The Syrian Observatory: 1,048 Druze Civilians Killed During Transitional Period and Demands for Non-Selective Justice
The Syrian Observatory: 1,048 Druze Civilians Killed During Transitional Period and Demands for Non-Selective Justice
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights documented the killing of 1,048 unarmed Druze civilians since the fall of the Syrian regime on December 8, 2024, as a result of waves of violence witnessed in several Syrian regions, primarily in Sweida, Sahnaya, Ashrafiyat Sahnaya, and Jaramana, alongside individual killings and targeted attacks. The Observatory stated that the transitional period following the regime’s fall saw security and humanitarian incidents that deepened the state of anxiety among the Druze community, particularly after confrontations in Sahnaya, Ashrafiyat Sahnaya, and Jaramana in May 2025.
According to the Observatory’s documentation, these incidents resulted in the deaths of 36 individuals in various contexts, including civilians who perished during confrontations, summary executions, and shelling, in addition to the death of a Druze civilian following a mortar shell targeting the village of Rassas in the countryside of Sweida.
Tensions escalated in July 2025 with widespread confrontations in Sweida Province, following incidents of kidnapping and clashes that intensified with the involvement of government forces, tribal groups, and local Druze factions.
The Observatory pointed out that the events in Sweida resulted in 985 fatalities, among them a large number of Druze community members, including women, children, the elderly, and medical staff at the National Hospital in Sweida.
The Observatory also reported on the documentation of extrajudicial killings, torture, kidnapping, sexual violence, property destruction, and displacement during these events, as well as field executions, some attributed to elements from the Ministries of Defense and Interior.
In parallel with the widespread violence, the Observatory documented the killing of 19 Druze individuals in crimes and individual targeting in 2025, in addition to eight others in 2026.
The Observatory emphasized that the repercussions of the events are not limited to the human losses, given the ongoing issues of the missing and kidnapped, displacement, and destruction, as well as the waning trust between the local community in Sweida and the transitional authorities, and the rising demands related to security, accountability, and revealing the fate of the missing.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights called for serious and transparent investigations into the violations that occurred in Sweida and other areas, and for those responsible for civilian killings and abuses to be brought to justice regardless of their affiliations or the entities they belong to.
It stressed that justice should not be selective, asserting that accountability should involve perpetrators of violations from all sides, ensuring the rights of the victims and their families, preventing impunity, and contributing to the establishment of lasting stability based on the rule of law and accountability without discrimination.
