Damascus, March 17 (SANA) — Syria’s National Investigation Committee has released its final report on the July 2025 unrest in Sweida, documenting heavy human losses, serious rights violations and large‑scale displacement, while calling for comprehensive accountability and warning that any foreign meddling represents an unacceptable assault on Syria’s sovereignty and a threat to regional stability.
The committee, formed on 31 July 2025, said its work focused on fact‑finding and evidence collection “to reach the truth and assign responsibility,” and stressed that its mandate was to provide an impartial assessment of events. Presenting the findings in Damascus, committee chair Judge Hatem al‑Naassan and spokesperson Ammar Ezz al‑Din expressed condolences to victims’ families and thanked witnesses and institutions that cooperated, noting the report was completed with Justice Ministry support and handed in full to the ministry, with its substance made public “to strengthen transparency.”
Heavy toll and complex local dynamics
Based on 769 case forms, including testimony from 213 witnesses and 437 victims and relatives, as well as community representatives, the committee documented 1,760 people killed and 2,188 injured on all sides, treated in hospitals in Sweida, Izraa and Damascus, in addition to casualties from tribal communities and state security and military forces. The investigation drew on witness accounts, field visits, documents and digital material cross‑checked with official records from government bodies, forensic authorities, the Red Crescent and civil defense. Access to some areas inside Sweida was obstructed by armed groups, forcing the use of alternative methods.
The report situates the violence within escalating tensions between local components, particularly Bedouin tribes and Druze communities, between 11 and 20 July 2025. This period saw mutual kidnappings and attacks on property, prompting a government security intervention that unfolded amid armed clashes, ambushes and, critically, Israeli airstrikes on Syrian governmental positions in Sweida and Damascus. Those strikes, the committee warned, further inflamed the situation, weakened the state’s ability to contain violence and contributed directly to the chaos — a “serious violation of Syria’s sovereignty” with dangerous implications for wider regional security.
Violations, displacement and sectarian incitement
The committee concludes that “serious human rights violations” occurred, including deliberate killings, armed robbery, torture, destruction of property and incitement of sectarian hatred. Responsibility is shared among multiple actors: local armed groups, individuals linked to ISIS, and some members of government security and military forces. All such information has been referred to the competent judiciary.
The report documents prisoner exchanges, including the release of 119 Druze and 25 people from Bedouin, tribal and government forces, while noting that several persons remain missing, among them Syrian Civil Defence worker Hamza al‑Amarin. It also records mass displacement affecting “tens of thousands” from all communities: more than 27,000 Bedouins and around 34,000 Druze and Christians, who moved to shelters in Daraa, Damascus countryside and other areas. The committee warns that prolonged displacement risks forced demographic change and long‑term damage to social cohesion.
At least 36 villages in Sweida countryside suffered extensive arson and vandalism, including attacks on homes and religious sites such as Druze shrines, councils and churches, carried out by armed groups from inside and outside the governorate for motives of revenge and looting. In parallel, retaliatory attacks targeted Bedouin population clusters in and around Sweida city, involving burning, destruction and theft, and causing near‑total displacement of Bedouin families. While the pace of violence has declined since the Sweida–Damascus road was secured, the committee remains concerned by ongoing individual incidents of killing, kidnapping and arbitrary detention, and calls for urgent measures to protect civilians.
On the information front, the report finds that hate speech and sectarian incitement spread widely via social media and some media outlets before and during the events, including calls for violence and insults against religious and social groups. Sectarian language also accompanied some on‑the‑ground abuses. The committee describes this discourse as a “dangerous driver” of escalation and polarization, stressing that incitement to violence based on identity violates human rights and Syria’s international obligations.
Role of state forces and organized crime
Regarding the conduct of Syrian army and security forces, the committee notes that units did attempt to stop armed tribal convoys from reaching Sweida, but “the sheer numbers and laxity by some personnel” meant they were not fully contained. Other testimonies described cases where General Security returned some tribal groups after they reached Damascus. The report underlines that authorities have already opened initial proceedings, including detaining a number of suspects, and that persisting with these actions “in a transparent and independent manner” is essential to reinforce accountability and prevent impunity.
Witness statements indicated varied behavior by individual officers and soldiers: some residents reported protection and assistance, while others reported abuses. This lack of a uniform pattern, the committee says, underscores the need to strengthen discipline and oversight within security and military institutions. It also highlights the impact of organized crime—particularly drug trafficking networks—on aggravating local tensions and complicating the security picture.
Judge al‑Naassan told the press conference that, based on survivors’ testimonies, the violations recorded were “individual, not systematic,” and that the committee agreed with the justice minister to begin accountability procedures even before the report’s final publication, given the sensitivity of the events. He said 23 security and army personnel accused of abuses have already been arrested and are currently standing trial in open court, and stressed that “all the people of Sweida reject separatist projects” and attempts to fragment the country.
Accountability roadmap and protection of civilians
The report puts forward broad recommendations centered on justice, stability and non‑recurrence. It calls for all suspects — whether civilians or state personnel — to be referred to the competent courts, for fair and transparent trials, and for judicial investigations to continue until full responsibility for the events is established. It urges strengthening judicial capacity to handle serious crimes, accelerating legal and institutional reforms to ensure judicial independence, protecting victims and witnesses, preserving evidence, and identifying and investigating mass grave sites in line with international standards.
To protect civilians, the committee recommends immediate steps to reinforce security in Sweida, prevent revenge attacks between local communities, return or compensate property owners, and develop clear strategies to protect residents in conflict‑affected areas. It also calls for a national plan to bring weapons under state control, dismantle criminal networks, tighten security coordination and oversight, and block infiltration by extremist organizations.
On security‑sector reform, the report advocates boosting the professionalism and neutrality of security services, establishing effective accountability mechanisms, broadening community representation in these institutions, and creating independent oversight bodies to ensure respect for the law. It also urges mandatory human‑rights training for army and police personnel, clear rules on the use of force, and binding codes of conduct that prohibit torture and protect civilians.
Reconciliation, sovereignty and the international dimension
The committee stresses the importance of addressing missing and disappeared persons through a dedicated mechanism to clarify their fate, secure the release of arbitrarily detained individuals, and support their families. It calls for local reconciliation efforts, including dialogue between community components, engagement of religious and communal leaders to calm tensions, and psychosocial support programs for those affected. Humanitarian recommendations include urgent aid for the displaced, rehabilitation of infrastructure, compensation schemes for victims, safe and voluntary returns, and firm safeguards against any forced demographic change, alongside regular public reporting on implementation and channels for citizens’ complaints.
Institutionally, the report says its findings should be integrated into a broader transitional‑justice process in Syria, with reforms to consolidate the rule of law and a greater role for civil‑society organizations in reconciliation work. At the international level, it calls on states and organizations to condemn Israeli attacks, respect Syria’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, support the government’s efforts to implement the recommendations, increase funding for humanitarian response and reconstruction, and deepen cooperation on justice, capacity‑building and combating incitement to violence. Any external attempt to instrumentalize the Druze question, it implies, would be a profound affront to Syria’s unity and a destabilizing precedent for the wider region.
The committee concludes that delivering justice and holding perpetrators of violations to account is essential to breaking cycles of violence, and that protecting civilians and upholding the rule of law are the foundation for lasting stability. Implementation of its recommendations, it notes, will require sustained commitment from state institutions, active participation by local communities and civil society, and appropriate international support to rebuild trust between citizens and the state and to anchor good governance and respect for the law. Documenting these events, it says, “is a necessary step in a wider path toward justice, redress and sustainable peace” for all Syrians.
Kh.A/ MZN
