The Syrian State After Suwayda

Kheder Khaddour

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After fourteen years of civil war, Syria is engaged in its toughest battle yet, namely reshaping the state during a complex transitional phase in which local and regional dynamics have become intertwined. The recent events in Suwayda, which quickly descended into sectarian violence, 

exposed the limits of centralized control and attempts to impose sovereignty within fragile local contexts. Southern Syria, long a contested zone of influence, has resurfaced as a place of conflict, where localism has merged with sectarianism, and where national politics have clashed with regional ambitions.

The Suwayda fighting followed the kidnapping of a Druze vegetable seller by a Bedouin group, in a region where the Druze-Bedouin rivalry has long simmered. This soon escalated into widespread sectarian violence, marked by retaliatory attacks and summary executions. The transitional government, 

led by Ahmad al-Sharaa, sent government forces to Suwayda to restore order. However, the military operation failed both tactically and politically, as these forces were accused of perpetrating human rights violations against Druze civilians. Meanwhile, Israel seized the moment to implement a decision taken last February that southern Syria remain demilitarized,

and it carried through on its pledge to protect the Druze in Suwayda by bombing the Syrian Defense Ministry in Damascus and an area near the presidential palace. This led to outside intervention to prevent an escalation, 

leading to an agreement involving the United States and the Syrian authorities. Syrian government forces were compelled to withdraw from Suwayda, and since then a shaky ceasefire has been in place.

At the height of the fighting, Bedouin tribes mobilized on the outskirts of Suwayda Governorate in solidarity with their Bedouin kin, but they lacked a unified leadership. The Bedouin-Druze fighting, with government forces deployed in the background, transformed the conflict from a relatively limited local dispute into a complex multiparty struggle with regional repercussions.