Syria
Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Council (SDC) logo alongside a photo of Syrian security forces deployed in the predominantly Druze city of Suwayda in southern Syria. Photo: AFP
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The ruling body in northeast Syria (Rojava) on Wednesday condemned as a “horrific attack” the deadly assault that targeted a passenger coach on the road connecting Syria’s Druze-majority southern Suwayda province with the capital, Damascus, the previous day. The attack reportedly killed two people and injured several others, including women and children.
In a statement, the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Council (SDC) said it “strongly condemns the horrific attack on a bus carrying civilians on the Damascus-Suwayda highway,” warning that the “heinous act reflects a grave disregard for the sanctity of human life and aims to destabilize the country at a time when Syria is in urgent need of security and civil peace.”
The SDC - the political wing of Rojava’s de-facto military force, the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) - urged the interim government in Damascus to “assume its legal, security, and moral responsibilities” by “launching an immediate and transparent investigation to identify the perpetrators, bring them to justice and ensure the protection of all citizens across Syria without discrimination.”
“Safeguarding the lives and dignity of Syrians is a national duty that must not be delayed or neglected,” the council stressed.
The state-run Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) relayed on Tuesday that a passenger coach on the Damascus-Suwayda road “was fired upon by unidentified gunmen, killing two people and wounding others.”
Suwayda24, a local outlet focused on southern Syria’s Druze-majority Suwayda province, on Tuesday reported the death of two individuals in the incident - identified as "young woman, Aya Salam, and young man Kamal Abd al-Baqi” - and the injury of six others, including two children.
The outlet further cited “local sources” as stating “the attack occurred near the Marjana gas station in the Damascus countryside, an area known for its heavy presence of General Security checkpoints” affiliated with the new Syrian leadership.
The SDC on Wednesday warned that such incidents “affect all Syrians” and “threaten what remains of the foundations of civil peace,” stressing that “the continuation of violence serves only the forces of extremism and division.”
The council renewed its call for “an inclusive national dialogue bringing together all political, social, and national forces - free from exclusion or domination,” describing it as “the only realistic path to end the cycle of bloodshed and rebuild trust among Syrians on the basis of justice and equal citizenship.”
Deepening chasm
Clashes between Druze fighters and Bedouin tribes erupted in Suwayda in mid-July, escalating with the involvement of Syrian government forces and Israel before a ceasefire was announced on July 19.
Since then, Syrian security forces have been deployed across the province, while Druze factions remain in control of Suwayda city.
However, more than two months after the conflict, the United Nations reports that over 60 percent of households in the province lack sufficient food, and only a fraction of the 187,000 people displaced have returned home.
Moreover, despite the July ceasefire, numerous violations have been recorded, prompting UN Special Envoy for Syria Geir Pedersen to warn on July 28 that the situation remains “tense and volatile.”
In August, the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) reported that a woman was killed after an “armed group” opened fire on two civilian cars at a checkpoint between Damascus and Suwayda. Later that month, SOHR said the province was suffering from a severe food shortage due to a month-long blockade, noting that “18 wells that used to supply Suwayda with water have been destroyed” during the mid-July fighting.
Notably, Tuesday’s bus attack came a day after Hikmat al-Hajari, the spiritual leader of Syria’s Druze community, reiterated that “self-determination for the people of Suwayda” is “an absolute right that cannot be abandoned.”
In an interview with pan Arab news channel Sky News Arabia, the Druze leader noted that the number of kidnapped and missing persons from Suwayda "exceeds 600 people, including women,” accusing the Damascus government of “obstructing any negotiations regarding their [release].”
Hajri further urged the international community to empower “the people of Suwayda to exercise their right to self-determination under UN supervision" - a demand seen by Damascus as a direct challenge to Syria’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.
Following Hajari’s remarks, the bus attack occurred, followed later that day by an assault by Druze fighters on a checkpoint manned by Bedouin gunmen and Damascus defense ministry forces in southern Suwayda, according to SOHR.
“A group of young men infiltrated from Umm al-Zaytoun, north of Suwayda city, and attacked a checkpoint manned by Bedouin gunmen and defense ministry forces, disregarding the ceasefire,” the war monitor reported.
SOHR further warned that the latest violence underscores the deepening “lack of security” in Suwayda and “along the Damascus-Suwayda highway due to recurring armed clashes.”
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