The death toll from the violent clashes that have engulfed the southern Syrian province of Sweida has reached 1,000, according to reports from the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), based in the UK.
The fighting has involved sectarian factions among the Druze minority, Bedouin tribes, government forces, armed clans, and the Israeli military.
According to SOHR, 336 of the victims were Druze fighters and 298 were civilians from the same minority, including 194 who are alleged to have been “executed by personnel from the Syrian Ministries of Defense and Interior.” Among the dead are also reported 342 government forces members and 21 Bedouins, of whom three civilians were “executed by Druze fighters.”
The situation escalated with the involvement of the Israeli army, which, according to SOHR, caused the deaths of 15 Assad regime forces through airstrikes.
The Syrian state news agency, SANA, citing the Ministry of Interior on July 20, stated that the situation is now under control. SOHR also confirmed that tensions have calmed after several days of violence.
Meanwhile, the Syrian Arab Red Crescent has delivered 32 trucks of aid to Sweida, including food, medicine, water, and fuel, as the area remains without electricity and faces critical shortages. Assistance has also been provided by the Syrian Ministry of Health, while the UNHCR has warned of a water crisis and insufficient capacity in local hospitals to handle the large number of wounded.
