Death Toll in Southern Syria Clashes Tops 1,000, Monitor Says
According to the war monitor, the dead include 336 Druze fighters and 298 civilians from the Druze religious minority, 194 of whom were allegedly summarily executed by personnel from Syria’s defense and interior ministries.
ERBIL (Kurdistan24) — More than 1,000 people have been killed in a week of intense violence in southern Syria involving Druze fighters, Bedouin rivals, government forces, armed tribal groups, and Israeli strikes, the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) reported on Sunday.
According to the war monitor, the dead include 336 Druze fighters and 298 civilians from the Druze religious minority, 194 of whom were allegedly summarily executed by personnel from Syria’s defense and interior ministries.
The Syrian government’s losses also proved significant, with 342 security personnel reportedly killed in the fighting. The Observatory added that 15 Syrian government troops were killed in Israeli airstrikes during the same period.
On the other side, 21 Sunni Bedouins, including three civilians, were also reported killed, with the monitor stating they were summarily executed by Druze fighters.
The spike in violence marks one of the bloodiest episodes in recent years in southern Syria, a region that had largely remained on the periphery of the country's broader conflict in recent months. The flare-up, rooted in long-standing sectarian and tribal tensions, has been further complicated by government crackdowns and foreign military involvement.
SOHR, which relies on a wide network of sources inside Syria, called the situation “catastrophic,” warning of further bloodshed if all parties do not urgently de-escalate and return to negotiations.
The Syrian government has not commented publicly on the reported summary executions or the high casualty toll. Meanwhile, there has been no immediate response from Israel regarding its reported involvement in strikes during the clashes.
