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Syrian Druze

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
People injured in a Hezbollah missile strike on Kiryat Shmona arrive at Ziv Medical Center in Safed, northern Israel, March 23, 2026. (David Cohen/Flash90)
June 18, 2026, 6:53 pm
Three Hezbollah terrorists treated at northern Israel hospital, sources say
Operatives kept bound and blindfolded under IDF guard at Ziv Medical Center, ToI told; IDF and hospital don’t deny details, say all patients given care as required by law
By Nava Freiberg
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
Israeli Druze leader Sheikh Muafak Tarif attends a Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee meeting at the Knesset in Jerusalem, November 24, 2025. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
December 10, 2025, 5:03 pm
Israeli Druze leader seeks US security guarantees for Syrian counterparts
After the bloodshed in Sweida this year, Sheikh Muafak Tarif says Washington must fulfill ‘duty’ to protect minority group, stresses need for Druze self-determination
By Olivia Le Poidevin and Suleiman Al-Khalidi
Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa delivers a speech, as Syrians celebrate the first anniversary of the fall of the Assad regime, in Damascus on December 8, 2025. (OMAR HAJ KADOUR / AFP)
December 9, 2025, 12:52 am
Sharaa vows ‘peaceful coexistence’ as Syria marks anniversary of Assad’s fall
Past year ‘seems like a miracle,’ says reveler, as Syrians gather en masse to watch their rebel-turned-president; Alawite, Kurdish areas boycott celebration amid sectarian strife
By Maher Al-Mounes
IDF reservists of the 55th Paratroopers Brigade operate in southern Syria, in an image published on November 21, 2025. (Israel Defense Forces)
November 22, 2025, 5:31 pm
Four IDF soldiers charged with trafficking weapons from Syria into Israel
Troops among several arrested in major arms smuggling bust linked to crime in northern Israel; prosecutors say gun-running took place during summer’s Syrian Druze clashes
By Emanuel Fabian
Druze in Israel protest near the Israeli-Syrian border fence in solidarity with Druze in Syria, July 16, 2025. (Michael Giladi/Flash90)
November 20, 2025, 9:31 pm
Seven Druze men, including three Syrians, charged with smuggling arms into Israel
Defendants detained alongside 5 soldiers on suspicion of smuggling army-grade weapons to criminals in Israel, during outpouring of Druze into southern Syria amid clashes in region
By Charlie Summers and Emanuel Fabian
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
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