Syria’s interior ministry confirmed at least 30 fatalities and 100 injuries during armed clashes Sunday in Sweida, the predominantly Druze provincial capital. The violence marks the first major sectarian confrontation within the city itself since Syria’s civil war ended in December.
Local witnesses reported the clashes began after a series of kidnappings, including Friday’s abduction of a Druze merchant on the Damascus-Sweida highway. Tensions quickly spiralled into armed conflict between Bedouin tribal fighters and Druze militias, concentrated in Sweida’s eastern Maqwas neighbourhood.
“The violence has exploded terrifyingly. Without intervention, we’re heading toward a bloodbath,” warned Rayan Marouf, a Sweida-based researcher who runs the Suwayda24 monitoring website.
More than 30 people were killed and 100 injured in armed clashes in Syria's predominantly Druze city of Sweida, the Syrian interior ministry said, in the latest bout of sectarian clashes https://t.co/mgxpHn3WLT
— Reuters (@Reuters) July 14, 2025Syrian security forces announced plans for direct intervention to quell the violence, urging local factions to cooperate. Meanwhile, Bedouin fighters reportedly attacked Druze villages on the city’s western and northern outskirts, expanding the conflict zone.
Medical sources told Reuters that Sweida’s state hospital morgue received at least 15 bodies, with 50 injured transported for care, some as far as Deraa due to overwhelmed local facilities.
The clashes represent Syria’s deadliest sectarian violence since the civil war’s conclusion. Minority groups have remained on edge since Islamist-led rebels overthrew President Bashar al-Assad’s government in December. Tensions escalated further after hundreds of Alawites were killed in Marchin retaliatory attacks.
This latest violence underscores the fragile security situation in post-war Syria, where unresolved sectarian grievances continue to threaten stability despite the conflict’s formal end.
