With documentation efforts ongoing, the death toll from the Sweida massacre has reached a total of 2,014 victims, including 1,502 from the Druze community. The number of summary execution victims has risen to 789.
Fifty days into the Sweida massacres, documentation continues to uncover one of the most horrific crimes that may amount to war crimes against civilians. These violations include forced displacement, the burning of homes and shops, abductions, torture, and sectarian killings.
In this context, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights has documented 24 new victims from the Druze community who were summarily executed by members of the Ministries of Defense and Interior in various areas of Sweida Governorate during the events of last July. Among them were three women. This brings the total number of victims from Sweida to 1,502, the vast majority of whom belong to the Druze community, including 789 civilians who were executed in the field.
In a broader context, the total death toll since the morning of Sunday, July 13, resulting from clashes, summary executions, and Israeli airstrikes, has reached 2,014 victims, distributed as follows:
- 725 from Sweida Governorate, the vast majority from the Druze community, including 162 civilians (21 children and 51 women), and 12 other civilians from outside the Druze community, including 6 women
- 477 personnel from the Ministry of Defense and General Security, including 40 from Bedouin tribes and one armed Lebanese national
- 15 members of the Ministries of Defense and Interior killed by Israeli airstrikes
- 3 individuals, including one woman and two unidentified persons, killed in an Israeli airstrike targeting the Ministry of Defense building
- 2 journalists killed during clashes in Sweida
- 789 Druze civilians, including 72 women, 15 children, and elderly individuals. Among them were 20 medical staff from Sweida National Hospital, all executed in the field by members of the Ministries of Defense and Interior
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights has documented the killing of medical and healthcare workers from Sweida National Hospital, who were executed in the field on charges of “treating wounded opposition members.” These executions were carried out after interrogation and torture sessions in temporary detention centers set up by the Ministries of Defense and Interior.
The Observatory has also documented cases of civilians being burned alive, including children and women, while they were inside their homes. In several instances, entire families were eliminated, including infants who were killed alongside their parents.
These systematic violations, documented by the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, constitute clear evidence of war crimes and crimes against humanity committed by the current Syrian authorities and their affiliated militias against civilians in Sweida Governorate.
The international community must take immediate action to hold those responsible for these heinous crimes accountable and to provide protection for the remaining civilians in the region. The ongoing silence and inaction only embolden the perpetrators to continue their systematic campaign of terror against innocent civilians.