The Sweida massacres

Culture of origin: Druze · Historical

Holiday sources: Druze

From 14 to 16 July 2025, in the deadliest wave of the violence in Sweida province in southern Syria, forces of Syria's transitional government, accompanied by tribal fighters, attacked Druze civilians in western Sweida and Sweida city; the UN Commission of Inquiry on Syria found that men identified as Druze were separated from women and children and executed. The government is led by Ahmed al-Sharaa, who founded Jabhat al-Nusra with the support of al-Qaeda's central command and led Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham until 2025. After the government forces withdrew, Druze armed groups attacked Bedouin civilians, with murder, torture and forced displacement, and tribal fighters from across Syria then struck Druze civilians in retaliation. The commission counts more than 1,700 dead and nearly 200,000 displaced, and says the crimes may amount to war crimes or even crimes against humanity. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights counted 1,990 dead by late August 2025, among them 437 government personnel, and documented the extrajudicial execution of 765 civilians, mostly Druze, by government forces, and of three Bedouin civilians by Druze gunmen. Amnesty International verified the killing of 46 Druze by government personnel and affiliated fighters in and around Sweida city on 15 and 16 July, in a public square, homes, a school, a hospital and a ceremonial hall; at least four of the gunmen wore a black patch linked to the Islamic State. The Druze call it "Black July". On its first anniversary in July 2026 Sweida held a day of mourning with its markets and businesses shut, and the Druze spiritual leader Sheikh Hikmat al-Hijri said the anniversary will remain each year.