Syria starts trials over deadly 2025 violence in Druze heartland

Government intervention on side of Bedouin tribes that clashed with Druze in Sweida last July triggered Israeli strikes; suspects include staff from defense, interior ministries

DAMASCUS, Syria — Syrian authorities said Friday that they had begun trying suspects over a wave of deadly violence that tore through the Druze-majority Sweida province last year.

The episode last July involved some of the worst internecine bloodshed the country had seen since the toppling of longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad in late 2024, and raised questions about the new government’s stated commitment to ensuring the safety of all of Syria’s multi-confessional communities.

The violence began with clashes between Druze factions and Bedouin fighters in the southern province, with security forces then intervening on the side of the Bedouins, along with other tribal groups. Israel intervened to protect the Druze.

In the end, more than 2,000 people were killed, including 789 Druze civilians, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor. A committee formed by the Syrian government said it had documented the killing of 1,760 people.

The head of the investigative committee said in a statement published by the justice ministry that a court in Damascus had begun examining cases “in public sessions as of July 1, with the defendants and their legal representatives present.”

The statement added that the proceedings were meant to “establish the facts and hold accountable anyone proven responsible for any violations… regardless of their position or the side to which the acts are attributed.” It added that other people were still under investigation.

Government forces and their allies were accused at the time of executing civilians and committing other abuses.

The committee announced in March that it had drawn up “a list of suspects from the (ministries of) defence and interior, Druze factions and civilians — including Bedouins and tribes — for serious crimes and violations.”

The same month, UN investigators said war crimes and crimes against humanity might have been committed in Sweida.

The United Nations Commission of Inquiry on Syria (COI) has been probing international law violations there since the start of the long civil war that devastated the country from 2011 until the overthrow of Assad.

The COI said it had documented “widespread executions, torture, gender-based violence and the burning of homes” in Sweida.

Damascus’s intervention against the Druze in Sweida last year triggered Israeli strikes on Syrian government forces, with Israel saying the strikes were necessary to protect the Druze, about 150,000 of whom live in Israel and often serve in its military.

Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.