Suwayda violence: Druze spiritual leader calls for war crimes probe

Shafaq News – Suwayda

On Saturday, Druze Spiritual Leader Sheikh Hikmat Salman al-Hijri urged an international investigation into the recent violence in Syria's Suwayda and the referral of perpetrators to the International Criminal Court (ICC).

The Druze-majority province has endured intense clashes since mid-July between local fighters, Bedouin groups, and Syrian government forces. More than 1,200 people have been killed, thousands displaced, and entire communities left without food, water, or electricity. A July 15 ceasefire has failed to halt the bloodshed.

Al-Hijri, in a video statement, accused armed groups and pro-government forces of “systematic genocide,” citing the execution of children and elderly men, the burning of homes with residents inside, kidnappings, sieges, and indiscriminate shelling of villages. "Such acts amount to war crimes under the Geneva Conventions and the Rome Statute."

He also condemned state-run and allied media for framing the assaults as "security operations," calling on the United Nations to authorize an independent probe and pressure for the withdrawal of armed groups from Suwayda to enable displaced residents to return.