Omer Erdem and Gizem Nisa Demir
21 July 2025•Update: 21 July 2025
ISTANBUL
Sheikh Muwafaq Tarif, the spiritual leader of the Druze community in Israel, appealed directly to US President Donald Trump on Sunday, urging him to intervene to protect the Druze population in southern Syria’s Suwayda province.
Tarif sent a message to Trump via the US ambassador to Israel, expressing grave concern over what he described as a campaign of violence against Druze civilians by radical armed groups in Syria, according to Israeli media reports.
He claimed that Suwayda is witnessing what amounts to a genocide, calling on Washington to act swiftly to shield the vulnerable population.
Notably, Tarif made no reference to the mounting international condemnation of Israel over its ongoing military campaign in Gaza.
Instead, he focused solely on the deteriorating situation in Syria, arguing that the attacks on the Druze population in Suwayda constitute serious violations of basic human rights and should be treated as crimes against humanity.
Tarif warned that continued silence from the US would be deeply troubling and could embolden further violence against minority communities in Syria.
The clashes, which were halted through mediation efforts by the Syrian government and foreign actors, initially began on July 13 with armed confrontations between Bedouin Arabs and Druze factions.
Syrian security forces dispatched to intervene were ambushed shortly after their arrival.
Although a ceasefire was brokered, it was later broken by Druze forces affiliated with the Hikmat al-Hijri militia.
The situation worsened on July 16 when the Israeli military conducted strikes near the Syrian presidential palace and on the General Staff headquarters and Defense Ministry.
As Syrian troops withdrew from Suwayda, Hikmat al-Hijri began targeting Bedouin families with forced displacement and executions.
Thousands of tribal fighters reportedly entered the area from outside regions in support of the Bedouin Arabs.
On July 19, the Syrian government redeployed its forces to Suwayda and oversaw the withdrawal of Bedouin and tribal fighters from the city.
The true death toll remains uncertain, but observers believe the number casualties among armed groups and civilians may be significantly higher than current figures suggest.
