Illustrative image. (Syrian Arab News Agency)
Syrian government forces stormed the Druze-majority city of al-Suwayda in the southeastern part of the country early on July 15, despite Israeli promises to protect the religious minority group.
The Ministry of Defense announced that the military and security forces were entering the city to “protect civilians and restore security.” It also announced a curfew.
“The Syrian Arab Army continues its operations to establish stability and security,” the ministry’s media office said in a statement.
In a separate statement, Ahmad al-Dalati, commander of security forces in al-Suwayda, called on “religious authorities and the leaders of the [Druze] armed factions” to fully cooperate “to secure the city center and ensure the stability of the entire governorate.”
Initially, the leadership of the Druze welcomed the deployment in a statement, calling on armed factions to cooperate, surrender their weapons, and open a dialogue with the government.
However, soon after the spiritual leader of Druze in Syria Sheikh Hikmat al-Hijri appeared in a video message of his own, revealing that the first statement was forced on the group by foreign countries and calling on Druze and all Syrians to rise up in support of al-Suwayda.
“Despite our acceptance of this humiliating statement, they violated it and bombed our defenseless civilians,” al-Hijri said.
“After the issuance of the imposed statement, violations by Damascus forces continued, and the killing of civilians and shelling continued,” the leader continued.
“This is a time when we either remain Syrian or accept humiliation and degradation for decades to come,” he added.
Videos posted to social media showed hundreds of government fighters entering al-Suwayda from the city’s western and northern sides. Several uniformed fighters can be heard insulting Druze and vowing to punish them in the footage. Later, reports of arbitrary arrests, beatings and even summary executions began to surface.
However, al-Suwayda is not yet under the complete control of government forces. Druze are still resisting in the center of the city and even in some parts of the countryside.
The battle in al-Suwayda began a day earlier as a result of a local conflict between Druze fighters and Sunni tribesmen. Early on July 14, the Islamist-led government announced that it was intervening to stop the conflict, but ended up backing the tribesmen.
By late April 14, the battle had so far claimed the lives of 60 Druze, including two women and two children, 18 tribesmen, 14 soldiers and seven unidentified fighters, according to the London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. The Ministry of Defense reported the death of at least 16 of its soldiers, which suggests that the real toll is much higher.
Israel, which vowed to defend the Syrian Druze due to its historic relations with its own Druze community, launched several strikes against government forces, including on July 15 morning. However, the strikes were mostly symbolic and not meant to inflict any losses.
It’s worth noting that the government attack on al-Suwayda began right after reports of a high-level meeting between Israeli and Syrian officials in Azerbaijan. It is very likely that Israel had agreed to let go of the Druze in order to advance a peace agreement with Syria.
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