Suwayda province in southern Syria—home to the country’s Druze minority—is currently under a full-scale genocidal assault by regime forces and allied militias, including factions with known ISIS affiliations.

The attack began on Sunday, 13 July, with large-scale military mobilization from across Syria. While some regime and militia units gathered in the north of Suwayda, the primary assault came from the west via the Daraa region. Villages such as Al-Mazraa, Sameeh, Door, Walqa, and Dwaira were heavily bombarded with artillery, seized, and subjected to brutal atrocities: homes were looted and burned, and civilians who remained behind were summarily executed.

By Monday afternoon, 14 July, the offensive had reached the outskirts of Suwayda city (population over 150,000). That night, the city was indiscriminately shelled until the morning of 15 July, forcing a mass displacement of civilians toward southern towns—currently the only areas not under full regime control, but still under imminent threat.

On Tuesday morning, Druze spiritual leader Sheikh Hikmat Al-Hijri publicly called on residents to lay down their arms and welcome regime forces, based on government assurances that those who complied would not be harmed. Tragically, the first group that surrendered was immediately executed by regime militias. Sheikh Al-Hijri later issued a second video denouncing this betrayal.

By Tuesday afternoon, regime forces stormed hospitals and attempted to murder wounded defenders. Street battles continue inside the city, with remaining residents resisting block by block.

From Tuesday night through Wednesday, 16 July, shelling intensified. Tanks have surrounded the National Hospital, where children and civilians were killed by indiscriminate artillery strikes. This morning, Dr. Tala Amer was killed inside the hospital. Yesterday, another doctor, Dr. Faten Hilal was also killed while she was attempting to reach the hospital to support an exhausted medical team.

Electricity, water, and all basic services have been cut. Civilians are trapped. The situation is catastrophic. If no urgent intervention is made, this will become one of the largest genocides in modern history.

"We submit this urgent memorandum to inform and appeal to the United Nations and its relevant human rights mechanisms regarding a credible and escalating threat facing the Druze minority in Syria, particularly in As-Suwayda. A combination of extremist mobilization, state-level disinformation, and propaganda-fueled incitement places this peaceful community at serious risk of mass violence and potential genocide.

Escalating Threat and Grounds for Concern

Extremist armed groups, including foreign fighters from Chechnya and Afghanistan—many of whom are linked to Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS)—are reportedly gathering near Druze-populated areas. Their agenda appears to be religious cleansing and the establishment of a hardline regime that excludes all non-Sunni components of Syrian society, including Druze, Christians, and Alawites.

Compounding the threat, official Syrian national television has recently broadcast vague and misleading narratives, suggesting attacks on government security forces by unspecified “third-party groups.” The lack of transparency and specificity in these reports is deeply troubling, as it mirrors the same kind of disinformation campaign used earlier this year to justify violent incursions and mass killings in the coastal cities of Tartus and Latakia—resulting in the death of thousands of innocent civilians.

Call for Immediate Action

Given the above, we urgently call upon the United Nations and the international community to:

• Deploy urgent monitoring and protection mechanisms in and around As-Suwayda.

• Publicly demand accountability and transparency from the Syrian government regarding official media communications that may incite or mask impending violence.

• Issue a firm call to the highest levels of the Syrian government to prevent the entry of armed groups into civilian areas and to take concrete steps to guarantee the safety of all Syrian citizens, regardless of religious affiliation.

• Activate early warning and preventive diplomacy mechanisms through the Office on Genocide Prevention and other UN bodies to ensure that protective actions precede, rather than follow, atrocities.

• Investigate and halt the mobilization and funding of extremist militias, including foreign fighters currently aligning with radical Islamic factions inside Syria.

The Druze of Syria are not aggressors nor enemies of the state or religion. They are peaceful citizens with a long history of coexistence with all Syrians. The spread of disinformation, the manipulation of religious sentiment, and the mobilization of extremists represent a toxic and dangerous mix that could rapidly lead to large-scale loss of life. 

We appeal to your offices to intervene URGENTLY AND DECISIVELY, using all available diplomatic and protective tools to prevent yet another chapter of horror in Syria’s already tragic recent history.

We remain available to provide further documentation or evidence as needed and strongly urge immediate action before it is too late."