Death toll from southern Syria violence rises to 248, including 21 Druze executed, monitor says

By AFP 16 July 2025, 11:11 am

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Red Crescent volunteers carry a government soldier injured in Sweida city during clashes between the government forces and Druze militias at a clinic in Busra al-Harir village, southern Syria, Tuesday, July 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Omar Albam)

At least 248 people have been killed in southern Syria’s Sweida province following several days of clashes that triggered the deployment of government forces, a war monitor says.

The toll includes 92 members of the Druze minority, 28 of them civilians with 21 “killed in summary executions by government forces,” according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

At least 138 Syrian security personnel were killed, along with 18 allied Bedouin fighters, the monitor said.

Israel carried out strikes on Syrian forces yesterday and warned it will strike again unless they withdraw from Sweida.