<h1 style="text-align:justify;">Introduction<br>&nbsp;</h1><p style="text-align:justify;">On July 13th, 2025 a local skirmish between armed Bedouin tribes and armed Druze in Suwayda Governorate escalated into a deadly conflict that would result in the deaths of at least 1,700 people and the displacement of nearly 200,000 people.<a href="#_ftn1">[1]</a> The recent investigation published by the United Nations Commission of Inquiry (CoI) outlined three phases of violence that ensued after the escalation of the initial, local conflict. The first wave was initiated by a mass mobilisation from the Ministry of Defence (MoD) and Ministry of Interior (MoI) accompanied by tribal fighters, and led to mass violations against Druze civilians across the governorate from 14 to 16 July. The second wave of violence occurred after the 16 July ceasefire initiated a withdrawal of government forces from Suwayda Governorate, following which Druze militias attacked and displaced Suwayda’s Bedouins.<a href="#_ftn2">[2]</a> In response to the violence against the Bedouins, tribes from across the country mobilised to Suwayda Governorate on 17 and 18 July and committed further violations against Druze communities until the MoI and MoD forces sealed off the area on 19 and 20 July.<a href="#_ftn3">[3]</a></p><p style="text-align:justify;">&nbsp;These conflicts were preceded by several other violent events<a href="#_ftn4">[4]</a> and general unrest within the governorate in the months following the fall of the Assad regime. The conflict resulted in multiple massacres of both Bedouin and Druze civilians, and involved citizen militias which organised on both sides of the conflict. As this report illustrates, the Syrian military mobilised en masse to Suwayda Governorate but was also aided by tribal forces from across the country. Local Druze militants were heavily armed, contributing to the prolonged fighting.</p><p style="text-align:justify;">In the aftermath of the conflict, the Syrian Government vowed to hold perpetrators accountable and established an independent investigation, which published its findings on March 18, 2026.<a href="#_ftn5">[5]</a> The committee's report documented 1,760 casualties from all sides, and referred to “grave violations of human rights” and multiple, repeated patterns of violations. The report included a set of recommendations including the referral to the relevant judiciary of all individuals, whether civilians or government officials, against whom credible information suggests involvement in crimes. However, public accountability for these crimes has so far been limited and appears to be mainly restricted to arrests of a couple of dozen alleged perpetrators who appeared in social media.<a href="#_ftn6">[6]</a> Numerous other sources have analysed the extensive alleged crimes committed by pro-government forces including extrajudicial killings<a href="#_ftn7">[7]</a>, the use of hostages<a href="#_ftn8">[8]</a>, degrading treatment of prisoners<a href="#_ftn9">[9]</a>, torture<a href="#_ftn10">[10]</a>, destruction of property<a href="#_ftn11">[11]</a>, gender-based violence<a href="#_ftn12">[12]</a>, and looting<a href="#_ftn13">[13]</a>. This report accompanies these resources by providing open source material relating to the deployments of known armed groups during the month of July 2025 in Suwayda Governorate.</p><h1>Scope of Research<br>&nbsp;</h1><p style="text-align:justify;">This report seeks to add contextual information as a starting point for understanding the various military groups active at the time and their areas and dates of operation; it does not intend to provide an exhaustive documentation of all the groups which were deployed to Suwayda. Sources include videos of fighting and convoys, ‘martyr’ announcements for unit members killed in Suwayda, and a minority of text-based claims about deployments.&nbsp;</p><p style="text-align:justify;">This report was created utilizing social media posts primarily from accounts supportive of the factions they describe (ex. pro-government sources for MoD units, pro-Druze accounts for Druze militants) found on Facebook, YouTube, X and Telegram. The videos and text posts cited here represent the narratives promoted by supporters of the armed factions themselves.