Syrian Red Crescent says first aid convoy enters Druze-majority Sweida city

By AFP 20 July 2025, 6:37 pm

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An aerial picture shows a Syrian Red Crescent convoy carrying humanitarian aid driving across the southern town of Busra Al-Sham on July 20, 2025, heading to the predominantly Druze city of Sweida. (OMAR HAJ KADOUR / AFP)

The first humanitarian aid convoy entered the southern Syrian city of Sweida today, a Red Crescent official says, a week after deadly sectarian violence erupted in the Druze heartland.

A fragile ceasefire appeared to be holding after Druze fighters retook control of Sweida city and government security forces deployed to the province, following violence that has killed more than 1,000 people since last Sunday, according to a monitor.

An AFP correspondent near Sweida city saw a convoy including trucks and ambulances bearing the Red Crescent symbol heading towards the city.

“It’s the first convoy to enter after the recent events, and it has arrived and is now inside Sweida,” says Syrian Red Crescent media and communications official Omar al-Malki.

He tells AFP the convoy would be followed by others and said it came “in coordination with the government bodies and the local authorities in Sweida,” which are controlled by the Druze.

The convoy of 32 vehicles was carrying basics including food, medical and fuel supplies as well as body bags, Malki says.

Residents of Sweida have been holed up in their homes without electricity and water, and food supplies have been scarce.

An AFP photographer says the morgue at Sweida’s main hospital was full and bodies were lying on the ground outside the building.

The government, meanwhile, says its own convoy of more than 40 aid trucks, accompanied by three ministers, was unable to enter Sweida and that “outlawed armed militias loyal to Hikmat al-Hijri denied the entry of the convoy,” referring to one of Sweida’s most influential Druze religious leaders.

The authorities have strongly criticized Hijri after he called for international protection for the Druze and launched an appeal for assistance to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

In a statement earlier today, Hijri welcomed “all humanitarian aid coming to the stricken province of Sweida through international organizations and bodies.”

He called for “an immediate end to the brutal attack on Sweida province and a halt to disinformation campaigns… that aim to stoke violence and hatred.”