At Least 30 Killed in Sectarian Clashes in Syrian City of Sweida
At least 30 people have been killed and around 100 injured in sectarian clashes between Druze fighters and Sunni Bedouin tribes in Sweida, Syria. The violence, sparked by a wave of kidnappings, marks the first major fighting inside the provincial capital. Syrian forces have been deployed as the government pledges to restore order.
Enet
At least 30 people have been killed and around 100 others injured in the southern Syrian city of Sweida following violent clashes between local armed groups and tribal factions, according to Syria’s interior ministry.
The clashes, which erupted over the weekend, reportedly involved Druze gunmen and Sunni Bedouin tribes, marking a sharp escalation of sectarian violence in a region where the Druze community is predominant. The interior ministry announced that state forces will intervene directly to restore order.
According to reports from Reuters and the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), the violence began after a series of kidnappings, including the abduction of a Druze merchant along the Damascus–Sweida highway on Friday. The SOHR said fighting was concentrated in the Maqwas neighborhood and nearby villages on the outskirts of the city.
This is the first time such heavy fighting has occurred inside Sweida itself, the capital of the predominantly Druze province. Previously, sectarian clashes had been reported in surrounding areas, including last April in Jaramana, southeast of Damascus.
Syria’s Ministry of Defence has now deployed military convoys to the area as tensions continue to rise.
The renewed violence comes amid growing international efforts, including by the US and UK, to normalize diplomatic relations with Syria following the toppling of President Bashar al-Assad last December by Islamist-led rebel forces.
