A Bedouin family, who left Sweida Governorate as part of an agreement between the Syrian government and Druze militants, stands on the ground where they will take shelter, in Deraa Governorate, Syria, July 22, 2025. (Credit: Mahmoud Hassano/Reuters.)
The violence in the southern Syrian province of Sweida has left 1,311 dead before a cease-fire took effect Sunday, according to a new toll released Tuesday by the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR).
Fighting broke out on July 13 between Druze fighters and Sunni Bedouins, before security forces and members of tribes from other regions of Syria intervened to support the Bedouins, according to NGOs and witnesses.
The SOHR said it had documented new deaths that occurred before the cease-fire took effect on Sunday.
Among the 1,311 dead are 833 Druze — 533 fighters and 300 civilians, including 196 "summarily executed by members under the Ministry of Defense and the Ministry of Interior," according to the NGO.
The toll also includes 423 government forces members and 35 Sunni Bedouins, among whom three civilians were "summarily executed by Druze fighters," it added. Fifteen government soldiers were also killed in Israeli strikes.
A previous toll provided by the SOHR reported more than 1,260 deaths.
During the fighting, Israel, which says it wants to protect the Druze minority, bombed government positions in Sweida and regime targets in Damascus, to force authorities to withdraw their troops from the region.
The cease-fire took effect after the Bedouin fighters and tribes withdrew from the mainly Druze city of Sweida.
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