Clashes in the Damascus suburb of Jaramana earlier this week centered on Syria’s Druze minority, but like a lot of the sectarian tensions in the country seems to have grown substantially from there, with reports now putting the overall death toll in the anti-Druze clashes to over 100 killed.
The fighting around Jaramana has been the highest toll, with 21 Druze gunmen, 30 pro-Islamist gunmen, and 10 civilians reported among the slain. 40 other Druze have been reported killed in attacks in the Suwayda Governorate, including a large ambush targeting them in that area.
The anti-Druze sentiment started overnight Monday into Tuesday. An audio recording was released online insulting the Prophet Muhammad and quickly went viral. It was attributed to an unnamed Druze leader in Suwayda, though that has not been confirmed, and it has been speculated it was specifically released to inflame sectarian violence.
If that was the purpose, mission accomplished, because attacks on the Druze in Jaramana were happening the very next day. The Islamist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) government promised to investigate the matter, though it increasingly appears that they are participating in the violence.
Druze spiritual leader Sheikh Hikmat Al-Hijri has criticized the HTS for their role in what he calls a “genocidal attack” on the Druze community. The HTS has reported claiming control over the area of Sahnaya, near Jaramana, and declared the threat “neutralized.”
If this sounds familiar, the HTS also claimed quick control over the northwest of the country amid sectarian violence against the Alawites, though the massacres of Alawite civilians have continued to this day, with many tied to direct government support.
Increasingly, Druze are taking up arms in an attempt to try to defend themselves against an environment plainly hostile to them. The Druze make up only 3%-4% of Syria’s population, so that’s going to be difficult, but the HTS’ empty promise of unity is clearly nothing to be depended upon.
Historically, the largest amount of Syria’s Druze live in the Suwayda Governorate, which during the French Mandate was a semi-autonomous state called Jabal al-Druze. Much of the population still lives in that area, though some have moved elsewhere to places like Jaramana.
