Druze spiritual leader in As-Suwayda calls on locals to confront Syrian army despite ceasefire

Sheikh Hikmat al-Hijri, the spiritual leader of the Druze community in As-Suwayda, has rejected a recent statement by local representatives and urged his followers to continue resisting the Syrian army.

Sheikh al-Hijri openly called for intervention to protect the Druze “from any country and from anywhere,” per Syria.tv.

In a video message, al-Hijri said, “After numerous negotiations with Damascus that led to no results or honest actions, the statement we published with all its details was imposed on us by Damascus under pressure from foreign states under the pretext of saving the lives of our sons.”

He called on everyone—“men and women, old and young”—to resist the army and security forces by all available means.

The violence in As-Suwayda, a predominantly Druze province in southern Syria, began on July 12, 2025, triggered by the abduction of a Druze merchant on the Damascus-Suwayda highway, escalating into clashes between Druze militias, Bedouin tribes, and government forces.

The July 14–15 clashes killed dozens, with estimates ranging from 30 (Syrian Interior Ministry) to 89 (Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, SOHR), including 18 Syrian troops. The IDF’s strikes on July 14 targeted Syrian tanks advancing toward As-Suwayda, which Israel claimed posed a threat to Druze civilians and violated demilitarisation policies.

Later on July 15, after Syrian Defence Minister Murhaf Abu Kasra announced a ceasefire in the city, following an agreement reached with prominent figures and senior officials from As-Suwayda. This was followed by Syrian army units beginning to pull heavy military equipment out of the city of As-Suwayda, preparing to hand over security responsibilities to the Internal Security Forces. 

By Khagan Isayev