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Clashes initially broke out between armed groups from the Druze
religious minority and Sunni Bedouin clans, the observatory
said, with some members of the government security forces
“actively participating” in support of the Bedouins.
Interior Ministry spokesperson Noureddine al-Baba told the
state-run state-run Al-Ikhbariya TV that government forces
entered Sweida in the early morning to restore order.
“Some clashes occurred with outlawed armed groups, but our
forces are doing their best to prevent any civilian casualties,”
he said.
The observatory said the clashes started after a series of
kidnappings between both groups, which began when members of a
Bedouin tribe in the area set up a checkpoint where they
attacked and robbed a young Druze man.
Rami Abdurrahman, who heads the observatory, said the conflict
started with the kidnapping and robbery of a Druze vegetable
seller, leading to tit-for-tat attacks and kidnappings.
Syria's defense and interior ministries were deploying personnel
to the area to attempt to restore order.
The Interior Ministry described the situation as a dangerous
escalation that “comes in the absence of the relevant official
institutions, which has led to an exacerbation of the state of
chaos, the deterioration of the security situation, and the
inability of the local community to contain the situation
despite repeated calls for calm.”
Factions from the Druze minority have been suspicious of the new
authorities in Damascus after former President Bashar Assad fled
the country during a rebel offensive led by Sunni Islamist
insurgent groups in December. Earlier this year, Druze groups in
Sweida clashed with security forces from the new government.
The Druze religious sect is a minority group that began as a
10th-century offshoot of Ismailism, a branch of Shiite Islam. In
Syria, they largely live in the southern Sweida province and
some suburbs of Damascus, mainly in Jaramana and Ashrafiyat
Sahnaya to the south.
The Druze developed their own militias during the country’s
nearly 14-year civil war. Since Assad’s fall, different Druze
factions have been at odds over whether to integrate with the
new government and armed forces.
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