At least 15 killed in sectarian clashes in Syria

14/7/2025 6:07

More than fifteen people were killed and dozens injured in

Syria's predominantly Druze city of Sweida in the latest bout of

sectarian clashes between Druze gunmen and Bedouin Sunni tribes,

witnesses said on Sunday.

The violence erupted after a wave of kidnappings, including

the abduction of a Druze merchant on Friday on the highway

linking Damascus to Sweida, witnesses said.



Unlike similar clashes last April, which pitted Sunni

fighters against armed Druze residents of Jaramana, southeast of

Damascus, and later spread to another district near the

capital—this is the first time the fighting has erupted inside

the city of Sweida itself, the provincial capital of the mostly

Druze province.

“This is the first time sectarian fighting has erupted

within the city of Sweida. This cycle of violence has exploded

in a terrifyng way and if it doesn't end we are heading toward

to a bloodbath," said Rayan Marouf, a Druze researcher based in

Sweida who runs the Suwayda24 website.



The clashes, involving Bedouin tribal fighters and Druze

militias, were centered in Maqwas neighborhood east of Sweida

which is inhabited by Bedouin tribes, which was encircled by

armed Druze groups and later seized.



Armed Bedouin tribesmen also launched attacks on Druze

villages on the western and north outskirts of the city,

residents said.



A medical source told Reuters that at least 15 bodies had

been taken to the morgue at Sweida's state hospital. Around 50

people were injured, with some transported to Deraa city for

medical care.



The violence marked the latest episode of sectarian

bloodshed in Syria, where fears among minority groups have

surged since Islamist-led rebels toppled President Bashar

al-Assad in December, installing their own government and

security forces.



Those concerns intensified following the killing of

hundreds of Alawites in March, in apparent retaliation for an

earlier attack carried out by Assad loyalists.



It was the deadliest sectarian flare-up in years in Syria,

where a 14-year civil war ended last December with Assad fleeing

to Russia after his government was overthrown by rebel forces.