In a week of clashes between Druze, Bedouins and government forces, over a thousand civilians and combatants were killed, including Christian families and the Druze evangelical pastor Khalid Mezheri. The Latin Church and the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate are calling for urgent intervention by the international community and denouncing the role of militias that still escape Damascus' control and external interference. L'Œuvre d'Orient reports hundreds of displaced persons without food or water. Apostolic Vicar of Aleppo Hanna Jallouf: ‘Only dialogue can save Syria.’

Damascus (AsiaNews) - According to the Apostolic Vicar of Aleppo, Hanna Jallouf, the Latin Church is also ‘following with deep concern and sadness the rapid escalation of events’ taking place in the southern governorate of Suwayda, which for a week has been the scene of clashes between Druze and Bedouin tribes and government forces, but which have also involved Christian civilians and other religious minorities.

One of the most violent incidents took place in the village of al-Qarah, where several Christian families were reportedly massacred. Among the victims was Pastor Khalid Mezheri, who came from a Druze family but converted to Christianity. He was head of the Evangelical Church of the Good Shepherd in Suwayda and was murdered along with his wife and children.

‘The violence and counter-violence that are taking place are of no use to anyone. On the contrary, they inflame and complicate the path to a solution, obscuring the language of reason and wisdom,’ reads the statement signed by Bishop Jallouf. ‘Crises can only be resolved through dialogue, listening and openness within the one Syrian family.’

On Sunday 20 July, a fragile truce brokered by the United States and Israel came into effect. In the previous days, Israel had bombed the Suwayda region and the Syrian Ministry of Defence in Damascus as a warning to the government, now led by President (and former jihadist) Ahmed al-Sharaa. Tel Aviv justified its actions by saying it wanted to protect the Druze minority, which is also present in Israel and Lebanon.

There is no shortage of accusations of foreign interference in the statement issued by the Apostolic Vicariate of Aleppo: ‘We call on the international community to assume its responsibilities regarding the external violations to which our country is subject and which threaten the unity and integrity of our people.’

The violence began on 13 July following the alleged kidnapping of a Druze merchant by Bedouin tribes, who were later joined by government forces. According to the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), more than 1,120 people were killed in one week, including 427 fighters and 298 Druze civilians, 194 of whom were ‘summarily executed by Ministry of Defence and Interior personnel’.

In addition, 354 members of the Syrian security forces and 21 Sunni Bedouins, three of whom were civilians, were also killed, according to the organisation, “executed by Druze fighters”. Another 15 soldiers were killed in Israeli attacks. Meanwhile, according to the United Nations International Organisation for Migration (IOM), at least 128,000 people have been displaced from the governorate due to the armed clashes.

Criticism and accusations against the current government have been raised in recent days by the prior of the monastic community of Mar Musa, Fr. Jihad Youssef, who denounced the violence perpetrated by the militias that supported the rise of Ahmed al-Sharaa against the previous regime of Bashar al-Assad: 'How can you humiliate your fellow citizens, your brothers in Syria? This barbarism and blind revenge cannot build a state, even if those who practise it remain alone after wiping out all those who are not like them. You were against Assad's injustice and now you are practising injustice on the same people and with the same sectarian spirit. What is the difference between you and him?"

Harsh words, but accompanied by declarations of solidarity with all those involved in the clashes: "We stand in solidarity with the people of the city and the governorate of all affiliations: Muslims, Christians and especially Druze, all those who suffer from violence. Your moustaches are a crown on our heads'.

The reference is to the violence of cutting off the moustaches, a religious and identifying symbol, of men belonging to the Druze community. In addition to the General Security, the new Syrian security forces, extremist militias dissatisfied with al-Sharaa's government, which they consider too moderate, continue to exist in Syria.

Some of these extremist elements have split from Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS, the group led by al-Sharaa) and formed a new terrorist group called Saraya Ansar al-Sunna, which in June carried out an attack on the Mar Elias church in Damascus.

On Friday 18 July, groups of armed men attacked activists who were peacefully protesting, with a silent sit-in, against the ongoing violence in Suwayda and in favour of national reconciliation.

Among the victims of verbal and physical attacks was Zeina Shahla, a Syrian activist and journalist detained during the Assad regime for her political opposition activities, who now works as an advisor to the National Committee for Missing Persons established by Sharaa in May this year.

The Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch and All the East, based in Damascus, also issued an urgent appeal to the international community and called for an end to the violence: "For days, under the eyes of the whole world, violence has been afflicting our people in Suwayda.

For days, attempts to resolve and calm the situation have been in vain. What is happening in Suwayda is a disgrace to humanity.‘ Patriarch John X Yazigi has remained in contact with Metropolitan Antonios Saad, head of the Archdiocese of Bosra, Hauran and Jabal al-Arab, who had himself issued several messages of peace:

’Glory to God in all things. I address this message to the whole world and call on them to intervene urgently to stop the massacres of terrorists in Suwayda. I address this humanitarian appeal to those who have a sound mind and love peace. The ongoing war in the governorate of Suwayda is a war of annihilation that is killing young and old alike. I therefore raise my voice loudly to the international community and the United Nations to help us. I hope that this cry will reach the whole world."

The Œuvre d'Orient has also expressed its concern about the situation, stressing that ‘the Melkite church in the village of Sara has been burned down and several hundred people are currently taking refuge in the Melkite parish of Shorba, in the Capuchin church and in the Greek Orthodox archbishopric of Suwayda, without water, food or electricity’.

The Melkite Church also calls on the parties involved ‘to respect the ceasefire’, but also that ‘an independent investigation into the executions of civilians be conducted’ and that ‘the perpetrators of the murder of Pastor Khaled Mazher be brought to justice and punished’.

The international community is once again asked to intervene, whose ‘support for the new authorities in Damascus’ should be conditional on ‘respect for the rights and protection of the Syrian civilian population, in particular members of the Druze, Alawite and Christian minorities’.

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