At least 100 people have been killed and hundreds wounded in Syria’s southern city of Suwayda amid fierce sectarian clashes between Druze militias and Sunni Bedouin tribes, prompting the government to impose martial law and deploy military forces to restore control.
According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, the violence erupted on Sunday following the abduction of a Druze merchant on the Damascus–Suwayda highway. Tensions escalated rapidly into armed confrontations, marking the bloodiest unrest in the Druze-majority province in recent years.
The Observatory reported that the dead include 60 Druze among them two children 18 members of the Bedouin tribes, and 18 government security personnel killed in separate attacks while en route to the conflict zones.
On Tuesday, Syria’s Ministry of Interior announced the imposition of martial law in Suwayda and confirmed the deployment of army units to secure government buildings, restore traffic control, and prevent further violence. Security forces have been stationed at entry points along the Suwayda-Daraa border, while all educational examinations in the province have been suspended.
Druze religious authorities have appealed for calm and consented to the deployment of state forces in a bid to halt the bloodshed. “This cycle of violence is spreading, and without intervention, it will lead to a bloodbath,” warned Rayan Ma’rouf, a prominent Druze scholar, speaking to Reuters.
Local residents report intense street fighting and describe a humanitarian situation rapidly deteriorating. Hospitals are overwhelmed, and fears are growing of broader sectarian flare-ups across the region.
This is the deadliest outbreak of violence in Suwayda since state authority weakened in the aftermath of Syria’s civil war, raising alarm over deepening ethnic and religious divisions. The international community has called for urgent diplomatic intervention to defuse tensions and prevent further destabilization in the region.
