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The National
a day ago
- Politics
- The National
Twelve civilians feared kidnapped along Sweida humanitarian corridor
Twelve civilians were reportedly kidnapped in Deraa province on Sunday while returning to Sweida, including six women. Local sources informed the local news website Suwayda 24 that the abducted people had departed from Sahnaya on a bus heading towards Sweida via a route through the Deraa countryside designated as a 'humanitarian corridor' connecting Deraa and Sweida provinces. This corridor was established to help enable civilian movement under the supervision of government forces amid the continuing closure of the main Damascus–Sweida road, which has been blocked for a month. However, after the bus reached the Kaheel area east of Deraa it was intercepted by a group of armed men who abducted all of its passengers. The incident took place in an area that reportedly has government security checkpoints. A source close to one of the kidnapped people told Suwayda 24 that they lost communication with their relative after the bus entered Deraa province. The source added that only limited information has been available since then. Sweida city has effectively been under siege for the past month, with only limited humanitarian assistance making its way in. Despite this, the Syrian government continues to deny that any blockade is taking place. Small-scale aid deliveries have been permitted in recent weeks. The situation on the ground has been further complicated by a wave of abductions. Last week, five aid workers were kidnapped in Syria while attempting to deliver humanitarian supplies from the Damascus suburb of Jaramana to Sweida, according to colleagues of theirs who spoke to The National. The aid convoy, consisting of eight vehicles carrying privately donated supplies from Jaramana, a suburb of Damascus, was ambushed en route. Unknown attackers looted seven of the vehicles, halting the delivery of much-needed resources to the province, which is experiencing severe shortages of food, electricity and water. Locals in Sweida describe dire conditions in the aftermath of last month's violent clashes between Druze fighters and armed tribal groups aligned with government forces. A ceasefire, along with a government-imposed lockdown announced on July 19, has left the province heavily dependent on sporadic aid. Although many of the tribal fighters retreated from Sweida after the ceasefire, residents report that some are still present along vital access routes, restricting the flow of goods into the area. Since the July fighting, an estimated 192,000 people have been internally displaced within the province. Aid continues to arrive in limited amounts through a single crossing point, prompting private donors and international organisations to step in with convoy deliveries. These efforts, however, must be co-ordinated with Syrian authorities, adding further to the complexity of the humanitarian situation.
Indian Express
3 days ago
- Politics
- Indian Express
Druze demand self determination in largest protest held since deadly clashes in Syria
Hundreds of people demonstrated in Syria's southern city of Sweida and elsewhere on Saturday to demand the right to self determination for the Druze minority, the largest protests to take place since deadly clashes in the area last month. Some of the protesters waved Israeli flags to thank Israel for intervening on their side during heavy clashes in mid-July between Druze militias and armed tribal groups and government forces. Saturday's demonstration comes as Syria grapples with deep ethnic and religious divisions following the collapse of the Assad family rule last December. The transition has proven fragile, with renewed violence erupting in March along the coast and in July in Sweida, a city with a significant Druze population, highlighting the continued threat to peace after years of civil war. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Syrian war monitor, said the protesters expressed their rejection of the interim central government in Damascus and demanded that those responsible for atrocities against Druze be brought to justice. The Observatory said some of the protesters called on Israel to intervene to support their demand of self determination. Rayyan Maarouf, who heads the activist media collective Suwayda 24, said Saturday's demonstration in Sweida was the largest since last months's clashes, and that there were similar gatherings in areas including the nearby towns of Shahba and Salkhad. He added that this is the first time people protested under the slogan of self determination. 'This is an unprecedented change for the Druze in Syria,' Maarouf told The Associated Press. Clashes erupted on July 13 between Druze militias and local Sunni Muslim Bedouin tribes in Sweida. Government forces then intervened, nominally to restore order, but ended up essentially siding with the Bedouins against the Druze. Israel intervened in defense of the Druze, launching dozens of airstrikes on convoys of government fighters and even striking the Syrian Defense Ministry headquarters in central Damascus. Atrocities were committed during the clashes that left hundreds of people dead. The new interim government set up a committee last month tasked with investigating attacks on civilians in the sectarian violence in the country's south. It is supposed to issue a report within three months. The Druze religious sect began as a 10th-century offshoot of Ismailism, a branch of Shiite Islam. Over half of the roughly 1 million Druze worldwide live in Syria. Most 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.
