to video footage verified by Storyful. The hospital itself was attacked by armed groups, killing and wounding medical staff, according to the U.N. The next day, Israel turned up the pressure, using its warplanes to strike the military headquarters in Damascus and areas near the presidential palace, taking the spiraling violence to a new phase. Syria's leadership and some of Sweida's top Druze leaders later reached a more comprehensive cease-fire deal calling for Sweida province to be integrated into the Syrian state and for Druze factions and religious leaders to maintain security. Hijri again rejected the offer. The violence raged on. The government later agreed to pull its forces from Sweida, following mediation with Israel conducted by the U.S., Turkey and Syria's Arab neighbors. 'After government forces withdrew, we began recovering the bodies," said Wajiha Hajjar, a prominent Druze lawyer in Sweida who returned to the province on Friday after having fled to the Jordanian border. 'There were summary executions where people were dragged from their homes and shot in the streets." she said. 'Villages in the western countryside were gone. Homes were burned down." Other residents described similar scenes. Once government forces pulled back, some Druze militias renewed attacks on Bedouin neighborhoods, including targeting children, according to Bedouin community leaders and residents. 'The Druze, the Hijri, have displaced us from our homes and burned down mosques," said Nahi Sweiti, 27 years old, a Bedouin farmer and sheep herder, using a term to describe Hijri's followers. 'After the defense forces pulled out from Sweida, the armed gangs of Hijri started killing and executing people from the tribes, regardless of whether it was men, women, or children." More Bedouin fighters left Deir Ezzour for Sweida. Some said they were coming for Hijri. Sharaa said that Syrian troops had withdrawn from Sweida to de-escalate tensions but that the 'horrifying campaign of violence" that had followed 'constituted a clear violation of those understandings." He promised to 'hold accountable all those who committed crimes and violated the law—regardless of their affiliation." A top Hijri militia leader denied the accusations. 'There were reactions, but to kill and slaughter this did not happen," said Firoz Naeem in an interview. The government, he said, is colluding with the Bedouin to target Hijri to divide the Druze. 'We are open to dialogue with all communities, but someone who calls you a disbeliever, an infidel, how are we going to feel safe?" Naeem added. 'We have a legitimate right to defend ourselves." Over the weekend, after another cease-fire mediated by the U.S., Syrian forces returned to Sweida to try to restore order. Israel stopped its air campaign on the condition that the Druze would be protected. The truce remains fragile amid an emerging humanitarian crisis, including nearly 100,000 people displaced, says the U.N. Sectarian hate speech targeting both Druze and Bedouin remains rampant online. Syria's Interior Ministry this week said the government had begun evacuating hundreds of Bedouin families from Sweida in buses toward Daraa, a province where Sunni Muslims dominate. Write to Sudarsan Raghavan at
The Hill
21-07-2025
- Politics
- The Hill
Evacuations begin in Syria's Sweida as days of deadly clashes ease
BUSRA AL-HARIR, Syria (AP) — Syria 's government on Monday started evacuating Bedouin families trapped inside the southern city of Sweida, where deadly fighting between Druze militiamen and Bedouin fighters has largely stopped as a ceasefire takes told. Last week's clashes killed hundreds and threatened to unravel Syria's fragile postwar transition. They also led to sectarian attacks against the Druze religious minority, followed by revenge attacks against the Sunni Muslim Bedouins. The U.N. International Organization for Migration said 128,571 people were displaced. Neighboring Israel also launched dozens of airstrikes in Druze-majority Sweida province, targeting government forces who effectively sided with the Bedouins. Syrian state media on Sunday said the government had coordinated with officials in Sweida to bring buses to evacuate some 1,500 Bedouins. Syrian Interior Minister Ahmad al-Dalati told the state-run news agency that the initiative also would allow civilians displaced from Sweida to return. Druze civilians were expected to be evacuated from other areas, but those had not taken place by Monday evening. 'We have imposed a security cordon in the vicinity of Sweida to keep it secure and to stop the fighting there,' al-Dalati told SANA. 'This will preserve the path that will lead to reconciliation and stability in the province.' Talks were ongoing in Jordan for a long-term truce. