A gunman on a motorcycle attacked a passenger van full of Druze civilians on Tuesday in Syria’s Idlib Governorate, killing at least three Druze and wounding four others. Most of the casualties were woman.
The attack was in the northern Idlib countryside, on the outskirts of the town of Kafr Takharim. The passengers were from the Druze village of Kafr Maras in a predominantly Druze area of Syria.
The Druze population, like a lot of religious minorities, are increasingly under attack in post-war Syria. A large number of Druze were killed in the Suwayda Governorate in the southwest back in July, with security forces participating in summary executions.
Suwayda remains under an on-again, off-again siege, with multiple security conferences held, and generally excluding Druze participation. The government also decided that Suwayda would have its elections postponed, giving the Druze limited political representation in the new parliament, as their population is overwhelmingly in that governorate.
Sectarian violence is an ongoing problem in Syria, with the Druze and the Alawites both the targets of large scale massacres, and the Sunni Islamist government, despite promises to investigate such incidents, largely turning a blind eye to them, as security forces even participate in the killings.
As the Druze in Suwayda pushing increasingly for a measure of autonomy, they are being backed by Israel, which also fuels resentment of Druze on the whole, and makes those living outside of Suwayda bigger targets than they already were in violence-torn Syria.
