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Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/11/world/middleeast/syria-sweida-province-druse-government.html
"We Know They Are Coming": Syrian Druze Province Fears Takeover
(New York Times) Abdi Latif Dahir - Last summer, after days of clashes in Sweida Province in Syria between local groups and the entry of government forces into the fighting, more than 1,700 people, most of them Druse, were killed, according to the UN. "We know they are coming," said Sumayah al-Yousef, 65, a Druse resident of Sweida who was among the people displaced. Druse residents repeatedly told us that it was only a matter of time before the government moved to assert control over the area. In July 2025, skirmishes broke out between armed Bedouins, part of Syria's Sunni majority, and Druse militias. Then government forces, along with allied fighters, descended on Sweida, killing civilians, destroying towns and villages, and displacing tens of thousands. Israel has a sizable Druse minority and has long cultivated close ties with the community, a relationship that extends to the Syrian Druse. Israeli officials are uneasy about the Syrian government extending its authority near its border, fearing it could become a staging ground for attacks. After the clashes, Israel launched airstrikes against government forces in Sweida. Israeli officials vowed to protect the Syrian Druse and demanded that the region remain demilitarized, without the Syrian Army or its allies deploying or operating in the area. "Israel stood with us," said Druse spiritual leader Sheikh Hikmat al-Hijri in January. "Israel was the first to extend a helping hand." Clashes still occasionally break out in villages along the front line between the National Guard, a 28,000-strong militia in Sweida loyal to Mr. al-Hijri, and government forces and their allies. Sweida officials say the government has repeatedly cut electricity and water, damaged power lines and pipes during military operations, and blocked aid groups from repairing them. Humanitarian aid, including food and medical supplies, has often been delayed or restricted.