Syria Probes Extrajudicial Killings: Over 1,300 Dead in Druze Heartland

Asianet News English

More than 1,300 people, including hundreds of civilians, have been killed after a week of intense sectarian violence in the Druze-majority Sweida province. Shocking reports detail extrajudicial executions, mass displacement, and the intervention of Syrian government forces and Bedouin armed groups. Following international outcry and UN demands for accountability, Syrian authorities have launched investigations into the suspected war crimes and civilian abuses.

Transcript

00:00Syria has launched investigations into reported extrajudicial killings in the country's

00:14Druze heartland, promising to punish perpetrators, including any government-affiliated personnel,

00:20after a week of sectarian bloodshed. According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights Monitor,

00:26the violence which began on 13 July and ended with a weakened ceasefire started with clashes

00:33between Druze fighters and Sunni Bedwin tribes but soon escalated, killing more than 1,300 people,

00:41mostly Druze. Witnesses Druze factions and the Observatory have accused government forces of

00:48siding with the Bedwin and committing abuses, including summary executions, when they entered

00:54SWEDA last week. The Interior Ministry has condemned in the strongest terms the videos circulating

01:01showing field executions carried out by unidentified individuals in SWEDA. For days, brutal videos on

01:09social media have appeared to show the execution of people in civilian clothing. The ministry said

01:15that these acts are serious crimes punishable by law with most severe penalties. Authorities have begun

01:23an urgent investigation to identify those involved and arrest them. The ministry added that nobody is

01:29above the law. According to the Observatory, the dead included 533 Druze fighters and 300 civilians from

01:38the religious minority, 196 of whom were summarily executed by Defence and Interior Ministry personnel.

01:46According to the Britain-based Observatory, which relies on a network of sources inside Syria,

01:51the toll also includes 423 government security personnel and 35 Sunni Bedwin, three of them

01:59civilians who were summarily executed by Druze fighters. It added that another 15 government

02:05personnel were killed in Israeli air strikes lodged in support of the Druze. Separately, the Defence

02:11Ministry said that it was looking into reports of shocking and serious violations committed

02:16by an unidentified group wearing military uniform in SWEDA City. A statement said that a committee would

02:23investigate the affiliation and background of the individuals involved. It added that the groups from

02:28other areas were present in SWEDA City and carried out revenge operations there.

02:35Defence Minister Muraf Abu Kasra was quoted as saying,

02:38no tolerance will be shown to any perpetrator of violations, even if they are affiliated with the

02:44Defence Ministry. The announcements came hours after a committee investigating massacres of mostly

02:49alivide civilians in March released its findings, including that it had identified people linked to

02:56certain military groups and factions among those involved in the bloodshed. A ceasefire in SWEDA took effect

03:03on 20 July after Bedwin and tribal fighters withdrew from SWEDA City and Druze groups regained control,

03:10while government forces deployed in parts of the province. The UN said that it was relocating its

03:16staff and their families from the city and that it had handed a new aid shipment to the Syrian Red Crescent

03:23which destined for SWEDA.

Category

Transcript

Recommended