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of neighboring Turkey, who has been involved in regional talks for a ceasefire in southern Syria, said 2,500 'lightly armed' government forces will be granted permission to enter Sweida city. Concerns about the government's control Buses filled with Bedouin families were accompanied by Syrian Arab Red Crescent vehicles and ambulances. Ali al-Hawarein, a farmer, was among hundreds bussed out of Sweida to neighboring Daraa province. He called attacks by Druze fighters 'unjustified,' and doubted that the government can keep control. Syrian authorities did not give further details about the evacuation and how it ties into the broader agreement. Britain-based war monitor the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said that as part of the agreement, Bedouin fighters would have to release Druze women they were holding captive and leave the province. After talks for a hostage swap fell through, the Observatory and activist groups in Sweida reported hearing what they called Israeli airstrikes and helicopters over villages where some skirmishes took place between the Bedouins and Druze militias. Israel's military said it was not aware of any overnight strikes. U.S. Special Envoy to Syria Tom Barrack, who has been involved in negotiations, said perpetrators of hostilities on both sides must be held to account. 'What's happened is horrible. It's unthinkable,' Barrack said. 'They (Syrian authorities) need to be held accountable, but they also need to be given responsibility' to restore order. Bedouin fighters wait on city's edge Bedouin fighters withdrew from Sweida city Sunday. Alongside tribesmen from other parts of the country, they stood on the outskirts while security forces cordoned off the area. An aid convoy of 32 Red Crescent vehicles entered the city, though a government delegation with another aid convoy was turned away. Displaced people have struggled with securing food and water in the summer heat. Bedouin families that fled into Daraa were packed into abandoned buildings. Most brought only mattresses and clothes. 'Everyone here has brought an entire family or two with them,' said Saif al-Hajj, who fled the western Sweida countryside with a family of 11 to the town of Busra al-Harir. He also brought chickens and ducks but struggled to give them water and bread. 'If I'm thirsty, I can't get water to drink.' Druze who fled the city of Sweida poured into neighboring towns and villages. In the village of Salkha, many were packed into schools and homes. One Druze resident said there wasn't enough food to go around. She spoke on condition of anonymity out of fears for her family's security, saying that a relative was kidnapped by armed men in the village of al-Ta'la while he was working in a store. She said his location is unknown. 'We don't know who took him, if it was government security or Bedouins,' she said. 'But what we're hearing from others is that most of the kidnapping was done by the Bedouins.' Some Druze question the new government Syria's interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa has tried to appeal to the Druze community while criticizing the factions loyal to spiritual leader Sheikh Hikmat al-Hijri who have been involved in the clashes. He promised to hold accountable perpetrators of targeted attacks. Syria's Druze community had largely celebrated the downfall of the Assad family that ended decades of tyrannical rule. While they had concerns about Al-Sharaa's de facto Islamist rule, a large number wanted to approach matters diplomatically. Al-Hijri and his supporters have taken a more confrontational approach with al-Sharaa, contrary to most other influential Druze figures. Critics also note al-Hijri's previous allegiance to Assad. The latest sectarian attacks, however, including the killing of Druze civilians and desecrating photos of religious notables, have made the community more skeptical of al-Sharaa and less optimistic of peaceful coexistence. More than half of the roughly 1 million Druze worldwide live in Syria. Most of the others live in Lebanon and Israel.
Toronto Star
21-07-2025
- Politics
- Toronto Star
Evacuations begin in Syria's Sweida as days of deadly clashes ease
BUSRA AL-HARIR, Syria (AP) — Syria 's government on Monday started evacuating Bedouin families trapped inside the southern city of Sweida, where deadly fighting between Druze militiamen and Bedouin fighters has largely stopped as a ceasefire takes told. Last week's clashes killed hundreds and threatened to unravel Syria's fragile postwar transition. They also led to sectarian attacks against the Druze religious minority, followed by revenge attacks against the Sunni Muslim Bedouins. The U.N. International Organization for Migration said 128,571 people were displaced.
