First anniversary for kidnapping 18 people from Sweida by al Qaeda

Since year ago, al-Qaeda main branch in Syria, Jabhat al-Nusra, had kidnapped 18 Syrian civilians from Durze community in al-Thaala village near Umm Walad in Daraa, despite the fact that the inhabitants of this village played an important role in providing aid and relief to Daraa towns and constituted a pathway for many displaced families.

Jabhat al-Nusra showed the kidnapped individuals on tape. The inhabitants of Sweida, from both the opposition and pro-government sides, saw these as hateful provocations, laden with insults. Jabhat al-Nusra's leader demanded that time on the tape that the detainees be released and that they hand down the bodies of the deceased. He also asked for the release of women from the regime’s prisons, in addition to many other demands. As a response, the inhabitants of a Druze village kidnapped several people from Daraa and detained them until Jabhat al-Nusra released the hostages.

The inhabitants of the district have been unable to resolve the issue of women, the dead and detainees, since Syrian security authorities oversee all military and security operations. These authorities didn't listen to prominent figures from the Druze mountains who asked for the release of detainees or return of bodies.

Despite the efforts exerted by prominent figures in the district and the high-ranking sheikh of the Druze sect on one side, and intellectuals from Daraa, on the other, those kidnapped from the city remain under Jabhat al-Nusra’s grip. Until this moment, Jabhat al-Nusra still has not revealed anything about their condition. What has complicated things even further is the stubbornness of Jabhat al-Nusra’s leaders and their refusal to release the victims, despite the sheikh’s promise to return the bodies of the dead and the detainees they asked for.