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Syria Withdraws Bedouin Fighters From Druze-Majority City
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The Druze, a religious sect with roots in Ismailism, have faced violence in Syria. Their practices are secretive, with no conversions or intermarriage allowed.
Trapped in her home in As-Suwayda, Syrian pharmacist Hala Saraya recounts the brutal killings of her family and pleads for the world to hear the Druze community's cry for help.
By Laila Bassam DAMASCUS (Reuters) -Sectarian clashes escalated in Syria's predominantly Druze region of Sweida on Saturday, with machinegun fire and mortar shelling ringing out after days of bloodshed as the Islamist-led government struggled to implement a ceasefire.
Dr Talat Amer, a surgeon at Sweida National Hospital in southern Syria, worked tirelessly for three days as bombs fell and the building came under siege from government and militia forces.
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As of mid-2025, 6,006 Druze in the Golan, roughly 20% of the 29,000-strong community, hold Israeli citizenship. This surge reflects not only a growing willingness to formally align with Israel, but also an acceleration of a trend that predates the latest violence in Syria.
At the center of a crisis in Syria are the Druze — a secretive religious minority that long carved out a precarious identity across Syria, Lebanon and Israel.
After days of bloodshed in Syria's Druze city of Sweida, survivors emerged to collect and bury the scores of dead found across the city.
Hundreds of Druze from Israel pushed across the border in solidarity with their Syrian cousins they feared were under attack. Many then met relatives they had never seen before.
Israeli military responds to protect Syrian Druze from Islamist militants as local Druze citizens cross the border to aid their brethren, prompting concerns from Israeli officials.
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