Sweida

Renewed Sectarian Clashes in South Syria Kill Four

Renewed sectarian clashes in southern Syria's Druze-majority Sweida province killed at least four people on Sunday, a war monitor said, in the first deadly incident since a ceasefire last month. The province witnessed deadly clashes between Druze fighters and Sunni Bedouins in July that drew the intervention of government forces and tribal ...

Syria Forms Committee to Investigate Violence in Druze Heartland

Syria's justice ministry announced on Thursday the formation of a committee to investigate deadly violence in the southern Druze-majority province of Sweida. The week-long clashes which began on July 13 killed more than 1,400 people, many of them Druze civilians, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor. In a decree issued ...

From Sweida to Hasbaya: The Druze Soul Under Strain

While Syria’s Sweida province remains on edge following July’s deadly clashes, the reverberations are deeply felt across the border in Hasbaya. In this part of southern Lebanon—as elsewhere in the Druze world—identity transcends borders. The people of Hasbaya have lived this tragedy as their own, with Druze Sheikh al-Aql, Sami Abi ...

Syria Says Meeting with Israeli Officials Sought to 'Contain Escalation'

A Syrian diplomatic source said Saturday that a US-mediated meeting with Israeli officials in Paris this week sought to "contain the escalation" after recent sectarian violence in southern Syria prompted Israeli intervention. Israel launched strikes this month on Damascus and the Druze-majority Sweida province, saying it was acting both ...

Sami Abi el-Mona Calls for Urgent Humanitarian Mobilization in Sweida

Druze spiritual leader Sheikh Sami Abi al-Mona called on Thursday for urgent humanitarian action to support the people of Sweida, who have been deeply affected by recent violent clashes. Speaking at a press conference on Thursday, Abi al-Mona described a dire situation in the Syrian governorate, pointing to significant civilian casualties and ...

Israel in Sweida: Motives and Ambitions

As heavy clashes enter their second week in Syria’s southern province of Sweida, pitting Druze factions against tribal groups backed by the Syrian Army and security forces, Israel’s quiet but deliberate involvement is raising alarm. Official claims of protecting Syria’s Druze are met with widespread skepticism. The real story lies in Tel ...

Syria Evacuates Bedouin from Druze-Majority Sweida as Ceasefire Holds

Syrian authorities evacuated Bedouin families from the Druze-majority city of Sweida on Monday, after a ceasefire in the southern province halted a week of sectarian bloodshed that a monitor said killed more than 1,260 people. The violence, which followed massacres of Alawites in March and clashes involving the Druze in April and May, has shaken ...

Calm Returns to South Syria after Violence that Killed 1,000

Calm returned to southern Syria's Sweida province on Sunday, a monitor and AFP correspondents reported, after a week of sectarian violence between Druze fighters and rival groups that killed more than 1,000 people. A ceasefire announced on Saturday appeared to be holding after earlier agreements failed to end fighting between longtime rivals ...

Ceasefire Order Fails to Halt Fighting in Syria's Druze Heartland

Syrian Bedouin and their allies fought Druze fighters in the community's Sweida heartland for a seventh day Saturday despite a ceasefire ordered by the government following a US-brokered deal to avert further Israeli military intervention. AFP correspondents reported clashes in the west of the provincial capital as Druze fighters battled ...

Baabda Hosts Security Meeting to Address Prison Overcrowding

President Joseph Aoun chaired a ministerial and security meeting on Friday morning at the Presidential Palace, primarily focused on the situation in Lebanese prisons and the aggravating issue of overcrowding. The participants discussed urgent measures to address the saturation of detention facilities, particularly concerning judicial procedures, ...

When Sweida Exposes Lebanon’s Fault Lines: What’s at Stake for the Country?

Clashes between Druze groups and government forces backed by tribal militias in the Syrian city of Sweida have claimed more than 500 lives since Sunday. Alongside this unprecedented wave of violence in this southern region, several Lebanese municipalities, mostly in Druze villages, have introduced preventive measures against foreigners, especially ...

Rasamny Denies Tripoli Exit Rumors Amid Sweida Tensions

Public Works and Transport Minister Fayez Rasamny denied on Friday rumors claiming he cut short his visit to Tripoli due to security threats linked to recent clashes in Syria’s Sweida province.  Rasamny said his visit was completed as scheduled and focused on launching development projects at the city’s port. “My visit was not ...