Syria forms committee to investigate violence in Druze heartland
DAMASCUS
Syria's Justice Ministry has announced the formation of a committee to investigate deadly violence in the southern Druze-majority province of Sweida.
The week-long clashes which began on July 13 killed more than 1,400 people, many of them Druze civilians, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor.
In a decree issued on July 31, the Justice Ministry said that it sought to shed light on "the circumstances and conditions that led to the events,” investigate "attacks and violations against citizens" and refer any culprits to the judiciary.
A seven-member committee, including four judges, two lawyers and a brigadier general, would present its findings within three months, the decree said.
Justice Minister Mazhar al-Wais said the committee was formed to "bring those involved to justice.”
Wais expressed his hope that the investigation "will lead to the preservation of the rights of all citizens... and the protection of national unity and civil peace.”
The violence in Sweida initially pitted local Druze fighters against Bedouin tribes, but rapidly escalated and saw the involvement of Syrian government forces as well as Israel, which has claimed it was acting to protect the Druze minority.
The local authorities in Syria’s southern Daraa province announced plans to build temporary camps to accommodate thousands of people who were evacuated after the tension
In a statement, Daraa’s emergency committee said that over the past two weeks, more than 4,600 families — totaling more than 25,000 individuals — have crossed into the province from Sweida.
In March, sectarian violence tore through Syria's Alawite heartland on the coast, killing at least 1,426 members of the minority community, according to authorities.
A committee investigating those events released their findings earlier this month, identifying 298 suspects implicated in serious violations.
