Sectarian tensions rise after Syrian army officer killed near Druze villages

Tensions have flared in the city of Qatana, southwest of Damascus, following the killing of a security officer in clashes with suspected drug traffickers on Thursday night, with fears the tensions could spark sectarian unrest between local communities.

According to security sources who spoke to Syria TV, officer Jamil Momneh (known as Abu Walid) was leading a unit that had tracked a shipment of drugs entering from Lebanon towards villages in the Mount Hermon (Jabal al-Sheikh) region.

The unit laid an ambush near the village of Aysam in an attempt to arrest the traffickers and seize the narcotics, resulting in a brief firefight breaking out between the gang and the Internal Security Forces.

Two suspects were arrested, their weapons were confiscated, and the shipment was seized. The remaining members of the group fled and are being pursued by Syrian security forces, the sources said.

The clashes resulted in the death of Momneh, who was buried later that night in Qatana’s cemetery, with a large number of residents attending his funeral.

Sources in the city told Syria TV that the incident caused heightened security tensions, prompting authorities to deploy security personnel, vehicles, and armoured units across Qatana and at its main entrances "to prevent any clashes with the surrounding Druze villages".

Mount Hermon is a Druze-majority region in southwestern Syria, and its villages have historically maintained a strong communal identity, which has at times placed them at odds with state authorities.

A civilian source in Qatana said: "There are those trying to drag the city into sectarian conflict, and that’s why they killed Jamil." In apparent retaliation, masked youths set fire to several shops owned by Druze residents inside the city.

Fire crews moved swiftly to contain the blazes and, according to the source, attempted to prevent further attacks on shops “regardless of their owners’ affiliations".

Dozens of Momneh’s relatives, friends, and sympathisers gathered, while others arrived from nearby towns seeking to "avenge his death". Internal Security Forces reportedly intervened, stressing that the operation "was against drug traffickers, not against any Syrian community".

Local committees from Druze villages and Qatana itself have been working to defuse sectarian tensions and hand the case over to legal authorities to pursue accountability for the officer’s killing.

All sources contacted by Syria TV denied that anyone from any sect had been killed in the aftermath of the incident, despite the palpable tension and sounds of gunfire heard throughout the city on Thursday night into Friday.

Qatana is the administrative centre of a larger district comprising several subdistricts, including Beit Jinn and Sa’sa’. Though the population was just over 207,000 in 2004, recent estimates suggest the number has since exceeded 500,000, due to displacement and urban migration over the past two decades.

The situation remains tense, with authorities keen to prevent the incident from spiralling into wider communal unrest.

In recent months, Syria's Druze minority has faced a surge in sectarian violence, particularly in the southern province of Suweida and the suburbs of Damascus.

Clashes between Druze fighters and rogue Islamist factions have resulted in over 100 deaths, including civilians and combatants. 

These incidents have heightened fears within the Druze community of targeted sectarian attacks amid the country's ongoing instability, while the Syrian government has said it strongly opposes any sectarian attacks or incitement.