<a href="#_ftn14">[14]</a>&nbsp;</p><h4 style="margin-left:0px;">View the full report via the <a href="https://cms.syrianarchive.org/uploads/Syrian_Archive_Suwayda_mibilisation_En_April26_00f01f2f1f.pdf"><strong>link</strong></a>.</h4><h4 style="margin-left:0px;">&nbsp;</h4><h4 style="margin-left:0px;">&nbsp;</h4><p style="margin-left:0px;">&nbsp;</p><p><a href="#_ftnref1">[1]</a>&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2026/03/un-syria-commission-releases-report-july-massacres-and-other-grave?sub-site=HRC">https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2026/03/un-syria-commission-releases-report-july-massacres-and-other-grave?sub-site=HRC</a>&nbsp;</p><p><a href="#_ftnref2">[2]</a> Ibid.</p><p><a href="#_ftnref3">[3]</a> Ibid.</p><p><a href="#_ftnref4">[4]</a> Such as the kidnapping of the Governor of Suwayda and the conflict in Jaramana and Achrafiyeh-Sahnaya which led to skirmishes in Maqwas and elsewhere in Suwayda Governorate. Ibid., see pages 7-9</p><p><a href="#_ftnref5">[5]</a> <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/12yJee9tdADq0aWJcgwTP_Zoa6yBOxs7L/view?usp=drivesdk">https://drive.google.com/file/d/12yJee9tdADq0aWJcgwTP_Zoa6yBOxs7L/view?usp=drivesdk</a>&nbsp;</p><p><a href="#_ftnref6">[6]</a>&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2026/03/un-syria-commission-releases-report-july-massacres-and-other-grave?sub-site=HRC">https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2026/03/un-syria-commission-releases-report-july-massacres-and-other-grave?sub-site=HRC</a>&nbsp;</p><p><a href="#_ftnref7">[7]</a>&nbsp;<a href="https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2025/09/syria-new-investigation-reveals-evidence-government-and-affiliated-forces-extrajudicially-executed-dozens-of-druze-people-in-suwayda/">https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2025/09/syria-new-investigation-reveals-evidence-government-and-affiliated-forces-extrajudicially-executed-dozens-of-druze-people-in-suwayda/</a> ; <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/left-with-bloodstains-bullet-holes-syrias-druze-grieve-loved-ones-2025-07-27/">https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/left-with-bloodstains-bullet-holes-syrias-druze-grieve-loved-ones-2025-07-27/</a>&nbsp;</p><p><a href="#_ftnref8">[8]</a>&nbsp;<a href="https://syriaaccountability.org/verified-evidence-reveals-rights-violations-in-suwayda/">https://syriaaccountability.org/verified-evidence-reveals-rights-violations-in-suwayda/</a>&nbsp;</p><p><a href="#_ftnref9">[9]</a>&nbsp;Ibid.</p><p><a href="#_ftnref10">[10]</a>&nbsp;<a href="https://snhr.org/blog/2025/08/01/the-death-of-89-civilians-including-13-children-and-10-women-and-one-death-due-to-torture-recorded-july-2025-in-syria/">https://snhr.org/blog/2025/08/01/the-death-of-89-civilians-including-13-children-and-10-women-and-one-death-due-to-torture-recorded-july-2025-in-syria/</a>&nbsp;</p><p><a href="#_ftnref11">[11]</a>&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2025/08/syria-un-experts-alarmed-attacks-druze-communities-including-sexual-violence">https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2025/08/syria-un-experts-alarmed-attacks-druze-communities-including-sexual-violence</a>&nbsp;</p><p><a href="#_ftnref12">[12]</a>&nbsp;Ibid.</p><p><a href="#_ftnref13">[13]</a>&nbsp;Ibid.&nbsp;</p><p><a href="#_ftnref14">[14]</a>&nbsp;For more information about the research methodology implemented to compile this report, see <i>infra</i> V. Notes on Research Methodology.</p>

Armed Factions' Mobilisation to Suwayda in July 2025

INVESTIGATIONS

Armed Factions' Mobilisation to Suwayda in July 2025

Table Of Contents

.css-68jq5d{padding-bottom:1.45rem;color:#ffffff;-webkit-transition:0.25s;transition:0.25s;}.css-68jq5d:hover{-webkit-text-decoration:underline;text-decoration:underline;}INVESTIGATIONS

Armed Factions' Mobilisation to Suwayda in July 2025

Table Of Contents

INVESTIGATIONS