Smoke rising above the buildings of the village of al-Mazraa, in the governorate of Sweida, southern Syria, during clashes between Bedouin tribal fighters and armed Druze men on July 18, 2025. (Credit: AFP)
Syrian authorities announced Tuesday the creation of an "interior security chief" position for the southern city of Sweida, entrusted to a local Druze leader, in an attempt to ease tensions after deadly communal violence in July.
State television, citing a source at the Interior Ministry, reported the appointment of Souleiman Abdel-Baqi as the head of security in the Druze-held city of Sweida, while forces loyal to Damascus control the surrounding areas. Abdel-Baqi is the head of a local armed group considered supportive of the authorities and was opposed to the ousted regime of Bashar al-Assad.
His appointment comes as a meeting is scheduled Tuesday in Damascus between Syrian Foreign Minister Assaad al-Shaibani, his Jordanian counterpart Ayman Safadi, and U.S. envoy Tom Barrack to discuss the situation in the eponymous province of Sweida. Interior Minister Anas Khattab said on X that this appointment was made "with the participation ... of the province's residents and its various communities," to stabilize the area.
In a video posted on his Facebook page, Abdel-Baqi said he had been tasked by the interior minister to "handle the security file in Sweida," stating he is especially monitoring the issue of kidnapped residents. The mainly Druze province of Sweida saw deadly clashes last July between Druze fighters and Sunni Bedouins, which expanded with the involvement of government forces and tribes from other regions.
The violence left more than 2,000 dead, including 789 Druze civilians "summarily executed by gunfire by members of the Defense and Interior Ministries," according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR). The SOHR recorded 516 Druze abducted in Sweida province, including 103 women, since the violence began on July 14.
One of Syria's main Druze spiritual leaders, Hikmat al-Hijri, last month called for the creation of a "separate" region for the minority in southern Syria, whom Israel claims it wants to protect. The authorities have set up a commission of inquiry into the Sweida violence. On Tuesday, the interior minister met with its members to discuss "the main obstacles hindering its work."
The violence affecting the Druze community in Syria has triggered a strong reaction from their coreligionists in Lebanon. A delegation from the Progressive Socialist Party (PSP) delivered a letter last Friday to U.N. Special Coordinator in Lebanon Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert from Druze leader Walid Joumblatt to United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, in which the former PSP chief calls for an international investigation into the deadly clashes that took place in the Syrian province of Sweida last July.
