Amnesty International: Government forces execute 46 Druze in Sweida

On Tuesday, Amnesty International announced it had verified evidence that Syrian Transitional Government forces and affiliated groups executed 46 Druze individuals during the wave of violence that swept Sweida last July.

The organization stated that the executions occurred between July 13 and 17 in public areas, private homes, a school, a hospital, and a ceremonial hall, noting that the victims included 44 men and two women.

It added that among the victims were two elderly people who were subjected to “mock executions” on July 15 and 16 either inside Sweida city or on its outskirts.

Amnesty pointed to verified visual evidence showing armed men in official military and security uniforms executing unarmed civilians, along with photos, weapons analysis, and eyewitness testimonies.

The organization also noted the presence of a “black insignia” associated with ISIS mercenaries on the uniforms of at least four fighters seen in some of the footage, though ISIS has not claimed any attack in Sweida.

Sweida witnessed clashes between Druze gunmen and Bedouin fighters that escalated into bloody confrontations following the intervention of government forces and armed tribesmen.

According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), the violence left more than 2,000 people dead, including 789 Druze civilians who were “executed in the field.”

Diana Semaan, Amnesty’s Syria researcher, urged the authorities to launch an “independent, transparent, and swift investigation” into these violations and hold those responsible accountable, considering the events to amount to “extrajudicial executions,” which constitute a crime under international law.

This comes amid a deteriorating humanitarian situation in Sweida, which had suffered from the closure of its main road to Damascus for weeks before it was recently reopened.

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ANHA