Intense undercurrents fueling fresh disputes between Druze militants and pro-government forces in Syria.
SYRIA'S SECTARIAN STRIFE:
A bloody dispute between the Syrian government and the Druze community has left nearly 100 souls in despair. The nation, still grappling with its emergence from decades of autocracy, is torn apart by a deep divide.
The recent clashes marks the worst confrontation between government loyalists and Druze fighters since the ousting of President Bashar Assad in early December. Assad's family had ruled Syria with an iron fist for over five decades. The situation between the two sides had been tense for weeks, with a smaller skirmish breaking out in March in a suburb of Damascus.
WHO ARE THE DRUZE?
The Druze religious sect is a minority community that originated as an offshoot of Ismailism, a branch of Shiite Islam in the 10th century. The majority of the approximately one million Druze worldwide reside in Syria. The rest are mainly in Lebanon and Israel, including in the Golan Heights, which Israel captured from Syria in the 1967 Mideast War and annexed in 1981. In Syria, they primarily inhabit the southern Sweida province and some suburbs of Damascus, particularly Jaramana and Ashrafiyat Sahnaya to the south.
The transitional government has pledged to integrate the Druze, but so far, power has remained in the hands of Islamist former insurgents who toppled Assad in December - Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, or HTS.
The new 23-member government, announced in late March, only included one Druze member, Minister of Agriculture Amjad Badr. Under the Assad family's regime, religious freedom was a guaranteed privilege as Syria projected itself as a secular and Arab nationalist system.
The Druze have been slightly divided over how to handle their predicament in the new order. Most Druze favor dialogue with the government, while others advocate for a more confrontational approach. However, all share concerns about the safety of their people.
A POWER STRUGGLE BREWING
Religious and ethnic communities in Syria are anxious about their roles in Syria's new system, predominantly run by Islamists, some with links to extremist groups. The country's President, Ahmad al-Sharaa, himself is a former militant who once belonged to al-Qaida and was imprisoned for his role in the anti-American insurgency in neighboring Iraq. Despite al-Sharaa's reassurances about protecting the rights of ethnic and religious minorities, sectarian killings have persisted since Assad's departure.
During Assad's rule, which was dominated by the Alawite sect, the minority communities, including the Druze, had some power. Meanwhile, being a member of the Muslim Brotherhood, the largest Islamic group in the country, was punishable by death from the 1980s.
DRUZE CONCERNS
The Druze are deeply concerned about the rise of Muslim groups. They came under attack by members of the Islamic State group in 2018 in the southern Sweida province. The attack left dozens dead or injured and over two dozen people were held captive for nearly four months. Muslim extremists view the Druze as heretics.
Throughout Syria's 14-year conflict, the Druze maintained their own militias.
CLASH ESCALATION
The clashes ignited around midnight on April 28, 2025, in the southern Damascus suburb of Jaramana after a contentious audio clip circulated on social media, featuring attacks on Islam's Prophet Muhammad. The clip was falsely attributed to a Druze cleric. However, cleric Marwan Kiwan clarified in a video on social media that he was not responsible for the audio, enraging many Muslim communities.
The fighting soon spread to the outskirts of the southern town of Sakhnaya,triggering the first Israeli airstrike against pro-government gunmen. Israeli officials, who also have a Druze community, have promised to protect the Druze of Syria and warned against Islamic groups encroaching on predominantly Druze areas.
The clashes have intensified Israel's involvement in the conflict, with an airstrike on April 30, 2025, and tensions escalating even further on May 1, 2025, with an attack close to the presidential palace in Damascus, which Syria's presidency viewed as a significant escalation. Israel does not want what it calls Islamic extremists near its northern border. Since Assad's downfall, Israel has established a buffer zone in southern Syria and has destroyed much of the Syrian army's assets to prevent them from falling into the hands of those who ousted Assad.
Israel had long been warning about the dangers posed by Iran and its proxies along its northern border, and now it is raising the same concerns with the new authorities in Syria who are backed by Turkey. Other sporadic attacks in various areas and an ambush on the Damascus-Sweida highway have further exacerbated the situation until a deal was reached in the early hours of May 1, 2025.
According to the Britain-based war monitor, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, 99 people have lost their lives over the past four days, with 51 of them dying in Sakhnaya and the Druze-majority Damascus suburb of Jaramana. Among the casualties were local gunmen and security forces.
LOOKING AHEAD
The recent violence in and around Damascus and in southern Syria took place just two months after an ambush by forces loyal to Assad sparked days of sectarian and revenge attacks in the country's coastal region, leaving more than 1,000 people dead, many of whom were civilians because of their Alawite affiliation. Alawites belong to the same sect as Assad.
Members of Alawites, Christians, and Druze minorities in Syria fear the possibility of persecution by the predominantly Sunni Muslim communities. Videos displaying Islamist fighters insulting Druze detainees and humiliating them, such as shaving their mustaches, have circulated on social media.
References:
- The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR). (n.d.). The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. https://www.syriahr.com/
- BBC News. (2018, June 26). Syria: Attack kills dozens in Druze-majority province. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-44605455
- Associated Press. (2025, May 2). Syria fighting leaves 99 dead in violence between government, Druze. https://apnews.com/article/europe-syria-middle-east-israel-apf-religion-52eb72597bac765440f6ee3a11ca0c90
- The New Humanitarian. (2022, April 28). Looking beyond the Lavender Revolution: prospects for Druze self-determination in Syria. https://www.thenewhumanitarian.org/news-feature/2022/04/28/syria-druze-revolution-self-determination
- Reuters. (2022, June 23). Syria's al-Api says Israel targeted pro-Damascus militia in strikes. https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/syrias-al-api-says-israel-targeted-pro-damascus-militia-strikes-2022-06-23/
- The clashes between the Syrian government and the Druze community in a suburb of Damascus, such as Jaramana and Ashrafiyat Sahnaya, have been escalating sporadically since March, with the most recent escalation occurring in April 2025.
- The transitional government, primarily run by Islamist former insurgents, has yet to effectively address the concerns of the Druze community, who fear the rise of Muslim groups and the potential for persecution by predominantly Sunni Muslim communities.
- In an effort to protect the Druze community in Syria, Israel has carried out airstrikes against pro-government gunmen, citing the danger posed by Islamic extremists encroaching on predominantly Druze areas.
- The Druze militias have maintained their own defenses throughout Syria's 14-year conflict, with recent clashes leaving 99 people dead, including local gunmen and security forces.
- The Syrian government, backed by Turkey, and Israel, have both expressed concerns about the influence of Iran and its proxies in Syria's political landscape, adding a complex layer to the ongoing power struggle in the region.
