Death toll from Syria’s Bedouin-Druze clashes rises to 37

The death toll from the ongoing clashes between Bedouin tribes and Druze fighters in southern Syria's Sweida region has risen to 37, a war monitor has said.

The clashes are the first outbreak of deadly violence in the area since fighting between members of the Druze community and the security forces killed dozens of people in April and May.

The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the clashes have resulted in 37 deaths, with 27 of them Druze, including two children, and 10 Bedouins, along with around 50 wounded. The outlet also reported the closure of the Damascus-Sweida highway due to the violence.

A Syrian government source, who asked to remain anonymous as they were not allowed to brief the media, told AFP that authorities were sending forces to de-escalate the situation.

Sweida Governor Mustapha Al-Bakur called on his constituents to “exercise self-restraint and respond to national calls for reform.”

Syria’s Druze population numbers around 700,000, with Sweida home to the sect’s largest community.

Bedouin and Druze factions have a longstanding feud in Sweida, with violence occasionally erupting between the two.

Since the overthrow of longtime Syrian ruler Bashar Assad, concerns have been raised over the rights and safety of minorities under the new authorities, who have also struggled to re-establish security more broadly.

Clashes between the new security forces and Druze fighters in April and May killed dozens of people, with local leaders and religious figures signing agreements to contain the escalation and better integrate Druze fighters into the new government.