The Syrian government confirmed the arrest of members of its own security forces and army involved in the massacre that killed hundreds of civilians – mostly from the Druze minority – in the southern province of Sweida in July of this year
The information was released this Sunday by Judge Hatem Naasan, head of the regime’s investigation committee, during a press conference in Damascus.
Naasan did not reveal the exact number of dead, saying that the official total will be presented in a final report by the end of the year.
He stated that the commission heard witnesses and victims and analyzed videos released on social media.
“We obtained positive results,” he declared, confirming that security agents and military personnel “proven to be involved in violations, based on investigations and videos published online,” were detained and brought to justice.
The security officers are in the custody of the Ministry of the Interior, while the military personnel are the responsibility of the Ministry of Defense.
“The videos on social media clearly showed their faces, and they were arrested by the competent authorities,” the judge explained.
The violence began in mid-July when armed groups linked to the Druze spiritual leader Sheikh Hikmat al-Hijri clashed with local Bedouin clans.
On July 15, Syrian forces were sent to Sweida to quell the conflict, but witnesses report that the situation worsened with the arrival of the military.
Shocking images that circulated afterward showed armed men executing Druze civilians in public squares and humiliating elderly people by forcibly shaving off their mustaches.
The Syrian army eventually withdrew from the region after Israeli bombings and strong diplomatic pressure.
In a televised speech, Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa accused Israel of trying to destabilize the country.
Naasan denied the participation of organized foreign fighters in the massacre.
Some individuals were detained and questioned, but according to him, they entered Sweida randomly and individually, without any connection to the Syrian security forces or military.
Published in 11/17/2025 08h49
Text adapted by AI (Grok) and translated via Google API in the English version. Images from public image libraries or credits in the caption.
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