Urgent appeal from Spiritual Leadership of Druze to UN, international community

The Spiritual Leadership of the Druze Community sent a message to several international, regional, humanitarian, and political bodies, explaining the situation in Sweida and making an urgent appeal for regional and international efforts. The message read as follows:

“In the Name of God, the Most Merciful, the Most Compassionate

To: The Secretary-General of the United Nations

The President and Members of the United Nations Security Council

The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights

The President and Members of the European Union Mission to the United Nations

The League of Arab States

Amnesty International and the International Committee of the Red Cross

And all international bodies and countries of the world

From our position in the Spiritual Leadership, we address this urgent humanitarian appeal to convey the voice and suffering of our people in Jabal al-Bashan, in all its diversity, and to describe the severe and comprehensive blockade that has, for months, threatened civilian life and suffocated every aspect of decent living in a land long known for its hospitality, civil peace, and human coexistence with all.

Honorable Sirs,

A total blockade has been imposed on our peaceful civilian mountain—cutting off food, medicine, water, fuel, and freedom of movement. Some limited international aid passes through, yet it is insufficient and exploited for media display to distort the truth and conceal the real tragedy of the people, while freedom of expression is absent due to fear of retaliation.

We are now facing an unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe, worsening in every respect. Among the most pressing issues:

Arbitrary suspension of salaries and pensions for employees and contractors.

Total paralysis of public institutions due to the cutting of central internet connections and the prevention of document issuance.

University students unable to resume their studies due to sectarian incitement, threats, and repeated assaults.

School students are deprived of continuing their education.

Entire families living in constant fear amid ongoing violations of the ceasefire.

More than thirty-five villages in the north and west of the mountain are under occupation.

Destruction and looting of vital facilities such as factories, mills, olive presses, hospitals, fuel stations, and food storage centers.

Deliberate blocking of fuel supplies to halt production, transport, medical care, and all aspects of life.

Collapse of the healthcare sector due to the targeting of doctors and nurses and the destruction of medical facilities, leading to patient deaths caused by medicine shortages and damaged infrastructure and equipment.

We are besieged within a vast prison on the mountain; our movement is restricted, monitored, and threatened; our villages are occupied. There is no food, no money, no basic supplies, with continuous power, telephone, and internet outages—all deliberately inflicted as pressure tactics amounting to systematic extermination.

The living conditions are dire, and the suffering grows worse daily, driven by a policy of “food for loyalty,” through incitement and internal strife to push people to fight each other, in a campaign of starvation designed for extermination or forced submission. Meanwhile, the perpetrators attempt to conceal these ongoing humanitarian crimes through media deception.

Despite all this, our people have abided by the ceasefire agreements and international conventions. Therefore, it is time to lift this unjust blockade and to apply international law, the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, and humanitarian norms to hold accountable the interim government that continues to commit crimes against our people, along with its militias and armed affiliates who have repeatedly violated the truce and committed crimes in plain sight.

All international and media organizations that have managed to reach the mountain have witnessed and documented, with pain, the suffering of innocent civilians and the massacres and violations committed against them.

Honorable Sirs,

What the people of Jabal al-Bashan are enduring constitutes a flagrant violation of international humanitarian law as set forth in the four Geneva Conventions. Under the Rome Statute, these acts amount to crimes of genocide and crimes against humanity.

We hold the interim government and its affiliated militias fully responsible for these violations, and we appeal to the United Nations, the Security Council, and the international community to act urgently according to their moral and legal obligations, and to take the following measures:

1. Immediate lifting of the blockade on Jabal al-Bashan and securing safe humanitarian corridors.

2. Holding accountable those responsible for crimes and violations against civilians before international courts.

3. Compelling the occupying armed groups to fully withdraw from the afflicted villages and restore all occupied territories within the administrative boundaries of the mountain, and to enforce the truce terms agreed upon since last July.

4. Opening an international humanitarian crossing to facilitate the entry of aid and to ensure safe communication with the outside world.

5. Accelerating the process of enabling the people of the mountain to exercise their right to self-determination, according to their will and consent, under the supervision of the United Nations, in a manner that guarantees their freedom, dignity, and religious, cultural, and existential security, with international oversight and protection.

We extend our gratitude to our people abroad and all members of the Druze community in the diaspora and neighboring countries—those who have stood by us in this ordeal. We call on our people to remain patient and steadfast in facing this hardship, which will pass soon with the resolve of our people and the efforts of humanitarian and international bodies.

Finally, we express our deep appreciation to every organization, country, and individual who stood with us and supported our cause, and our sorrow toward those who witnessed the crimes against us yet remained silent. Silence in the face of crime is complicity in it. The justice we seek is a natural right, not a favor.

With God’s help, peace be upon you from the spirit of peace in blessed Jabal al-Bashan.

Jabal al-Bashan – Qanawat

October 9, 2025

A-H 

ANHA