Violence has escalated in the southern Syrian province of Sweida, transforming the city's streets and villages into a battleground for bloody clashes. More than 23 people have been killed and 87 wounded, according to a preliminary toll that is expected to rise.
As clashes between local factions and tribes intensify, scenes of mass displacement have become widespread. Urgent calls for a ceasefire continue, before the situation deteriorates into total chaos that threatens the region's social fabric, especially as fighting expands to neighboring villages.
Medical sources confirmed to Al-Araby Al-Jadeed that 23 people were killed and 87 wounded had arrived at the province's hospitals, noting that critical cases are being admitted amid significant pressure on the healthcare system. A civil society activist explained that more than 300 families have been displaced from the villages of al-Tira and Sami' to the city of Sweida and nearby villages, amid difficulties in securing shelter or humanitarian aid due to road closures. A medical source at Busra al-Sham Hospital in Daraa Governorate reported receiving 11 wounded members of the Lajat tribe as a result of shelling targeting their car near the administrative border of Sweida.
In the al-Maqous neighborhood, the epicenter of the fiercest clashes, exchanges of medium-weapons fire continued, resulting in five deaths, including a child who was shot in the head and could not be saved due to the intensity of the fire. Activists reported that the militants targeted civilian property and burned homes, while residents of the neighborhood faced difficulty evacuating the wounded and providing for their basic needs.
The village of al-Tira also witnessed a mass exodus after being targeted with mortar shells by militants from the Lajat tribes, who later invaded the village and burned several of its homes. A field source reported that the town's residents took refuge in villages in the al-Mazra'a district and Sweida city, leaving behind defensive groups trying to repel the attacks. Shelling also targeted the towns of Sami' and al-Mazra'a, and intermittent clashes erupted at a police checkpoint in the Baraq area, where mortar shells were fired, leading to direct confrontations with security forces.
Amid the escalation, Sweida Governor Mustafa al-Bakour called for "restraint and resort to dialogue." Meanwhile, Sheikh Hikmat al-Hijri, the spiritual leader of the Druze community, issued an urgent appeal to halt the fighting, stressing that the blood of the people of Sweida is a "red line." He emphasized that the ongoing battle "is not the real battle of the people of Sweida," calling for the restoration of civil peace.
Despite intensive tribal and religious efforts to contain the crisis, activists warn of the complexity of the situation due to misleading social media, the multiplicity of armed factions with different agendas, and the absence of decisive government intervention. Activist Jihad Shihab al-Din believes that "the social infrastructure is collapsing, and every bullet fired today digs a grave for the heritage of coexistence." He added that "only political solutions can build nations."
Syria’s Druze population numbers about 700,000, with Sweida home to the sect’s largest community.
Bedouin and Druze factions have a longstanding feud in Sweida, with violence occasionally erupting.
Since the overthrow of longtime Syrian ruler Bashar al-Assad in December, concerns have been raised over the rights and safety of minorities under the new authorities, who have also struggled to re-establish security more broadly.
Clashes between troops and Druze fighters in April and May killed dozens of people, with local leaders and religious figures signing agreements to contain the escalation and better integrate Druze fighters into the new government.
Agencies
Al Jazeera
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