Witnesses from Sweida: Our homes burned and our children left without food under bombardment

Amid the escalating violence and the recent military escalation in the city of Sweida since July 13, displaced people from the countryside, currently residing in shelters there, recounted to ANHA agency the horrific scenes they experienced during the attack that killed more than 1,120 people.

Shaza Zidane, one of the survivors, bitterly recounted what happened, saying, "I was forced to flee with my four children after they burned and completely destroyed my house."

She added, "This wasn't the first time I was forced to leave my home, but this time I left without anything. I didn't even have the money for a loaf of bread. We remained in the street without shelter, waiting for the unknown."

She continued, "Those who committed these crimes were not tribes, as is claimed, but rather groups affiliated with the General Security, who entered through side roads and carried out systematic displacement and burning of homes. All that remained were abandoned and burned homes."

Yousef al-Halabi, from the town of al-Tha'la, who now resides in a shelter, confirms the same story: "They burned down my house and took my son. It doesn't matter if you call them Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham, the security forces, or the tribes. The name is the same: Takfiri gangs who came with a plan to exterminate minorities. They used tanks, drones, and heavy machinery. They said they were Bedouin tribes, but the truth is they were organized militias wreaking destruction, burning, looting, slaughtering, and shaving mustaches... What kind of humanity is this? Are these groups the ones who will build the state?"

Evan Deeb, an Alawite woman from the coast who has lived in Sweida for 27 years, also spoke from inside the shelter after being shocked by the robbery of her home in the town of Thala: "My home is located behind the mosque. They broke into it after I heard the Takbeer (Allahu Akbar) chants. They stole my gold, money, cell phone, and laptop. They forced the men out of the building, killed one of them with a sword, and humiliated the others by beating them. They even tried to assault the wife of one of the residents, but he gave them everything he owned in exchange for leaving his wife."

A young child, witnessing the horror, recounted, trembling with fear, what he experienced: "When I heard the sounds of Allahu Akbar, gunfire, and shells, I hid in a dark room for four days without food."

What was the fault of the children? What was the fault of the defenseless women and men? These are painful questions being asked by the remaining residents of Sweida, who survived the recent military escalation but bear unhealed wounds in their hearts.

Since July 13, Sweida Governorate has witnessed bloody battles between armed groups affiliated with the Syrian transitional government forces, marked by grave violations including kidnapping, looting, and the burning of homes and shops.

Sh-S

ANHA