Syria's Druze: Caught between sectarian violence and Israel’s military intervention | DW News

Syria’s interim Islamist President Ahmad al-Sharaa has accused Israel of trying to destabilize the country. On Thursday, Syrian state media reported Israel had struck Sweida in the south. These strikes came a day after Israel launched strikes on Syria’s defense ministry in the capital Damascus, claiming it was acting to protect Syria's Druze minority

On Monday, President al-Sharaa sent in government forces to Sweida province, following days of sectarian violence between Druze and Bedouin factions. The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported a death toll of at least 516 people in Sweida, of which 83 were Druze civilians killed by government forces alongside Bedouin groups. Syria’s forces have withdrawn from the area of Sweida, as Israel has urged Syria to ‘demilitarize’ the south or risk further Israeli strikes in the region. A truce between government forces and Druze armed groups appears to be holding, though Syria's president has accused Druze fighters of breaking the ceasefire, according to the AFP. Since the withdrawal of government troops, Bedouin families are reported to have fled Sweida.

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