The city and countryside of the Sweida province remained largely unaffected by direct military confrontations during the war on Syria. It was spared the devastation that afflicted many other Syrian regions. The exception was a series of kidnappings and threats from ISIS, which had a stronghold in the Badia. However, following the collapse of the former Syrian regime in 2024, the province began to experience escalating tensions that culminated in mid-July.

Clashes initially broke out between Druze factions and armed Bedouin tribesmen over mutual kidnappings along the Damascus-Sweida road.

Government forces intervened to “resolve the conflict,” but their involvement only worsened the situation, with fighting intensifying amid accusations from the Druze community that the government was favoring the tribes.

“Israel” then bombed government military convoys on the outskirts of Sweida. The escalation continued with airstrikes targeting the General Staff building and the area around the presidential palace in Damascus, as well as military sites in Daraa.

Following the Israeli strikes, government forces withdrew. In response, dozens of tribal statements were issued calling on tribesmen to support their “brothers” in Sweida against the Druze. More than 41 tribes were reportedly mobilized to the area. Local sources claimed that government forces themselves led the tribal assault.

Local factions in Sweida have released videos showing the presence of foreign fighters, some of whom were captured. Residents and community leaders have raised questions about the government's role in providing military and media support to the tribes and how these groups obtained large amounts of weapons and ammunition, ironically, the same justification the government gives for its intervention in Sweida.

According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, the death toll from the clashes has reached 1,386 from all sides, including 238 documented field executions by members of the Ministries of Defense and Interior.

As part of the internationally sponsored ceasefire agreement, Sunni tribal families were evacuated from Sweida to Daraa Governorate. There are growing concerns about a permanent demographic shift if these families are not allowed to return, or if Druze residents from Jaramana and Sahnaya in the Damascus countryside are displaced to Sweida.

The governorate has been under a suffocating siege for over a week, leading to acute shortages of food, water, fuel, and essential services. Civil society groups and local organizations have issued urgent appeals to the international community and United Nations agencies to establish a safe humanitarian corridor for aid delivery.

Death, hunger, and displacement!

The gunfire eventually ceased, and as dawn broke, the city streets revealed dozens of corpses and charred vehicles. Among the victims was young Judy Zghaybi, who had fled Baniyas after her grandparents were killed in last March’s massacres. Judy’s mother told Al Mayadeen English, "I was afraid after what happened on the Syrian coast, so I moved with my daughter to Al-Sweida, hoping for a safe life. But now I've lost my daughter and everything. My life no longer has meaning."

Just months ago, the Radwan family’s guest house in Sweida hosted a government delegation for dialogue. Today, it lies in ruins, and several young men from the family are dead. One survivor recounted, "A group of men with long hair and beards, some of them foreigners, arrived in their cars. We welcomed them, unarmed, and invited them for coffee. When they left, they showered us with bullets. More than 15 of the 20 men were martyred."

Rima Falhout, a medical student at Damascus University, survived the massacres but lost her friend Luna Zahreddine, who was about to present her graduation project, along with her sister Roaa, a pharmacist, her brother Diaa, an engineer, and their neighbor, Dr. Firas Abu Latif. The twenty-year-old said, "I never imagined this would happen. I still can't believe it. We were a group of young people in the prime of our lives. We all dreamed of contributing to building a new Syria. What did we do? What did Dr. Firas Abu Latif, the Professor of Data Mining in France, who was visiting his family, do to deserve his murder and burning down his home? We have all lost. Syria has lost."

Barely had the people of Sweida finished burying their dead when another ordeal began; displacement and a total siege designed to subdue the province after forceful seizure failed.

Venus, a teacher displaced from Sweida to the village of Arman near the Syrian-Jordanian border, told Al Mayadeen English, "We've been without electricity for 15 days. Then it was connected for just one day, and then they cut it off again. We're using whatever generators and solar energy we have. The flour is running out in the bakeries. People are standing in line. In the countryside, the water situation is bad, and we've started using wells that are almost dry. Everything is at a standstill: education, institutions, and life. It's unfortunate that Al-Sweida, which has welcomed displaced people from all over the country for 14 years and has never closed its doors to anyone, is living under this siege."

Abu Musab is in dire financial straits after his salary was suspended. He had to borrow from a friend while waiting for a solution. He explained, "I have a brother in Damascus who would have transferred money to me, but all the money transfer companies have stopped dealing with Sweida. Even merchants from other provinces have stopped dealing with us, perhaps out of fear of the government. Despite everything, Syria will remain one and united. We are strong, and we will overcome this ordeal together."

Will the dream of 'David’s Corridor' come true?

For generations, the Druze in the occupied Syrian Golan Heights have rejected Israeli identity, with many refusing to engage with the occupying entity. Their compatriots in the Druze-majority Sweida governorate have long stood in solidarity with them. However, the recent events have seemingly played into "Israel’s" hands, which has sought to cast itself as the "protector and savior of the Druze."

"Israel's targeting of government forces is what forced them to withdraw, which presented Israel as a savior to many of Sweida's residents," said international relations expert Dr. Ali Salem in a statement to Al Mayadeen English.

"While the government is besieging Sweida, Israel is reinforcing this perception among the people by sending them medical and food aid. Perhaps, in the near term, this will develop into the opening of cross-border humanitarian crossings, cutting off Sweida's connection with the rest of the governorates, and creating this major social breach, especially after the recent Syrian-Israeli agreements, which were concluded in Paris under American auspices and which resulted in preventing government forces from entering Sweida and handing over its administration to local factions (semi-federal system)."

Netanyahu is firm in his demands: a demilitarized zone in the south, extending from southern Damascus to Jabal al-Druze, and a security agreement with Tel Aviv. But if such a plan goes forward, it may only be the beginning. It could pave the way for the realization of a long-standing Israeli project known as "David’s Corridor".

Dr. Salem described it as a "major geopolitical project," explaining, "This corridor begins in the occupied Syrian Golan Heights, passes through Daraa and Sweida, reaches the al-Tanf area, where the US base is located, then extends eastward to the Kurdish areas allied with Washington, crosses to Erbil in Iraq, and touches the Turkish border."

"The corridor, hundreds of kilometers long, connects "Israel" to the Gulf and Central Asia, opening a new gateway to Europe. This will eliminate the need for the Suez Canal, threaten the Chinese Silk Road, and transform Israel into a central link in the freight transport chains between the Gulf and Europe."