| April 2025 massacres of Syrian Druze | |
|---|---|
| Part ofSouthern Syria clashes (April–May 2025) andDruze insurgency in Southern Syria (2025-present). | |
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| Location | Suwayda,Rif Dimashq governorate |
| Date | 28 April 2025 – 2 May 2025 (4 days) |
| Target | Syrian Druze |
Attack type | Extrajudicial killings,Sectarian violence |
| Deaths | 101[1][2] |
| Perpetrators |  Syrian Armed ForcesGeneral Security Service[3]Local Bedouins[4] |
| Part ofa series on the Druze |
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Beginning on 28 April 2025, sectarian violence betweenDruze militias,Syrian transitional government military units, and affiliated militias resulted in the deaths of several Druze civilians, many of whom wereextrajudicially killed.
TheDruze constitute approximately 3% of Syria's population, making them a significant religious minority within the country. Their belief system blends elements ofIslam,Christianity, and ancient philosophies, which many orthodoxSunni Muslims consider heterodox. Historically, the Druze have maintained communities across Syria, with significant populations in the southern province ofSuwayda,Jabal al-Druze, and in southernDamascus suburbs.[5][6]
Under theAssad regime, the Druze cultivated relative autonomy in their strongholds while accepting protection from the central government, particularly againstjihadist aggression following the outbreak ofcivil war in 2011. When demonstrations againstBashar al-Assad began in 2011-2012, many Druze who initially participated in peaceful protests later accepted weapons from the regime and formed local militias. This arrangement allowed them some protection while distancing themselves from being fully identified with the Assad government.[5]
Throughout the Syrian civil war, the Druze community faced targeted violence from various extremist groups. In June 2015, fighters affiliated withAl-Nusra Frontattacked the northern Druze village ofQalb Loze, resulting in at least twenty casualties. Throughout this period, members of the Druze community were subjected tokidnappings, with many either released afterransom payments or killed.[5]
Since theoverthrow ofBashar al-Assad on 8 December 2024, negotiations have been ongoing between thenew Syrian government and Druze leadership regarding the community's integration into the Syrian state. These negotiations have progressed slowly due to concerns among Druze leaders about the background of Syria's new president,Ahmed al-Sharaa, who previously led the Islamist rebel organizationHay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS). Druze representatives have sought measures of autonomy from central government control.[citation needed]
Clashes broke out in late February 2025 inJaramana between Druzemilitias and theGeneral Security Service.[7]
In March 2025, Syria's new leaderAhmed al-Sharaa signed an agreement with Druze representatives from Suwayda province. This agreement integrated the community into state institutions while granting certain concessions, including locally recruited Druze police forces and recognition of their distinct cultural identity.[5]
Beginning in March 2025, significant sectarian violence occurred in Syria's coastalLatakia Governorate, where attacks by remaining supporters of the deposed Assad regime against Syrian governmentsecurity forces triggered retaliatory violence that resulted in the deaths of at least 1,500 people, most of whom wereAlawite civilians.[5][6]
In March and April 2025,Israeli authorities permitted large delegations ofSyrian Druze religious leaders to enterIsrael forPilgrimages, despite the official state of war betweenSyria and Israel.[5]
On 29 April 2025, a wave of violence occurred inJaramana, a predominantlyDruzesuburb ofDamascus. According to theSyrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), this initial outbreak resulted in at least ten fatalities. The conflict reportedly stemmed from the circulation of a fabricated audio recording that was falsely ascribed to a Druze religious leader, Marwan Kiwan, purportedly containing derogatory statements about theProphet Muhammad. Kiwan subsequently appeared in a video statement categorically denying any connection to the inflammatory recording, stating that whoever created it intended to provoke discord among Syrian communities. Syria's Interior Ministry confirmed the recording had been falsely credited.[8]
