Suwayda has been under siege for more than a month, following a surge in violence triggered by clashes between armed Bedouin groups and Druze factions in the rural areas. The Transitional Administration’s General Security forces quickly intervened, allegedly aiming to stop the fighting—yet instead escalated the violence.
Residents of Suwayda have accused the Ministry of Security forces of committing serious human rights violations, including extrajudicial executions, destruction of property, public humiliation, and indescribable massacres.
A fragile ceasefire reached after several days of fighting that began on July 13 has been repeatedly broken by both sides. As the province remains under a blockade affecting basic services like electricity, water, and communications, humanitarian aid has begun to trickle in under fire.
On Monday, August 11, seven humanitarian workers were shot at and then kidnapped in Daraa province while en route to Suwayda to deliver food and medical supplies. The attack took place in Busra al-Sham after the convoy passed the final checkpoint before entering Suwayda, around 4 PM. Despite prior attacks on other convoys, the volunteers had chosen to move forward with their mission to assist affected communities.
The convoy had departed from Jaramana and included five vehicles carrying eleven local volunteers. One vehicle belonged to the Syrian Arab Red Crescent (SARC), while the others were operated by community networks collecting donations, such as food, medicine, and other supplies, for the people of Suwayda, who have faced an almost total blockade since mid-July.
The kidnapped individuals were identified as Abed Abu Fakhr, Fidaa Azzam, Yamen Maamdouh Al-Sahhnawi, and Samir Barakat. The other members of the convoy were released within 24 hours. No group has yet claimed responsibility for the abductions, and there is no clear evidence pointing to the perpetrators.
All of those abducted are known for their dedication to humanitarian work, providing aid impartially in the midst of years of conflict. Among them, Abed Abu Fakhr is a respected Syrian aid activist and member of the Red Crescent, particularly known for his efforts during the siege of Eastern Ghouta, where he was among the first to deliver humanitarian and medical assistance. Abed has previously been detained multiple times by the Assad regime for his cross-line humanitarian work.
In response, activists in Damascus have launched a campaign demanding the release of Abed Abu Fakhr, his colleagues, and Hamza Al-Ammarin—a White Helmets worker who was kidnapped in Suwayda in July 2025. The campaign calls for the protection of humanitarian workers and their safe return to their families, as well as the unimpeded continuation of humanitarian operations in the region.
So far, the families of the abducted have been able to maintain brief daily communications, reporting that their loved ones are in good condition while awaiting a potential prisoner exchange. The kidnappers have also published videos on social media showing the hostages being fed and treated humanely.
Intense armed clashes between Bedouin groups, General Security forces, and Druze militias have rapidly destabilized the region. According to the Syrian Network for Human Rights (SNHR), at least 814 people were killed and 903 injured in the early days of the conflict. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported 1,677 killed during the clashes including 452 executions. The United Nations estimates that more than 145,000 people have been displaced, with some organizations raising that number to over 170,000.
The violence has severely impacted basic infrastructure: hospitals are overwhelmed, morgues are overflowing, and there are critical shortages of electricity, clean water, medicine, and food. In some cases, uncollected bodies have been reported inside medical facilities due to the lack of conditions for proper handling.
Despite the chaos, several humanitarian missions have reached the area. On July 23, a second aid convoy arrived with food, medicine, fuel, and medical teams, benefiting more than 38,000 people and providing 3,500 medical consultations in a single day. Days later, on July 28, another convoy of 27 trucks delivered 200 tons of flour, shelter kits, and other essential supplies. On July 29, a fourth convoy carrying medicine, clean water, and fuel entered the province with armed security support.
Still, the scale of the crisis far exceeds the response. Reem—a humanitarian worker whose name has been changed for security reasons—told Daraj Media that “the humanitarian situation is extremely dire. The aid convoys that make it through are very limited and insufficient compared to the number of people here.” She added, “Fuel is prioritized for hospitals and bakeries to meet basic survival needs. There’s a severe shortage of food, medicine, cancer treatments, and infant formula. A woman died due to lack of insulin, and another died of cancer without access to her medication.”
She also described the water crisis, “Security forces destroyed wells in the areas under their control, putting them out of service. Entire villages have been burned, and many are now displaced. Even areas not directly affected can’t access water due to the electricity situation—power is only available for a maximum of two hours a day, sometimes just 15 to 40 minutes every six or seven hours.”
This has placed enormous pressure on the local economy. “Residents rely on subsistence farming. All available vegetables come from local production, which allows them to barely survive. There are no salaries coming in from Damascus, and no external financial transfers,” Reem explained. “This has caused a crisis due to the impossibility of receiving wages or remittances.”
Although humanitarian corridors should be safe zones, SNHR has reported multiple violations: convoys intercepted or attacked, ambulances shot at, aid warehouses burned, and Civil Defense members kidnapped during missions. Local authorities and armed groups have imposed roadblocks, and some routes have been deemed unsafe or impassable. Local residents report these violations on social media nearly daily. The most recent cases involved public buses traveling from Suwayda to Damascus carrying 24 and 27 people, which were attacked in Busra al-Sham—one passenger was shot, and the other group was abducted. The incidents are still under investigation.
Due to the difficulties of accessing Suwayda from Damascus, the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES) proposed sending an alternative aid convoy—on the condition that a safe corridor be established. In parallel, the United States and Israel have pushed to open a humanitarian corridor from Israeli territory, a proposal strongly rejected by the Syrian government as a violation of national sovereignty.
While it is committing genocide in Gaza, Israel announced $600,000 in humanitarian aid for the Druze communities in Suwayda, increasing pressure on a population with increasingly fewer options for survival. This was evident in the recent demonstration in the city of Suwayda, where individuals raised the Israeli flag as a desperate plea for help, but which opens the door to further Israeli interference in Syrian affairs while occupying large portions of the Golan Heights..
International pressure to stop the violence led to the creation of a trilateral working group including representatives from Syria, Jordan, and the United States. The group met on August 12 in Amman to consolidate the ceasefire, restore basic services, facilitate the return of displaced persons, and ensure a continuous flow of humanitarian assistance. However, no direct representatives from the local Druze community participated in the talks, deepening their isolation.
Tensions escalated further following a particularly shocking incident: the murder of a medical worker inside a Suwayda hospital by masked armed forces on July 16. The killing was captured on video and released on August 10, sparking international outrage and prompting the Syrian government to announce a formal investigation led by General Abdul Qader Al-Tahhan.
In this context—marked by sectarian violence, mass displacement, attacks on medical personnel, and the kidnapping of aid workers—the civilian population of Suwayda remains trapped in a large-scale humanitarian emergency, with limited access to vital supplies and under constant threat. A situation that paradoxically began with a round of kidnappings between armed Bedouin tribes and members of armed Druze factions at the beginning of July.
Syria is undergoing a deeply complex political transition following the fall of Bashar al-Assad, with the country’s territory increasingly fractured. Massacres against Alawites in March, followed by sectarian attacks on Druze communities in Jaramana and Sahnaya in April and May, have only reinforced Druze leaders’—like Sheikh al-Hajari—refusal to participate in the government project led by Ahmad al-Shara.
Efforts by the new administration to politically integrate Suwayda through disaffected Druze religious and political figures have collapsed since the outbreak of the conflict. As long as humanitarian aid to Suwayda remains under threat, the conditions for healing Syria’s deep wounds—and for any prospect of peace after years of tragedy—remain increasingly out of reach.
