Massacre of Druze in Syria Includes Nearly 200 Summarily Executed by Islamists
Kanako Mita, Sawako Utsumi, and Lee Jay Walker
Modern Tokyo Times
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) has reported that 194 members of the Druze community were “summarily executed by defense and interior ministry personnel” in Sweida (also known as Suweida), Syria.
Despite the gravity of these events, the international community—including the United States, the European Union, Gulf States, Turkey, and the United Kingdom—continues to support Sunni Islamist power brokers in Damascus. The United States, in particular, has exerted significant pressure on Israel to avoid military intervention, thereby limiting Israel’s ability to respond decisively to protect the Druze population in Sweida. This pressure has come from the administration of President Donald Trump.
Sunni Islamist groups in Damascus have taken note of what they see as the international community’s abandonment of Syria’s religious minorities. This perception is reinforced by credible reports of atrocities committed against minority groups, including a prior massacre of approximately 1,700 Alawites by Sunni Islamist factions.
Over 1,100 people have been killed in Sweida amid violent confrontations between Druze and Bedouin Sunni groups, with Sunni Islamist-aligned forces in Damascus playing a supporting anti-Druze role.
NBC News reports, “The Druze and other minorities remain wary of interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa, a former al-Qaeda commander who met Trump in May after the president said he would lift sanctions on the war-torn country.”
However, describing a former al-Qaeda commander as the legitimate interim president of any nation is inherently contradictory. In truth, the Sunni Islamist power brokers in Damascus remain deeply sectarian and are intent on imposing their rigid, authoritarian worldview on the Syrian population.
Gideon Saar, Israel’s Foreign Minister, stated pointedly that it is “very dangerous” to belong to a religious minority in Syria, adding, “This has been proven time and again over the past six months.”
Saar continued: “The international community must ensure the security and rights of the minorities in Syria.”
The United States, the European Union, Gulf states, Turkey, and the United Kingdom appear to be abandoning Syria’s religious minorities and secular communities to the rising influence of Sunni Islamist forces. This apparent abandonment has included the tacit toleration of pogroms against the Alawite and Druze communities, as well as targeted killings of Christians. Meanwhile, the Kurds are observing the situation with growing unease, fearing that they too may ultimately be left without international support.
The BBC reports, “One woman heard the fighters shouting “Allahu Akbar” (God is greatest) in her building, calling the Druze ‘infidels’ and ‘pigs,’ and saying they were there to kill them.”
Religious minorities, secularists, Kurds, and other vulnerable groups face grave dangers under the emerging rule of Sunni Islamist power brokers in Damascus. So why is the international community turning its back on Syria’s diverse religious mosaic, leaving it vulnerable to these Sunni Islamist forces?
Given the current conditions in Syria, the Alawites, Christians, Druze, and other minorities face grave dangers. For many, the harsh reality is a choice between death or fleeing their homeland.
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