UN says 1,700 killed in Syria’s Suweida violence, cites possible war crimes

• Summary

• Nearly 200,000 displaced in July fighting - UN report

• Syrian inquiry pledges accountability for abuses

• Violence unfolded in three waves, report says

GENEVA, March 27 (Reuters) - More than 1,700 people were killed, nearly 200,000 displaced and multiple actors including Syrian government forces, tribal fighters ​and Druze armed groups committed acts that may amount to war crimes during a week of violence in ‌southern Syria in July 2025, a U.N. investigation said on Friday.

The 85-page report by the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic found that at least 1,707 people were killed in Suweida Governorate, the majority civilians of the Druze minority sect, alongside members of the Bedouin community and at least 225 government ​personnel.

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Up to 155,000 people remain displaced, the report said, describing a humanitarian situation still unresolved months after a fragile ceasefire.

Separately, ​a Syrian government-appointed inquiry committee into the same events said in March 17 it had documented 1,760 ⁠deaths and 2,188 injuries “from all sides.” It also concluded there were “many human rights violations” by multiple parties, including local armed groups and individuals ​linked to ISIS, in addition to members of government and security forces, many of whom had been arrested.

The government committee, formed shortly after the ​violence, said its work relied on evidence collection and witness accounts and that its findings were submitted to the Justice Ministry.

VIOLATIONS MAY CONSTITUTE WAR CRIMES

The UN Commission said violations were committed by all main parties to the conflict. Many of those violations may constitute war crimes, and in some cases could amount ​to crimes against humanity, it said.

The report said tribal fighters who accompanied government forces during the initial phase of the operation operated under ​their effective control, making their actions attributable to the state, while other fighters were treated as direct participants in hostilities.

The violence unfolded in three waves ‌between July ⁠14 and July 19, 2025, about seven months after rebels toppled the regime of Bashar al-Assad, with each phase marked by attacks on civilians and widespread abuses. In the first phase, government forces and allied fighters carried out killings, arbitrary arrests, torture, sexual violence and looting, primarily targeting the Druze population, the report said.

In the second phase, Druze armed groups retaliated against Bedouin communities, committing killings, torture, forced displacement ​and attacks on civilian and religious ​sites, forcing the displacement of ⁠nearly all Bedouins from areas under their control.

The third phase saw thousands of tribal fighters mobilize and advance into Suweida, where they carried out widespread looting, killings and the burning of homes in ​dozens of villages, with nearly every house in 35 villages reported damaged or destroyed.

SPORADIC CLASHES HAVE ​CONTINUED, SITUATION REMAINS VOLATILE

The ⁠commission said extrajudicial killings were widespread, with civilians – including women, children, the elderly and disabled – targeted during home raids and in public spaces, often accompanied by sectarian insults.

It also documented patterns of torture, abductions, sexual and gender-based violence, attacks on religious sites and systematic destruction of civilian ⁠property, often ​recorded and disseminated by perpetrators on social media.

While large-scale fighting subsided after a ​ceasefire on July 19, sporadic clashes and violations have continued, and the report warned that without accountability and political resolution, the situation remains volatile.

The commission said addressing violations, ​ensuring justice for victims and rebuilding trust between communities would be essential to prevent renewed violence.

Writing by Feras Dalatey; Editing by Lincoln Feast.

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Emma Farge

Thomson Reuters

Emma Farge reports on the U.N. beat and Swiss news from Geneva since 2019. She has produced a string of exclusives on diplomacy, the environment and global trade and covered Switzerland’s first war crimes trial. Her Reuters career started in 2009 covering oil swaps from London and she has since written about the West African Ebola outbreak, embedded with U.N. troops in north Mali and was the first reporter to enter deposed Gambian dictator Yahya Jammeh’s estate. She co-authored a winning story for the Elizabeth Neuffer Memorial Prize on Russia’s diplomatic isolation in 2022 and was also part of a team of journalists nominated in 2012 as Pulitzer finalists in the international reporting category for coverage of the Libyan revolution. She holds a BA from Oxford University (First) and an MSc from the LSE in International Relations. She is currently on the board of the press association for UN correspondents in Geneva (ACANU).

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