Syria says trials started over 2025 deadly Druze heartland violence that triggered Israeli strikes

Syrian authorities say they started trying suspects for actions committed during violent clashes that killed some 2,000 people in the Druze-majority Sweida province last July and triggered Israeli strikes on the new Syrian government’s forces.

The head of a Syrian governmental investigative committee says in a statement published by the justice ministry that a court in Damascus has begun examining cases “in public sessions as of July 1, with the defendants and their legal representatives present.”

The proceedings are meant to “establish the facts and hold accountable anyone proven responsible for any violations… regardless of their position or the side to which the acts are attributed,” the statement says, adding that other people are still under investigation.

The committee said in March that it had drawn up “a list of suspects from the (ministries of) defense and interior, Druze factions and civilians — including Bedouins and tribes — for serious crimes and violations.”

The violence in Sweida began with clashes between Druze factions and Bedouin fighters in the southern province. Security forces loyal to Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa — commander of the forces that toppled longtime leader Bashar al-Assad in December 2024 — then intervened on the side of the Bedouins, along with other tribal groups.

Government forces and their allies were accused at the time of abuses including executing civilians. Israel, which had seized a buffer zone with Syria amid security concerns after Assad’s ouster, launched strikes on Syrian government targets, citing the need to protect the Druze, some 150,000 of whom live in Israel and often serve in its military.