Syria marks one year since Sweida attacks, victims' families demand trials

DAMASCUS, Syria — Syria is observing the first anniversary of attacks in the predominantly Druze city of Sweida, where more than 1,700 people, most of them civilians, were killed and roughly 200,000 displaced, according to a United Nations report. The violence took place in July 2025, when Syrian government forces and tribal militias launched operations in the southern province. A local Druze woman who lost her son accused Syrian government forces of killings, ethnic cleansing, sexual violence against women and the burning of property, calling on the international community to prosecute those responsible. A separate family said a young Emirati man visiting relatives in Sweida and his cousins were abducted in July 2025 and have not been heard from since, alleging they are being held at Utaya prison in the countryside near Damascus. The head of Syria's national investigation commission said the documented scale of violence was alarming and that perpetrators must be prosecuted regardless of identity, adding that the acts could constitute war crimes and, with further investigation, crimes against humanity. Syria's Ministry of Justice announced that the commission completed its report in June 2026 and referred 23 security and military personnel to military courts. The second hearing was held on Wednesday.