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Sweida

Left to right: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks to staff at a Shin Bet facility, June 29, 2025. (Maayan Toaf/GPO); Syria's President Ahmed al-Sharaa attends the signing of an agreement for a regional energy project, in Damascus, Syria, May 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Ghaith Alsayed)
In first, Netanyahu reveals he spoke with Syria’s Sharaa after 2025 strike in Damascus
By Lazar Berman
'Very short and very sharp' call came shortly after Israel bombed government targets with stated aim of protecting Syrian Druze, PM tells Druze supporters
Illustrative: Syrian security personnel officers guard the road on the outskirts of Sweida, southern Syria on February 26, 2026. (LOUAI BESHARA/AFP)
September 1, 2026, 7:45 am
10 Syrian security personnel reported wounded in clashes in Sweida
State TV claims ‘outlaw groups’ launched attacks, as Druze-affiliated group accuses government forces of firing mortal shells and machine guns toward civilians
By AFP and ToI Staff
The border between Syria and the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights town of Majdal Shams is seen July 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)
July 29, 2026, 11:24 am
Fringe settler group has been sneaking into Syria in bid to claim land for Jewish outpost
‘Bashan Pioneers’ regularly cross border in violation of the law; leaders tout support from right-wing ministers, say area must be ‘cleared of enemies’
By Natalie Melzer, ABBY SEWELL and Julia Frankel
Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa addresses the inaugural session of Syria’s newly formed People’s Assembly, the first since the fall of President Bashar Assad’s government, in Damascus, Syria on Sunday, July 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Ghaith Alsayed)
July 12, 2026, 6:16 pm
Syria’s interim parliament meets for first time after Assad overthrow
At chamber’s first session in Damascus, President Sharaa calls on lawmakers to model ‘responsibility and competence’; three seats for Druze-majority Sweida remain empty
By Agencies and ToI Staff
Tribal and Bedouin fighters in al-Dur village in Syria's Druze-majority southern Sweida governorate as they mobilize amid clashes with Druze gunmen on July 18, 2025. (OMAR HAJ KADOUR / AFP)
July 4, 2026, 7:53 am
Syria starts trials over deadly 2025 violence in Druze heartland
Government intervention on side of Bedouin tribes that clashed with Druze in Sweida last July triggered Israeli strikes; suspects include staff from defense, interior ministries
By AFP
Syrian government security forces block Bedouin fighters, foreground, from entering Sweida province, in Busra al-Harir village, southern Syria, July 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Omar Sanadiki)
March 27, 2026, 5:02 pm
Scathing UN report demands Syria probe abuses during clashes with Druze; 1,700 were killed
Investigators find ‘no indication’ that Damascus looked into human rights violations committed by forces, detail ‘widespread looting, systematic burning’ against Druze civilians
By Kareem Chehayeb
Security personnel and officials gather next to buses with prisoners on board during an exchange of prisoners ceremony between Syrian authorities and Druze fighters, on the outskirts of Sweida on February 26, 2026. (LOUAI BESHARA / AFP)
February 26, 2026, 1:52 pm
Syrian government forces and Druze factions exchange prisoners in Sweida
Under Red Cross supervision, Damascus releases 61 prisoners while Druze National Guard Forces free 25 Syrian government personnel
By Feras Dalatey
People chant slogans while waving the Druze flag during a weekly rally in Sweida, southern Syria, on September 20, 2025. (AP/Fahd Kiwan)
February 24, 2026, 8:36 pm
US mediating prisoner exchange talks between Damascus and Druze — source
Talks aim to free over 60 civilians from Druze-majority Sweida, where sectarian clashes broke out last year, prompting Israeli intervention, in exchange for 30 government personnel
By AFP
Sheikh Muafak Tarif, spiritual leader of the Druze community in Israel, poses for a picture during an interview in the village of Julis in northern Israel on February 15, 2026. (Jalaa Marey / AFP)
February 20, 2026, 9:49 am
Israeli Druze leader says Syrian community remains ‘besieged’ months after clashes
Sheikh Muafak Tarif says over 120,000 still displaced, 300 held captive following clashes that erupted with government and Bedouin tribal forces in Sweida last year
By AFP
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)
February 8, 2026, 10:10 am
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
Women walk by a damaged car in the predominantly Kurdish Sheikh Maqsoud neighborhood after days of fighting between government forces and Kurdish fighters in the northern city of Aleppo, Syria, January 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Ghaith Alsayed)
January 13, 2026, 8:09 pm
Syrian army, Kurds exchange fire in area near Aleppo declared closed military zone
Renewed conflict with minorities comes as Syrian Druze leader accuses al-Sharaa government of attempted ‘genocide,’ says his community is ‘inseparable part of Israel’s system’
By AP and ToI Staff
Illustrative: Druze boys hold their sect religious flags stand next to Druze gunmen, a day after clashes between members of the minority Druze sect and pro-government fighters. April 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Omar Sanadiki)
December 24, 2025, 12:35 am
Report: Israel began airdropping weapons to Syrian Druze days after Assad’s ouster
Defensive equipment shipments continue, but arms deliveries tapered off as Israel sought talks with Sharaa and grew wary of Syrian Druze infighting, sources tell Washington Post
By Noam Lehmann
Members of Syria's security forces stand on a tank in the predominantly Druze city of Sweida on July 15, 2025, following clashes between Bedouin tribes and Druze fighters. (Bakr Alkasem / AFP)
November 16, 2025, 9:58 pm
Syria arrests military members for deadly attacks on Druze in Sweida in July
Committee investigating violence says it will only release death toll in final report later this year, doesn’t say how many security forces were detained amid investigation
By AP and ToI Staff
Illustrative: A car drives by a destroyed statue in the Druze-majority town of Sweida, Syria, July 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Omar Sanadiki)
November 14, 2025, 2:34 pm
Druze and Syrian government forces accuse each other of violating Sweida ceasefire
Renewed violence subsides, with reports of wounded on both sides but no casualties; Air Force said to have flown overhead as clashes erupted Thursday
By ABDULRAHMAN SHAHEEN and ABBY SEWELL
Syrian electoral college members line up to cast their ballots in a parliamentary election at a polling station in Damascus, on October 5, 2025. (AP/Omar Sanadiki)
October 5, 2025, 11:46 am
What to expect as Syria goes to the polls for the first time since Assad’s ouster
Sunday’s election, which does not include popular vote, criticized as undemocratic; vote not taking place in Druze-majority Sweida or Kurdish areas
By ABBY SEWELL
A man waves an Israeli flag over a picture of Sheikh Muafak Tarif, the spiritual leader of the Druze in Israel, during a weekly rally in Sweida, southern Syria, on September 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Fahd Kiwan)
October 1, 2025, 10:53 am
After brutal sectarian clashes, Syrian Druze pushing for autonomy, lean toward Israel
Southern Syria sect sets up de facto military, government body as community feels betrayed by new government in Damascus, grateful for support from Jerusalem
By Kareem Chehayeb and Malak Harb
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