'Living in fear': Syria's Druze towns caught in flurry of violence

For Zaydan Abu Fakher, a member of a Druze militia near Syria 's capital, the past few days have been "the worst in Damascus since the war". Clashes between pro-government forces and the Druze religious minority have left streets deserted, as families shelter indoors from snipers and mortar attacks. "The sound of gunfire hasn't stopped all night", Mr Abu Fakher told The National . The sectarian violence has left dozens dead and threatened to ignite broader unrest across Syria. It follows escalating tensions that began with a scuffle in Homs and have now spiralled into a full-blown crisis for President Ahmad Al Shara as he tries to restore order following 14 years of civil war. In the latest violence, fighters in the Druze-majority suburb of Jaramana and the nearby district of Ashrafiyet Sahnaya were the subject of co-ordinated attacks by militants aligned with Mr Al Shara's Hayat Tahrir Al Sham (HTS), operating under the umbrella of the Syrian army. “We are living in fear. The state forces didn’t intervene," said Mr Abu Fakher, a fighter with a Druze militia in Ashrafiyet Sahnaya. "We’re isolated and left to defend ourselves. There have been dozens killed in the last days, it’s the worst in Damascus since the war.” The trigger for the clashes appeared to be a doctored video circulating online, purportedly showing a Druze cleric insulting the Prophet Mohammed – an audio fabrication debunked by both Syrian authorities and Druze religious leaders. Despite the official denials, the video provoked widespread outrage, inflaming sectarian tensions already simmering under the surface. On the ground, the escalation has been swift and brutal. Clashes erupted in Jaramana, although a temporary truce has led to a reduction in fighting as talks between Syrian authorities and the local Druze administration calmed the situation. Local fighters killed in the clashes were buried in Jaramana’s main cemetery on Wednesday morning. In Ahsrafiyet Sehnaya, however, fighting escalated after unknown military forces attempted to enter the town on Tuesday evening. Residents described a terrifying night of gunfire and mortar attacks, and there were reports of ambulances being unable to reach the wounded due to sniper fire. “They assaulted the district yesterday evening, and there were fierce clashes. Several armed groups attacked from multiple directions,” said Mr Abu Fakher, who described clashes through the night as reinforcements for the Druze cause arrived from nearby Sweida. “There was a call for a ceasefire, but they [the militant groups] resupplied and attacked again before dawn. Now the district has been surrounded – no one can get in or out.” The town of Sahnaya, home to an estimated 200,000 civilians, has also become a battleground. Local leaders say militants infiltrated the area by hiding in buildings and alleyways, with no clear identification of who is fighting whom. “People are showing up in balaclavas. No one knows who’s on which side any more,” a resident going by the name of Dana told The National . Among the dead is Sheikh Hajj Ali, one of the leading Druze religious authorities in the district, killed in the crossfire. His death has sent shock waves through the community. Abu Abdo, a security official with Syria’s general security apparatus who is posted on the outskirts of Jaramana, told The National that calm had slowly returned to the city. “There was a meeting in the city yesterday between security delegations, and it was agreed that there was no interest in allowing the situation to develop further and that peace and order has to be reasserted in Jaramana at the earliest possible time," he said. The official insisted that the general security forces were not those responsible for the violence. "We had no role in the assault, we came just to stop the situation from escalating," he said. "Yesterday there was no clashes around Jaramana, we are committed to preventing any play on the security situation in the country.” The outbreak of fighting around the suburbs of Damascus has threatened to ignite a wider sectarian war. Jaramana is now largely paralysed. Main roads are closed, schools and universities are shut, and Druze students from Jaramana, Sweida, and Sahnaya have been forced to flee their accommodations amid fears of sectarian attacks, including reports of threats and attempted beheadings. The crisis in Jaramana reflects a broader national anxiety. in the occupied Syrian Golan Heights, rallies in support of Jaramana were held. Recent killings along the Syrian coast have only deepened fears of a country sliding back into sectarian chaos. The current escalation has galvanised Druze fighters, some of whom have returned from other regions to protect their hometowns. As Syria teeters on the edge of another violent chapter, the events in Jaramana stand as a grim reminder of the country’s fragile sectarian fabric – and the cost when it begins to unravel.

'Living in fear': Syria's Druze towns caught in flurry of violence

Streets deserted as families shelter from sectarian clashes near Damascus