At Least 50 Killed in Southern Syria Clashes

SOHR's Media

Militants on the road leading to Suweida province.

At least 50 people have been killed and 120 others wounded in clashes between Sunni Bedouin tribal fighters and Druze militias in southern Syria’s Suwayda province, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) announced on Monday, 14 July 2025. 

According to the SOHR, the number of fatalities in armed clashes and exchange of bombardment in different areas in Suwayda province since Sunday morning has increased to 50, including two children.

The SOHR reported that the fatalities include 34 people from Suwayda, including 2 children, 10 Bedouins, 6 members of the Syrian Ministry of Defence. In addition, tens of people, including children, were injured, some seriously.
 
Suwayda Governor Mustafa al-Bakur urged all parties to acknowledge their roles and work towards consolidating stability and reform. “The government is responsible for protecting citizens and restoring their deprived rights,” he stated.

Suwayda province is the largest religious centre of the Druze community, which numbers approximately 700,000 people.

Since Monday morning, the province has witnessed a widespread escalation, with armed groups of Bedouin tribesmen, reportedly including personnel from the Ministries of Defence and Interior from the eastern Daraa countryside, launching attacks on several villages in western Suwayda.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights noted that this escalation follows a series of mutual detentions between local militants and regional tribes. The violence was sparked by an attack on a young man from Suwayda by a group of tribal members near Al-Masmiya; he was beaten and robbed before being released in critical condition. In retaliation, local tribesmen detained members of the tribes involved, prompting those tribes to establish a checkpoint in the Al-Maqous neighbourhood, detain local militants, and block the main road.

The Syrian Democratic Council (SDC), the political wing of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), issued a statement on Monday warning that the ongoing armed escalation in Suwayda, southern Syria, undermines the interests of the Syrian people and threatens further fragmentation of the country.

In a statement, the SDC said that resorting to armed confrontation and violence does not serve the people’s causes. On the contrary, it only produces more tension and disintegration at a time when Syria urgently needs to heal, not deepen its wounds.

The council condemned the involvement of Syrian Transitional Government security personnel in exacerbating the conflict in Suwayda, calling it a “dangerous act.”

It added that any governmental action that fuels violence or deepens social divides represents a blatant failure of the state’s duty to its people and risks dragging the country into further chaos.

The SDC emphasised the urgent need to avoid falling into the trap of violent escalation, which has long been a driving force of Syria’s internal conflict.

It pointed out that national unity cannot be built on sectarian incitement but must rest on the foundations of citizenship, equality, and mutual respect.

The SDC called on all parties in Suwayda and across Syria to exercise restraint, pursue immediate de-escalation, and adopt constructive dialogue instead of turning to arms.



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