In an event held at the United Nations headquarters in Switzerland, the testimony of a 14-year-old Druze girl from Sweida province was presented. She recounted the moment of terror when she was raped during her kidnapping—at the hands of ISIS elements affiliated with Jolani. The testimony of an Yazidi girl, who was kidnapped to Gaza via Iraq, was also discussed.
His Eminence Sheikh Muwaffak Tarif, the spiritual leader of the Druze community in Israel, delivered a speech. New testimonies were also revealed to the international community regarding the massacres committed by the authority of Ahmad al-Shara’ in the Sweida region of Southern Syria in July: testimonies of rape, torture, violence, and kidnapping. Additionally, a video testimony was shown of a 14-year-old Druze girl who was raped by three jihadists; two of whom were wearing uniforms resembling those of the Syrian Army, and one was an ISIS fighter.
Listening to the testimony read before hundreds of diplomats and human rights experts was extremely difficult. The Druze girl, Nour (a pseudonym), described the terrifying moment:
“They entered our house and started threatening us. Two of them were in Syrian Internal Security clothes, and one from ISIS with a covered face. They made me stand up and stripped me of my clothes. There was a small refrigerator inside a closed veranda; he dragged me onto it. I screamed, and he was hitting me. He hit my face and hurt my teeth. I tried to resist, but he raped me. There were more than 20 saboteurs in the house, and they threatened my family. No one from my family dared to move or help me.”
The meeting was held as part of the launch of the new initiative, Hearing Their Voices, in collaboration with UNITAR and the Kigali Genocide Memorial (Andarteht) for victims of the genocide in Rwanda. The initiative aims to provide a secure platform for survivors of sexual violence to finally give their testimonies without fear for their lives—by utilizing advanced Artificial Intelligence technology that allows for the concealment of any identity-revealing detail.
His Eminence Sheikh Muwaffak Tarif demanded that the massacres committed by the Shara’ authority against the Druze in Sweida be recognized as a war crime perpetrated by the Shara’ authority.
“I stand here in the name of hundreds of thousands. In the name of daughters who were burned, women who were raped, and children who were killed. What happened in Sweida is not an attack but a deliberate attempt to wipe out the Druze community from the region.”
“The world was silent when the Jews, Christians, and Alawites were assaulted. Now it is the turn of the Druze. It is time to tell the truth—this was a targeted operation to cleanse us.”
He also called for the opening of a humanitarian corridor and a monitored zone in the area considered central to the Druze in Southern Syria, as well as for lifting the siege on the villages and for the liberation of hundreds of kidnapped Druze individuals.
While US President Donald Trump is embracing Syrian President al-Shara’ and protecting his authority, and while he is symbolizing Israel, he seeks to enhance the standing of one who was among the leaders of the Al-Nusra Front jihadist group. Sheikh Tarif stated to Reuters that Washington must fulfill its duty and protect minorities in Syria to rebuild state structures and encourage stability in the country.
He also said that if the United States fulfills its duty towards minorities, especially the Druze in Southern Syria, then there would be no need for any intervention by the Israeli army in the Syrian arena.
“We hope and want the United States, President Trump and America as a superpower, to guarantee the rights of all minorities in Syria, and prevent any harm of any kind from befalling them in the future,” added Sheikh Tarif.
An additional significant moment during the evening was the testimony of Faiza Amin Seido, a Yazidi from Iraq, who at the age of 11 was kidnapped by ISIS saboteurs and sold to a Palestinian who supported Hamas and ISIS in the Gaza Strip, and lived as part of his family for ten years—until she was liberated in a vast global operation, in which Israel and the Israeli army participated actively and centrally.
Faiza recounted, “I knew ISIS would attack us that night. We all slept in one room, and suddenly they arrived with weapons to hurt us.”
“They forced us to convert to Islam, and took us all to an underground prison. After that, they sold me in the slave market.”
The evening was presented by Ms. Shiran Melamdovsky-Somech, Director of Generative AI for Good, who developed a secure AI-based system that allows victims of rape and sexual assault to remove their voice print, facial features, and unique speech patterns.
“Technology can be dangerous, but it can also save lives,” she said.
“The tool we built gives survivors the power to return. They decide when and how their voice is heard.”
During the meeting, testimonies were presented from victims from various conflict zones around the world, including Ukraine and Rwanda, as well as the testimony of Hani Goldstein-Almog, who was kidnapped on October 7th with her child and released in the first operation.
As a reminder, the brutal suppression of the Druze in Sweida began in July with deadly clashes between armed Druze groups and Sunni Bedouin fighters from the Sweida region. Ahmad al-Shara’’s forces were sent to the area with the aim of ending the clashes—but according to several testimonies, they joined the Bedouins and participated in assaults against the Druze, including orders to kill citizens and humiliate them in acts like shaving the mustaches of Sheikhs.
Israel proceeded to aid the Druze through aerial operations, which also included bombing the Syrian General Staff headquarters in Damascus—according to the Israeli army. The parties subsequently reached a ceasefire agreement.