Where did the Sweida crisis begin?

Where did the Sweida crisis begin?

Sweida province is one of the three southern provinces of Syria that has witnessed the most intense clashes since the start of the civil war in the country in 2011. Despite its proximity to Daraa (the epicenter of the protests that began the Syrian crisis), the province was one of the calmest provinces in Syria during the civil war.

During the civil war, the Druze refused to cooperate with the Syrian army to confront terrorists in neighboring provinces and the northern and western regions, despite concerns about the danger of Salafis and Takfiris. During the peak years of the civil war (2011-2016), the Druze militias refused to participate in the Syrian army’s operations against Takfiri forces due to fear of arousing Salafi resentment against them, and they emphasized maintaining their autonomy in southern Syria.

The Druze, who are an Islamic sect that is a branch of the Ismaili sect, live mainly in southern Syria, Lebanon, and the northern regions of occupied Palestine. In recent years, especially after 2022 and the further weakening of the former regime due to the civil war and sanctions, separatist tendencies among the Druze of Sweida have intensified.