Syrian security forces enter the Druze city of Sweida, July 15, 2025. (Credit: AFP)
As the clashes that continued Wednesday in Sweida put Druze factions and Syrian government forces in the spotlight, one central player seems to have faded from view: the Bedouin tribes. Yet it was the kidnapping, on Sunday, July 13, of a Druze merchant by members of one of these tribes that ignited the powder keg in this region of southern Syria, which had until then escaped the control of the new government. This rekindled intercommunal tensions within the Syrian province, which is mainly Druze. Among the forces sent by the government as early as Monday to "impose security" were reportedly men from Bedouin tribes from Deir ez-Zor, allied with those of Sweida.A complex local tribal mosaicSince the outbreak of the civil war in 2011 and the resulting massive population displacements, it is difficult to make an accurate count, but...
As the clashes that continued Wednesday in Sweida put Druze factions and Syrian government forces in the spotlight, one central player seems to have faded from view: the Bedouin tribes. Yet it was the kidnapping, on Sunday, July 13, of a Druze merchant by members of one of these tribes that ignited the powder keg in this region of southern Syria, which had until then escaped the control of the new government. This rekindled intercommunal tensions within the Syrian province, which is mainly Druze. Among the forces sent by the government as early as Monday to "impose security" were reportedly men from Bedouin tribes from Deir ez-Zor, allied with those of Sweida.A complex local tribal mosaicSince the outbreak of the civil war in 2011 and the resulting massive population displacements, it is difficult to make an accurate count,...
Hacking Lebanese Politics #36: Is Lebanon about to abolish the death penalty?
