Armed men gesture as a car burns amid clashes between Druze and Bedouin groups, Suwayda, Syria, July 14, 2025 (Getty)
Israel Bombs Amid Deadly Clashes in Southern Syria
UPDATE, SEPT 2:
Amnesty International has called on the Syrian Government to ensure that military and security personnel, as well as “members of affiliated forces”, be held accountable for their role in clashes and mass killings in Suwayda Province in southern Syria.
Amnesty cited extrajudicial executions of Druze men and women amid around 1,000 people slain in mid-July. It cited “verified videos of armed men in security and military uniforms, some bearing official insignia, executing unarmed people in homes, a public square, a school, and a hospital”.
The human rights organization documented the deliberate shooting and killing of 44 Druze men and two Druze women July 15-16 in a public square, residential homes, a school, a hospital, and a ceremonial hall.
Amnesty interviewed 13 people in Suwayda and two people from the province living abroad. Among the 15 interviewees, eight had family members who were executed. One witnessed the executions of their family members, and another the executions of a group of people. Five visited execution sites and saw the bodies of their family members and other people.
One woman’s parents were subjected to a mock execution. Two other interviewees were held with their families and threatened at gunpoint while armed men in military uniform searched their home.
One woman testified about the execution of her two brothers, a nephew, and four other men on July 16 in a home close to the national hospital.
Tanks had moved through the neighborhood all day before three armed men dressed in beige military uniforms arrived at 5:30 p.m.
One of them said, “Open the door, you are safe.” My brother immediately opened the door… and welcomed them in… They searched the house. They took the men to an unfinished building next to us….
I heard the gunshots. I peeked from the door. I saw the two soldiers, I didn’t see the third one.
A father who was relocating his family to the countryside on July 15 described the murder of his son at a checkpoint.
The security forces asked me if the car behind was with me. I said yes. Both officers then walked toward my son’s car. I watched through the rear-view mirror.
I saw my son smile at them and say salaam alaikem. One of the officers stepped back, returned the greeting, and suddenly opened fire – just like that. Then the second officer began shooting too. What hurt me the most was seeing my son’s body dance as the bullets pierced him.
The Evidence Lab, Amnesty International’s digital investigations team, verified 22 videos and photos shared with its researchers or posted on social media between July 15 and August 10. Among them were the murder of a medical worker by gunmen who raided a hospital on July 16.
Amnesty wrote to the Syrian Interior and Defense Ministers, sharing preliminary findings and requesting information on the status of the government’s investigation. No response has been received.
The organization is investigating credible reports of abductions committed by Druze armed groups and Bedouin tribal fighters between July 17 and 19.
ORIGINAL ENTRY, AUGUST 22: UN experts have expressed alarm over armed attacks in southern Syria, particularly against Druze communities, since July 13.
The experts cited killings, enforced disappearances, abductions, looting, destruction of property, and sexual and gender-based violence against women and girls.
“We are gravely concerned by reported attacks targeting the Druze minority for their faith and other grounds, including the forced shaving of religious men’s moustaches and hateful rhetoric on social media portraying Druze as traitors and infidels to be killed, and calling for the abduction and enslavement of Druze women,” the experts said.
Clashes in Suwayda Province between Bedouin and Druze communities were triggered by a Bedouin robbery and assault of a Druze vegetable merchant on the Damascus–Suwayda highway. Armed gunmen — including local militias and forces of the Syrian Government — joined the violence.
Around 1,000 people were slain. Among them were at least 539 identified Druze civilians, including 39 women and 21 children. At least 196 people, including eight children and 30 women, were reportedly extrajudicially executed and more than 33 villages burned. Another 763, including women, remain missing.
The experts cited the reported abduction of at least 105 Druze women and girls by armed groups affiliated with the Syrian Government, with 80 still missing. In at least three cases, Druze women were allegedly raped before being executed.
While recognizing the killing of Bedouin and of Government security personnel, the experts summarize:
The scale of violence reported – including massacres, looting of homes, shops and livestock, and use of stolen phones for extortion – points to a targeted campaign against the Druze minority, exacerbated by incitement to hatred on media and social media platforms portraying them as Israeli allies.
Druze survivors, including university students in Damascus, Homs, Aleppo and Latakia face ongoing harassment and fear for their safety.
“Apparent Systemic Failure”
The experts cite “an apparent systemic failure to protect minorities and address gender-based violence” and “no thorough, independent and impartial investigations into extrajudicial killings, torture or abductions”. Reports that Government forces aided attacks “have entrenched impunity and fear, silencing victims’ families and obstructing efforts to locate the disappeared”.
They are monitoring the situation of an estimated 192,000 internally displaced people in Suwayda, Dara’a and Homs Provinces with resources already under severe strain.
“The Syrian interim authorities must allow prompt, independent investigations, prosecute perpetrators, and establish the fate and whereabouts of the disappeared,” they conclude.
The Syrian Government has yet to respond publicly. The UN team said they are in contact with officials in Damascus.
The UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, Martin Griffiths, told the Security Council on Thursday that Syria’s humanitarian crisis, including Suwayda, is far from over.
Griffiths noted that only 14% of international pledges have reached the country: “Without additional funding, we will not be able to continue providing our services in Syrian areas.”
