Syria is bleeding again. After more than a decade of civil war, Bashar al-Assad’s regime collapsed at the end of 2024. Assad and his family fled to Russia. Taking his place was Ahmed al-Shara, a man once known as a terrorist, the former leader of Jabhat al-Nusra, al-Qaeda’s Syrian branch. Once commanding jihadist forces in Idlib, Shara rebranded himself as a politician after his military campaign against Assad.
The West, exhausted by endless war, chose recognition over resistance. But for Syria’s minorities - Christians, Alawites, Kurds, and above all the Druze - Shara’s rise brought fear, not relief. What followed was not peace, but another form of tyranny.
Who Are the Druze?
The Druze are a secretive religious community of about two million people worldwide. In Syria, most live in the southern province of Suwayda (Seda), while others are found in Lebanon and northern Israel. In Israel, Druze citizens serve in the army and hold political office. In Syria, they tried to remain neutral throughout the war, avoiding both Assad and rebel forces, focusing only on preserving autonomy and safety.
That neutrality became a target. Shara’s regime saw Suwayda’s independence as defiance. His forces moved in under the guise of “restoring order.” In reality, they sought to disarm Druze villages, dismantle local councils, and force loyalty to an Islamist state. The Druze refused. They armed themselves and prepared to defend their homes.
Crackdown on Minorities
The Druze were not the only targets. Across Syria, Christians and other minorities faced new persecution. Churches were shut down, masses banned, and priests arrested without explanation. In Damascus’s suburb of Dwela, a suicide bomber struck the Greek Orthodox Church of St. Mar Elias on June 22, 2025, killing at least 30 worshippers and wounding dozens more.
Christian numbers, once around 10% of Syria’s pre-war population, have collapsed to a tiny fraction today and continue to fall. In Maaloula, one of the last towns where Aramaic, the language of Christ, is spoken, residents were forbidden to ring church bells. Crosses were torn down, icons desecrated, homes looted. Reports of burned churches spread across Suwayda province, where fighters aligned with the regime vandalized sacred sites.
It was an ideological purge. Anyone who did not fit the new Sunni Islamist vision of Syria was marked for erasure. In Suwayda, regime forces demanded Druze disarm and dissolve their self-defense units. When they refused, Syrian troops moved in, interrogating elders and detaining residents. In one viral video, soldiers forcibly shaved an elderly Druze man’s mustache - a deep insult, as mustaches symbolize religious identity in Druze culture.
Israel Intervenes
Tensions exploded on July 11 after Bedouin tribes kidnapped a Druze merchant. Long-standing rivalries turned violent. Syrian forces moved into Suwayda. Hundreds were killed in days of clashes between Druze fighters and regime troops. Tanks rolled through towns, gunfights erupted in the streets.
That was when Israel stepped in. On July 15, Israeli airstrikes destroyed Syrian military convoys advancing on Druze areas. In Suwayda, Druze fighters raised the Israeli flag as a plea for protection. Thousands tried to flee across the border, while over a thousand Israeli Druze crossed into Syria to support their kin.
Sheikh Mowafaq Tarif, the Druze spiritual leader in Israel, urged the IDF to shield the community. Videos emerged of Druze militias cheering Israeli convoys near Mount Hermon. The next day, Israeli jets struck the Ministry of Defense in Damascus itself, signaling that attacks on the Druze would not be tolerated. Regime forces began withdrawing under international pressure.
Ceasefire or Temporary Lull
The ceasefire returned local control to Druze fighters, but trust is gone. Reports of atrocities, mass arrests, and hundreds of casualties shadow the deal. Sunni militias tied to the regime continue probing Druze defenses.
What began as one kidnapping spiraled into a regional flashpoint: an Islamist government in Damascus, Israeli airstrikes on the capital, minorities under siege, and a renewed civil war in a country the world thought was done with fighting.
But the Druze did not kneel. They organized, resisted, and called for help. For many Druze, this was their October 7 - a moment of survival in the face of erasure.
Adam Starzynski
Journalist | Foreign Policy Analyst
