SECTARIAN AFTERSHOCKS ROCK POST-ASSAD SYRIA

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN DE MODE

Article Published on: 19TH JULY 2025 | www.demodemagazine.com

Seven months after the overthrow of Bashar Assad, Syria’s fragile transition has erupted into new bloodshed that exposes the volatility of its postwar order. In Sweida province, a local dispute last Sunday spiraled into lethal clashes between Druze militias and Sunni Bedouin tribes. Government troops—under a former al-Qaida affiliate turned interim ruler who pledges to shield minorities—entered claiming to restore calm, yet moved to dislodge Druze forces administering the area.

Hundreds were killed; reports accuse government units of executing Druze civilians and burning homes. The crackdown has deepened minority mistrust of Damascus and unsettled emerging alliances. Analysts warn the turbulence could push Syria closer to Turkey while complicating its quiet outreach to Israel encouraged by Washington. Motivated by domestic politics and longstanding ties to the Druze, Israel intervened in their defense, underscoring how unresolved sectarian fissures risk widening the country’s violence across the region and inflaming broader regional security anxieties.