Los Angeles Times
3 days ago
- Politics
- Los Angeles Times
Druze demand self-determination in largest protest held since deadly clashes in Syria
BEIRUT — Hundreds of people demonstrated in Syria's southern city of Sweida and elsewhere Saturday to demand the right to self-determination for the Druze minority, in the largest protests to take place since deadly clashes in the area last month. Some of the protesters waved Israeli flags to thank Israel for intervening on their side during heavy clashes in mid-July between Druze militias and armed Bedouin tribal groups alongside allied government forces. Saturday's demonstration comes as Syria grapples with deep ethnic and religious divisions after the collapse of the Assad family rule in December. The transition has proved fragile, with renewed violence erupting in March along the coast and in July in Sweida, a city with a mostly Druze population, highlighting the continued threat to peace after years of civil war. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Syrian war monitor, said the protesters expressed their rejection of the interim central government in Damascus and demanded that those responsible for atrocities against Druze be brought to justice. The observatory said some of the protesters called on Israel to intervene to support their demand of self-determination. Rayyan Maarouf, who heads the activist media collective Suwayda 24, said that Saturday's demonstration in Sweida was the largest since last month's clashes and that there were similar rallies in areas including the nearby towns of Shahba and Salkhad. He added that this is the first time people protested under the theme of self-determination. 'This is an unprecedented change for the Druze in Syria,' Maarouf told the Associated Press. Clashes erupted July 13 between Druze militias and local Sunni Muslim Bedouin tribes in Sweida. Government forces then intervened, nominally to restore order, but ended up essentially siding with the Bedouins against the Druze. Israel intervened in defense of the Druze, launching dozens of airstrikes on convoys of government fighters and striking the Syrian Defense Ministry headquarters in central Damascus. Atrocities were committed during the clashes that left hundreds of people dead. The new interim government set up a committee last month tasked with investigating attacks on civilians in the sectarian violence in the country's south. It is supposed to issue a report within three months. The Druze religious sect began as a 10th century offshoot of Ismailism, a branch of Shiite Islam. More than half of the roughly 1 million Druze worldwide live in Syria. Most 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.
3 days ago
- Politics
Druze hold largest protest since deadly clashes in Syria
BEIRUT -- Hundreds of people demonstrated in Syria's southern city of Sweida and elsewhere on Saturday to demand the right to self determination for the Druze minority, in the largest protests to take place since deadly clashes in the area last month. Some of the protesters waved Israeli flags to thank Israel for intervening on their side during heavy clashes in mid-July between militias of the Druze minority and armed tribal groups and government forces. Saturday's demonstration comes as Syria grapples with deep ethnic and religious divisions following the collapse of the Assad family rule last December. The transition has proven fragile, with renewed violence erupting in March along the coast and in July in Sweida, a city with a significant Druze population, highlighting the continued threat to peace after years of civil war. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Syrian war monitor, said the protesters expressed their rejection of the interim central government in Damascus and demanded that those responsible for atrocities against Druze be brought to justice. The Observatory said some of the protesters called on Israel to intervene to support their demand of self determination. Rayyan Maarouf, who heads the activist media collective Suwayda 24, said Saturday's demonstration in Sweida was the largest since last months's clashes, and that there were similar gatherings in areas including the nearby towns of Shahba and Salkhad. He added that this is the first time people protested under the slogan of self determination. 'This is an unprecedented change for the Druze in Syria,' Maarouf told The Associated Press. Clashes erupted on July 13 between Druze militias and local Sunni Muslim Bedouin tribes in Sweida. Government forces then intervened, nominally to restore order, but ended up essentially siding with the Bedouins against the Druze. Israel intervened in defense of the Druze, launching dozens of airstrikes on convoys of government fighters and even striking the Syrian Defense Ministry headquarters in central Damascus. Atrocities were committed during the clashes that left hundreds of people dead. The new interim government set up a committee last month tasked with investigating attacks on civilians in the sectarian violence in the country's south. It is supposed to issue a report within three months. The Druze religious sect began as a 10th-century offshoot of Ismailism, a branch of Shiite Islam. Over half of the roughly 1 million Druze worldwide live in Syria. Most 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.
Nahar Net
11-08-2025
- Politics
- Nahar Net
Syria vows accountability after video of Sweida hospital killing
by Naharnet Newsdesk 11 August 2025, 12:58 Syria's interior ministry on Monday said it would hold accountable those responsible for the apparent killing of an unarmed man at a hospital during violence last month in Druze-majority Sweida province, after a purported video of the incident emerged. "We condemn and denounce this act in the strongest terms and affirm that the perpetrators will be held accountable and brought to justice... whatever their affiliation," the ministry said in a statement. A week of bloodshed began on July 13 with clashes between local Druze fighters and Bedouin tribes, but the violence rapidly escalated as it drew in outside forces, eventually killing some 1,600 people, many of them Druze civilians, according to an updated toll by a war monitor. Syrian authorities have said their forces intervened to stop the clashes, but witnesses, Druze factions and the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor have accused them of siding with the Bedouin and committing abuses against the Druze, including summary executions. Local media outlet Suwayda 24 and the Observatory published the video on Sunday, saying it was from hospital surveillance footage. Forces in military garb are seen shooting dead a man whom Suwayda 24 identified as an engineer volunteering with the hospital team after a brief scuffle, as a group of people dressed as healthcare workers are crouched on the floor. Another man seen in the video told AFP that the incident took place on July 16. The Observatory called it a "shocking field execution" carried out by "members of the defense and interior ministries". Rights activists called for accountability and an independent inquiry after the footage emerged, following other videos that circulated last month that also appeared to show government forces killing civilians. The interior ministry said it appointed an official "to directly oversee the progress of the investigation in order to ensure the culprits are found and arrested as soon as possible". Late last month, authorities announced the formation of a committee to investigate the Sweida violence, which should present its findings within three months. Activists have instead called for an independent investigation to probe the violence. Mohammad al-Abdallah, executive director of the Syria Justice and Accountability Centre, said on Sunday that United Nations investigators "must enter Sweida immediately" and labelled the medic's killing a war crime. Despite a ceasefire, the situation remains tense in Sweida and access to the province remains difficult. Local residents accuse the government of imposing a blockade, something officials have denied, pointing to the entry of humanitarian convoys.
