Armed clashes between Sunni Bedouin tribal fighters and Druze militias have left at least 30 people dead in southern Syria, marking one of the deadliest flare-ups of sectarian violence in the country this year. The Syrian interior ministry confirmed the casualties on Monday and warned that the situation has escalated into a major security crisis.
The violence broke out on Sunday in the Druze-majority city of Suwayda, two days after a Druze merchant was reportedly abducted along the highway to Damascus. The Syrian interior ministry described the unrest as “a dangerous escalation,” adding that security and defence forces were being deployed in an effort to restore order.
Initial fighting began in the al-Maqwas neighbourhood of Suwayda city, an area inhabited largely by Bedouins. Armed Druze fighters reportedly surrounded and seized the district, prompting retaliatory attacks by tribal fighters on Druze villages and towns around the city’s western and northern outskirts.
According to the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), clashes quickly spread across the province. The towns of Sumay and Mazraah were reportedly shelled, while residents of Tayrah village fled as armed fighters entered and torched several homes. The Observatory reported 37 fatalities, including 27 Druze — among them two children — and 10 Bedouins.
In a statement, Syria’s interior ministry blamed the escalating violence on the absence of effective governance. “This dangerous escalation comes in light of the absence of relevant official institutions, leading to worsening chaos, a collapse of the security situation, and the local community’s inability to contain the crisis despite repeated calls for calm,” the statement read.
The ministry announced that it would begin direct intervention, in coordination with the defence ministry, to impose order in the region. Suwayda’s governor, Mustapha al-Bakur, urged residents to exercise restraint and heed national calls for reform. Prominent Druze religious leaders also called for calm.
On Sunday evening, local media outlet Suwayda 24 reported that mediation efforts between Druze and Bedouin leaders had led to the release of several individuals kidnapped during the fighting. However, hopes for de-escalation were short-lived. On Monday morning, renewed clashes were reported in the province’s western countryside after drone strikes targeted villages, coinciding with the deployment of government forces in neighbouring areas of eastern Deraa province.
The violence follows deadly clashes in May that left over 130 people dead in Suwayda and suburbs of Damascus, involving Druze militias, government forces, and allied Sunni Islamist groups. In response, Damascus struck a deal with Druze leaders to recruit local fighters into security forces, a move aimed at stabilising the restive province.
As tensions remain high, authorities are bracing for further violence amid ongoing efforts to broker peace between Syria’s fractured communities.
