Syrian security officer arrested over killing of civilians in Druze-majority Sweida

Suspect arrested with help of survivor of attack, in which four people were shot dead and a fifth was seriously wounded while harvesting olives

By AFP 8 February 2026, 10:10 am

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A gunman walks by the remains of a house destroyed during the recent sectarian clashes in the Druze-majority town of Sweida, southern Syria, on September 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Fahd Kiwan)

File: A gunman walks by the remains of a house destroyed during the recent sectarian clashes in the Druze-majority town of Sweida, southern Syria, on September 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Fahd Kiwan)

DAMASCUS, Syria — Syria’s authorities have arrested an internal security officer as a suspect in the killing of four civilians in the majority-Druze Sweida province, the local internal security chief said.

Four people were shot dead and a fifth was seriously wounded in the incident on Saturday, in the village of al-Matana, said Hossam al-Tahan, the state news agency SANA reported.

The initial investigation, carried out with the help of one of the survivors of the attack, indicated that one suspect was a member of the local Internal Security Directorate, he said.

“The officer was immediately detained and referred for investigation,” he added.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights had earlier reported that four people were killed and a fifth wounded by gunfire from unknown assailants as they were harvesting olives.

The authorities had cleared the olive pickers to be in the northern part of the province controlled by government forces, it added.

Sweida province is the stronghold of the Druze minority in the south of the country.

Syrian government security forces block Bedouin fighters, foreground, from entering Sweida province, in Busra al-Harir village, southern Syria, July 20, 2025. (Omar Sanadiki/AP)

Violence erupted there briefly in July last year, when armed groups affiliated with Druze spiritual leader Sheikh Hikmat al-Hijri clashed with local Bedouin clans, spurring intervention by government forces who effectively sided with the Bedouins. This in turn prompted Israeli military intervention in support of the Druze, a community that has a notable presence in Israel as well. Hundreds of civilians, mostly Druze, were killed, many by government fighters.

Although a ceasefire was reached later that month, the situation remained tense and access to Sweida difficult.

Residents accuse the government of having imposed a blockade on the province, from which tens of thousands of inhabitants have fled — a charge Damascus denies.

Several aid convoys have entered since then.

According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, more than 185,000 people remain uprooted.

Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.