Syria - What's Behind the Bedouin Druze Clashes in Sweida? - Analysis

 

Clashes in Syria’s Sweida province between Druze militias and Bedouin tribes erupted after the reported robbery and kidnapping of a Druze man by Bedouin gunmen at a checkpoint, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. The incident reignited long-standing sectarian tensions in a region where the Druze, an offshoot of Shia Islam, live alongside Sunni Muslim Bedouins with a history of rivalry over land and identity.

During Syria’s civil war, the Druze formed their own militias to defend themselves from both jihadist groups and state forces. With the war's end, a Sunni Islamist interim government has emerged, heightening Druze fears of marginalization. The government’s deployment of troops to quell the fighting was viewed by many Druze as support for the Bedouins, prompting fierce resistance and accusations of abuses by state forces, including extrajudicial killings and looting, as reported by The Guardian.

Over 500 people have been killed and nearly 2,000 families displaced. Hospitals are overwhelmed, and UN aid shipments have been blocked by insecurity, according to UN officials. Israel, citing a duty to protect the Druze, launched airstrikes on Syrian government positions in Sweida and Damascus, further complicating the conflict, as noted by ABC News.

Although a ceasefire was brokered with help from the US, Turkey, and Arab states, the fighting resumed soon after government forces withdrew. The violence in Sweida reflects the persistent dangers of tribal and sectarian fragmentation in post-war Syria and the growing international entanglement in local conflicts.