Groups loyal to rebel spiritual leader Hikmat al-Hijri in the Druze-majority Syrian province of Suweida have rejected a proposal drawn up by Syria, Jordan, and the United States to restore security to the province, which was the scene of violent clashes which killed hundreds of people last July.
Suweida province has been mostly controlled by militias loyal to al-Hijri since the clashes died down.
In a statement, the ‘Higher Legal Committee of Suweida’, which is affiliated with al-Hijri, said that the roadmap announced by Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad Al-Shaibani “contains a blatant contradiction,” because it called for an international investigation into violations against civilians, while saying this should take place under Syrian law.
This, the committee claimed, would "empty the international investigation of its substance, since the accused cannot also be the judge".
It said that the Syrian government was trying to impose “a new guardianship over the province”.
Syrian government forces committed serious violations during the clashes in Suweida in July, including field executions and deliberate humiliation of civilians on sectarian lines.
The fighting began with clashes between Druze militias and mainly Sunni Bedouin tribal fighters after a Druze truck driver was reportedly robbed by Bedouin assailants.
Government forces later intervened but Israel, which has tried to position itself as a “protector” of Syria’s Druze minority since the December 2024 fall of the previous Assad regime, bombed government troops in Suweida as well as the defence ministry building in Damascus, forcing their withdrawal.
The committee said that the Syrian government was now trying to shirk responsibility for the massacres and abuses which happened in Suweida.
It said that the Syrian national judiciary is "politicised and offers no guarantees of fair trials,” making any talk of accountability through Syrian law “a mere facade to whitewash crimes".
The committee invoked separatist sentiments in Suweida, saying that the province’s mostly Druze inhabitants have what it called “a legal and moral right” to determine their own destiny, including through autonomy or even secession from Syria.
A ceasefire has held in Suweida since July 19, after hundreds of people were killed in clashes. Since then, al-Hijri and his supporters have declared an intention to secede from Syria, while expressing appreciation for Israel.
Protests took place in Suweida last month in which the Israeli flag was raised, outraging people in the rest of Syria.
On Monday, The Times of Israel reported that the Israeli government was arming and paying Druze fighters in an effort to keep the Druze militias united against the Syrian government. Israel has previously declared its ambition to split Syria along ethnic and religious lines.
The Jordan and US-backed Syrian government plan rejected by the Hijri-affiliated ‘legal committee’ appoints a new internal security chief for Suweida city, while holding to account those who committed abuses against civilians, ensuring aid enters Suweida province, and making Syrian Interior Ministry forces responsible for the security of roads in the province.