The majority-Druze city of Suwayda in southern Syria has been cut off from essential supplies for more than a month after forces from the al-Qaeda-linked Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) captured Damascus in December 2024 and moved south.
On July 13, HTS fighters, led by Abu Mohammad al-Julani (Ahmed al-Sharaa) and backed by Turkey, attacked Suwayda and nearby villages. Local leaders say hundreds of civilians were killed, women and children abducted, and homes burned in targeted assaults on Druze and Christians.
Power and water infrastructure was destroyed, trade halted, and fuel deliveries blocked. Hospitals have been forced to operate with minimal diesel, while independent doctors report severe shortages of medicine and equipment. The Syrian Red Crescent’s local branch lost its main warehouse and vehicles, and aid now covers only about 10% of daily needs.
More than 100,000 people fled during the assault, straining host communities and exhausting food and water supplies. Many remain homeless after the destruction of over 30 villages.
In a July 18 appeal, Metropolitan Antonius of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Bosra Horan urged the international community to open humanitarian corridors: “We have no water, no food, no electricity — nothing at all.”
HTS, designated a terrorist group by the UN, US, and EU, was formed in 2017 from the al-Qaeda-affiliated Nusrah Front. Human rights groups warn Suwayda faces famine unless aid is allowed in.
