From July 11-16, 2025, systematic violence erupted against the Druze minority in Suwayda province, southern Syria. The conflict began when a Druze merchant was abducted and robbed by Bedouin tribesmen on the Damascus-Suwayda highway. What started as intercommunal tensions quickly escalated into a broader massacre when Syrian government forces, ostensibly deployed to restore order, joined Bedouin fighters in attacking Druze civilians and militias.
According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, nearly 1,000 people were killed in the violence, including 588 Druze civilians. Of particular concern, 182 Druze were summarily executed by regime forces from Syria’s Defense and Interior Ministries. The violence included systematic humiliation tactics, with videos showing security forces forcibly shaving the mustaches and beards of Druze elders, an act of deep religious and cultural significance that constitutes a form of sectarian persecution.
The Syrian Druze are a distinct ethnoreligious community numbering approximately 700,000 to 736,000 people, roughly three percent of Syria’s population. They follow a secretive monotheistic faith stemming from 11th-century Ismailism and maintain a strong presence in As-Suwayda Governorate, with significant populations in southern Damascus suburbs including Jaramana and Sahnaya. Historically, the Druze have maintained a neutral stance while fiercely defending their autonomy.
Local, Druze, militias such as the Men of Dignity and the Al Jabal Brigade control much of Suwayda, providing governance and resisting full integration into Syria’s central state apparatus. This arrangement allowed them relative protection during Syria’s civil war, but has created tensions with the new government under Ahmed al-Sharaa.
The July massacre was not an isolated incident but part of a broader pattern of violence against religious minorities under Syria’s new leadership. In March 2025, hundreds of people were killed during a crackdown on the Alawite sect in Latakia province. Between April 28 and May 2, 2025, Syrian government forces and allied militias conducted another massacre in Suwayda province, with at least 100 Druze killed in what the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights characterized as extrajudicial executions.
The April violence began with a fabricated audio recording falsely attributed to a Druze religious leader, Marwan Kiwan, purportedly containing derogatory statements about the Prophet Muhammad. Despite Kiwan’s public denial and Syria’s Interior Ministry confirming the recording was falsely credited, violence erupted in Jaramana and spread to nearby areas. Syrian forces intercepted and attacked Druze convoys attempting to provide assistance, resulting in 43 deaths in one ambush alone.
Evidence emerging from the July violence reveals the systematic nature of the attacks. Videos show security forces wearing ISIS patches or displaying ISIS flags while conducting executions. Graphic footage includes men with bound hands being kicked to death, others shot while their mothers were forced to watch, and bodies piled in streets.
One video captured the aftermath of a hospital massacre where every patient and doctor was reportedly killed. The forced shaving of Druze men’s mustaches represents a particularly calculated form of religious persecution, as mustaches carry deep spiritual significance in Druze culture. Syrian government forces, identifiable by their uniforms, were documented looting homes, conducting physical abuse, and posting videos of themselves humiliating Druze religious leaders online.
Israel intervened militarily in response to the massacre, launching airstrikes against Syrian government forces in both Suwayda and Damascus. The strikes targeted Syria’s Defense Ministry headquarters and areas near the presidential palace, marking one of the most direct Israeli attacks on the heart of the Syrian capital in recent years.
At least three people were killed and 34 wounded in the Damascus strikes. Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz warned that “painful blows will come” and stated the military would “operate forcefully in Suwayda to destroy the forces that attacked the Druze until their complete withdrawal.” The intervention reflected both Israel’s strategic interest in creating a buffer zone and its commitment to protecting the Druze minority, with whom Israeli Druze maintain strong familial and cultural ties.
The situation created unprecedented challenges for Israel’s border security when approximately 1,000 Israeli Druze civilians breached the border fence near Majdal Shams and entered Syria to support their Syrian relatives. Israeli military officials expressed concerns that Druze soldiers might desert from the IDF to join the fighting, prompting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to personally appeal to the community not to cross the border.
While experts debate whether Ahmed al-Sharaa directly ordered the July massacre, there is broad consensus that he bears command responsibility. The forces involved came from the Defense and Interior Ministries under his government, and the systematic coordination suggests policy rather than rogue actions. Al-Sharaa, formerly known by his nom de guerre Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, has led organizations with a documented history of targeting minorities. He initially entered Syria in 2011 to establish an ISIS cell but instead became the leader of the al-Nusra Front, which later pledged allegiance to al-Qaeda.
Under his leadership of al-Nusra Front, the group perpetrated sectarian massacres against Syria’s Christian, Alawite, Shia, and Druze minorities, including the 2015 Qalb Loze massacre of Druze villagers.
Experts note that al-Sharaa’s public promises to protect minorities came only after Israeli threats, international pressure, and widespread documentation of atrocities. His televised address claiming the government would “hold accountable those who transgressed and abused our Druze people” is viewed skeptically given the pattern of violence under his rule.
The violence has created a severe humanitarian crisis with 87,000 people displaced, hospitals overwhelmed, and bodies buried in mass graves. Despite multiple ceasefire declarations, fighting has resumed repeatedly. Bedouin commanders have stated that truces do not apply to them and have vowed to continue fighting until Suwayda is under full regime control.
Prominent Druze leader Sheikh Hikmat al-Hajari has rejected ceasefire agreements and promised to continue resistance until Suwayda is “entirely liberated.” Up to 50,000 Bedouins from 41 tribes reportedly mobilized to Suwayda in response to initial Druze resistance, while tribal forces from other Syrian provinces have joined the conflict.
The violence in Suwayda represents a critical test of Syria’s post-Assad transition and the new government’s treatment of minorities. Christians, Alawites, Kurds, and other minority groups increasingly fear they may face similar campaigns of persecution.
The international community’s muted response has left vulnerable populations questioning their future in Syria. The systematic nature of the attacks, marked by humiliation tactics and religious persecution, suggests the beginning of a broader campaign of ethnic cleansing by the government, or at the very least, underscores its inability to maintain order and control the sectarian and ethnic factions within the country. Ongoing violence, including retaliatory strikes from Israel, is expected to continue.
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