Following the aggression launched on 13 July by jihadist mercenaries affiliated with the Syrian Interim Government, the attacks and blockade on the Druze city of Suwayda continue despite a ceasefire.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) announced that the death toll on both sides from the attacks that began on 13 July and continued until the 20 July ceasefire has risen to 1,653.
SOHR reported that the identities of 28 more civilians, including 12 women, executed by members of the Ministry of Defence and the Ministry of Interior of the Interim Syrian Government have been documented. This raises the number of people summarily executed in the city by groups affiliated with the jihadist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) to 429, including 38 women and 14 children. Among those killed were 20 medical personnel from the al-Suwayda National Hospital, executed by personnel of the Ministry of Defence and the Ministry of Interior.
In Suwayda, 724 people have been killed, including 166 civilians, among them 21 children, 56 women, and two journalists. On the side of the armed groups affiliated with the Damascus government, 535 were killed in the clashes.
Attacks on sacred sites
It was reported that members of the Ministries of Defence and Interior affiliated with the jihadist HTS targeted religious sites and places of worship in villages surrounding the city. According to local eyewitnesses, around 30 Druze religious shrines and at least four churches in the villages of al-Sourah al-Kabeera, Radimah al-Lua, Ta’arah, and al-Duwairah were attacked and damaged. In the second half of July, the Masjid al-Haram in the city of Suwayda was directly targeted.
The Interim Syrian Government released 28 captives from Suwayda, including elderly people and women. The captives had been arrested in connection with events following an armed clash in July between local armed groups and jihadist mercenaries, which resulted in casualties and the arrest of dozens.
Local sources reported that the releases may have been part of a prisoner exchange agreement, and that the Druze side likely released a similar number of people in return. Occasional negotiations between the two sides had taken place for such exchanges.
Source: ANF News
