ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq - At least 594 people were killed in several days of bloody fighting in southern Syria's Suwayda province, which subsequently led to the withdrawal of government forces from the predominantly Druze province following a ceasefire, according to a UK-based war monitor.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) said 300 Druze from Suwayda were among the dead, including 154 civilians, of whom 83 "who were summarily executed by members of the defence and interior ministries”.
The flare-up of violence also claimed the lives of 257 government personnel and 18 allied Bedouin fighters.
A total of 15 more government personnel who had been dispatched from Damascus to the embattled southern city were killed in Israeli airstrikes. At the same time, a journalist was also killed covering the deadly fighting.
Violence erupted in the vicinity of Syria’s Suwayda on Sunday, with Bedouin tribal groups clashing with internal security forces in the Druze-majority area.
Syrian security forces were promptly deployed to the region to restore calm; however, witnesses accused government forces of partaking in violence against the religious minority.
The Syrian presidency on Thursday accused “outlaw forces”, referring to the Druze fighters, of violating the ceasefire, saying they had engaged in "horrific violence" against civilians, including "crimes that completely contravene the obligations of mediation, directly threaten civil peace, and push towards chaos and security collapse".
The presidency also warned against "continued blatant Israeli interference in Syria's internal affairs, which only leads to further chaos and destruction and further complicates the regional situation”.
The Israeli military says it strikes the Syrian government’s military infrastructure and its forces in Suwayda province in support of the Syrian Druze community.
The Druze are a religious minority that lives in Syria and other parts of the Levant, subscribing to an Abrahamic faith and identifying themselves as al-Muwahhidun (the monotheists). Their beliefs share numerous similarities with other Abrahamic religions. Druze religious tenets emphasize divine unity, a belief in reincarnation, and the eternal nature of the soul.
Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), the rebel group that spearheaded a December offensive that saw former Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad deposed, now comprises the bulk of the Syrian military. HTS leader and current Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa sparked concerns amongst the international community upon his ascension to power due to his former ties with the al-Qaeda extremist organization. However, his administration has repeatedly promised inclusive and tolerant rule for all ethnic and religious minorities in the country.
Despite these vows of inclusivity, Syrian security forces in March carried out an extensive campaign of "public executions" against the minority Alawites in the coastal regions of the west of the country, killing over 1,700 men, women, and children.
A wave of sectarian killings targeting the Druze in the suburbs of Damascus in late April left over 100 people dead, with the violence being triggered by a fabricated audio clip purporting to show a Druze cleric blaspheming the Prophet Muhammad, drawing the ire of Sunni militias.
Facebook
LinkedIn
Telegram
X
