Sweida’s Grim Aftermath: Druze Community Unearths Mass Casualties, Looting Following Syria Clashes
Sweida’s Grim Aftermath: Druze Community Unearths Mass Casualties, Looting Following Syria Clashes
JARAMANA, Syria (AP) – The Druze community in Syria’s southern Sweida province is grappling with a horrific aftermath following days of brutal clashes that saw a ceasefire take effect late Wednesday. As residents return from hiding or displacement, they are discovering bodies of civilians in the streets and widespread looting, painting a grim picture of the violence that claimed hundreds of lives.
The fighting, which erupted between local Sunni Bedouin tribes and Druze militias, escalated with the intervention of government forces. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reports that at least 600 people, including over 80 civilians—mostly Druze—were killed in just four days. Disturbing accounts describe “field executions,” with victims found shot in the head, leading the Observatory’s director to call them “systemic killings.”
Personal tragedies underscore the scale of the horror. One Syrian Druze woman, whose family sheltered in a basement, lost her father to a sniper during a lull in fighting. A Syrian-American Druze recounted discovering footage of his family friends, including a visiting relative, being forced to kneel and executed by gunmen in military uniform in Sweida.
Despite interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa’s recent speech promising accountability for civilian killings, the violence has deepened skepticism within the Druze community towards Syria’s new leadership. Revenge attacks by Druze militias against Bedouin families have been reported since the ceasefire, with renewed skirmishes causing further displacement. The events in Sweida, mirroring previous violence against the Alawite minority, raise serious questions about the new government’s ability to ensure peaceful coexistence and protect all communities.
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