Despite a temporary resolution inJaramana, violence resurged several hours later in nearbyAshrafiyat Sahnaya, located southwest of Damascus. According to Syria's Interior Ministry, at least 16 additional civilians and security personnel were killed when unidentified armed individuals attacked a security checkpoint overnight.[8]
Social media footage appeared to show armed tribal groups intercepting vehicles from Suwayda attempting to reach Ashrafiah Sahnaya. According to Tarek el-Shoufi, who heads theSuwayda Military Council, Druze defenders in Sahnaya were running short of ammunition while relief forces were blocked and attacked, resulting in at least one fatality.[9]
On 30 April, SOHR said a convoy of Druze fighters traveling from Suwayda Governorate to support fellow Druze in Sahnaya was ambushed by forces that were affiliated with the Ministries of Interior and Defense, leading to 43 deaths.[10] Some of the bodies were burned and others mutilated while the perpetrators reportedly chanted anti-Druze slogans.[11][12] According to survivors of the ambush, some of the Druze who surrendered were executed.[13] According toHawar News Agency, at least eight government-affiliated fighters were also killed.[3]
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On 29 April, theSyrian Observatory For Human Rights (SOHR) said that armed groups affiliated with the Ministry of Defense executed two citizens at a poultry facility on the outskirts ofSahnaya.[8]
The next day, SOHR said that government-aligned forces launched attacks against the villages ofRasas and al-Soura al-Kabira in theSuwayda Governorate, withmortar shell bombardments targeting positions near civilian residences, and that al-Soura al-Kabira came underheavy machine gunfire from government loyalist positions surrounding the village.[14]
On 1 May, the number of field executions carried out in Ashrafieh Sahnaya recorded by SOHR increased to nine. SOHR said that eight of the executions were carried out inside a poultry farm, while another targeted a man in his house. SOHR reported that former Mayor of Sahnaya, Hussam Warwar, was executed in the street along with his son, hours after he had appeared in a video thanking security forces for deploying to the town.[12]
SOHR said that government security forces detained an Iraqi KurdishChannel 8 journalist and camerawoman documenting the ongoing violence in Sahnaya, releasing them after confiscating their equipment and phones. SOHR characterized the event as a violation offreedom of the press and the necessary protection of journalists.[15]
The violence near Damascus provoked substantial anger among the Druze population in Suwayda Governorate. Druze military leader El-Shoufi characterized the situation in Jaramana as a "massacre" and stated that Ashrafiah Sahnaya was "surrounded and being attacked by terrorists." He further claimed that Syrian security forces were preventing Druze reinforcements and the military council from providing assistance to their community members.[9]
On 1 May, SheikhMowafaq Tarif, the spiritual leader ofIsrael's Druze community, made a public appeal during a military ceremony inIsfiya, explicitly calling for Israeli intervention to protect Syrian Druze communities facing violence near Damascus. SheikhHikmat al-Hijri, Israel-aligned Druze spiritual leader in Syria, characterized the Syrian government's actions as a “genocidal campaign” against the Druze.[16]
The escalating violence prompted direct military action from Israel. On 30 April,Prime Minister of IsraelBenjamin Netanyahu stated thatIsraeli Defense Forces had conducted a strike against what he described as an "extremist group" ready to attack the "Druze population south of Damascus."[17][18]
Israel subsequently executed a second military strike that reportedly killed members of the Syrian security forces in the vicinity of Damascus. Following these actions, Israel's military chief of staff issued orders to prepare for potential attacks on Syrian government targets if violence against the Druze population continued.[17][18] Five Syrian Druze civilians injured by sectarian violence were evacuated by the Israeli Defense Forces toZiv Medical Center in the northern Israeli city ofSafed.[19]
Dozens of Israeli Druze citizens held protests at theKafr Yasif junction located nearAcre in theWestern Galilee, protesting the Syrian government's targeting of Druze communities. The protests were condemned in a joint statement by Druze MKHamad Amar and Druze leaderMuwaffaq Tarif.[17][20]
In the southern Druze heartland province of Sweida, it said 40 Druze gunmen were killed, 35 in an "ambush" on the Sweida-Damascus road on Wednesday.
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