Armed men gesture as a car burns amid clashes between Druze and Bedouin groups, Suwayda, Syria, July 14, 2025 (Getty)
Israel Bombs Amid Deadly Clashes in Southern Syria
The experts cited killings, enforced disappearances, abductions, looting, destruction of property, and sexual and gender-based violence against women and girls.
“We are gravely concerned by reported attacks targeting the Druze minority for their faith and other grounds, including the forced shaving of religious men’s moustaches and hateful rhetoric on social media portraying Druze as traitors and infidels to be killed, and calling for the abduction and enslavement of Druze women,” the experts said.
Clashes in Suwayda Province between Bedouin and Druze communities were triggered by a Bedouin robbery and assault of a Druze vegetable merchant on the Damascus–Suwayda highway. Armed gunmen — including local militias and forces of the Syrian Government — joined the violence.
Around 1,000 people were slain. Among them were at least 539 identified Druze civilians, including 39 women and 21 children. At least 196 people, including eight children and 30 women, were reportedly extrajudicially executed and more than 33 villages burned. Another 763, including women, remain missing.
The experts cited the reported abduction of at least 105 Druze women and girls by armed groups affiliated with the Syrian Government, with 80 still missing. In at least three cases, Druze women were allegedly raped before being executed.
While recognizing the killing of Bedouin and of Government security personnel, the experts summarize:
The scale of violence reported – including massacres, looting of homes, shops and livestock, and use of stolen phones for extortion – points to a targeted campaign against the Druze minority, exacerbated by incitement to hatred on media and social media platforms portraying them as Israeli allies.
Druze survivors, including university students in Damascus, Homs, Aleppo and Latakia face ongoing harassment and fear for their safety.
“Apparent Systemic Failure”
The experts cite “an apparent systemic failure to protect minorities and address gender-based violence” and “no thorough, independent and impartial investigations into extrajudicial killings, torture or abductions”. Reports that Government forces aided attacks “have entrenched impunity and fear, silencing victims’ families and obstructing efforts to locate the disappeared”.
They are monitoring the situation of an estimated 192,000 internally displaced people in Suwayda, Dara’a and Homs Provinces with resources already under severe strain.
“The Syrian interim authorities must allow prompt, independent investigations, prosecute perpetrators, and establish the fate and whereabouts of the disappeared,” they conclude.
The Syrian Government has yet to respond publicly. The UN team said they are in contact with officials in Damascus.
The UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, Martin Griffiths, told the Security Council on Thursday that Syria’s humanitarian crisis, including Suwayda, is far from over.
Griffiths noted that only 14% of international pledges have reached the country: “Without additional funding, we will not be able to continue providing our services in Syrian areas.”