Dozens of Druze militia groups are active in Sweida governorate.194 These armed factions were grouped into four main coalitions,195 the most prominent being the Men of Dignity and the Sweida Military Council (SMC). While some Druze factions have supported coordination with the government, others have called for resistance against the central authorities.196
Druze armed factions seized control of the governorate in late 2023197 and territorial control did not change over the reference period.198 While Druze factions joined the offensive that led to the downfall of the Assad regime in December 2024,199 some Druze leaders soon rejected the transitional government’s plans to deploy troops in Sweida and to disarm200 and integrate the local factions into the new security institutions.201 Notably, Sheikh Hikmat Al-Hijri, one of the three highest Druze spiritual authorities in Sweida,202 and known for his pro-Israel stance,203 rejected talks with the new central government.204 Attempts by the government to engage with more moderate Druze figures further alienated these hardliners while simultaneously fuelling rivalries among Druze factions.205 Besides Druze armed factions, there are Bedouin and other tribal forces in the governorate and in neighbouring areas. These groups, bound together by blood linage and shared sets of values, maintain various complex alliances and show different levels of organisation and coordination.206 Some Sunni tribes have been accused by Druze leaders of siding with the transitional government.207 In July 2025, a lingering conflict between Druze and Bedouin communities escalated into heavy clashes that prompted military interventions by transitional government and Israeli forces.208 For further information on the events of July 2025, see section 1.1. Overview of current conflicts and section 2.13. Sweida governorate.
In August 2025, between around 30209 and 40 Druze factions formed a new military body, the National Guard Forces (NGF),210 with the aim of consolidating military and security efforts in Sweida, pledging allegiance to Al-Hijri.211 Amongst others, this military body includes the Men of Dignity212 and reportedly also the SMC.213 The NGF was accused of cracking down on dissent214 and arresting rivals. Two Druze clerics were reported to have died in late 2025 after being detained by the NGF.215 Furthermore, alleged NGF members attacked political activists and arrested protesters they accused of siding with the transitional government.216
- 194
NPR, Druze militias are suspicious of Syria's new leaders — and are ready to go to battle, 12 April 2025, url
- 195
Encyclopaedia Britannica, Sweida, last updated 27 March 2026, url; NPR, Druze militias are suspicious of Syria's new leaders — and are ready to go to battle, 12 April 2025, url
- 196
Encyclopaedia Britannica, Sweida, last updated 27 March 2026, url
- 197
International Crisis Group, Restoring Security in Post-Assad Syria: Lessons from the Coast and Suweida, 26 November 2025, url, pp. 13-14
- 198
ISW and CTP, Assessed Control of Terrain in Syria, February 16, 2026 at 2:00 PM ET [Map], 16 February 2026, url; ISW and CTP, Assessed Control of Terrain in Syria November 10, 2025 at 2:00 PM ET [Map], 10 November 2025, url
- 199
International Crisis Group, Restoring Security in Post-Assad Syria: Lessons from the Coast and Suweida, 26 November 2025, url, pp. 13-14
- 200
UN Human Rights Council, International Human Rights Law and International Humanitarian Law violations committed during the July 2025 violence in Suwayda, Syria; Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic, A/HRC/61/CRP.7, 27 March 2026, url, para. 13
- 201
International Crisis Group, Restoring Security in Post-Assad Syria: Lessons from the Coast and Suweida, 26 November 2025, url, p. 15
- 202
UN Human Rights Council, International Human Rights Law and International Humanitarian Law violations committed during the July 2025 violence in Suwayda, Syria; Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic, A/HRC/61/CRP.7, 27 March 2026, url, para. 13
- 203
New Arab (The), Rival of Druze leader Hikmat al-Hiri gunned down in Syria's Suweida, 15 April 2026, url
- 204
UN Human Rights Council, International Human Rights Law and International Humanitarian Law violations committed during the July 2025 violence in Suwayda, Syria; Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic, A/HRC/61/CRP.7, 27 March 2026, url, para. 13
- 205
International Crisis Group, Restoring Security in Post-Assad Syria: Lessons from the Coast and Suweida, 26 November 2025, url, p. 15
- 206
UN Human Rights Council, International Human Rights Law and International Humanitarian Law violations committed during the July 2025 violence in Suwayda, Syria; Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic, A/HRC/61/CRP.7, 27 March 2026, url, para. 3 (footnote 6), 24, 27
- 207
Montag, S. and Hammoud, H., Despite Calls for Calm, the Violence in Sweida Shows No Sign of Ending, New Lines Magazine, 18 July 2025, url
- 208
International Crisis Group, Restoring Security in Post-Assad Syria: Lessons from the Coast and Suweida, 26 November 2025, url, pp. 25-27
- 209
UNHCR, Flash update on the situation in As-Sweida #7, 9 September 2025, url, p. 1
- 210
Enab Baladi, In Suwayda, the Druze “National Guard” Incorporates Men of Dignity as Sheikh al-Hijri Calls for Separation from Syria, 25 August 2025, url
- 211
UNHCR, Flash update on the situation in As-Sweida #7, 9 September 2025, url, p. 1
- 212
Enab Baladi, In Suwayda, the Druze “National Guard” Incorporates Men of Dignity as Sheikh al-Hijri Calls for Separation from Syria, 25 August 2025, url
- 213
Netherlands, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, General Country of Origin Information Report on Syria, 30 January 2026, url, pp. 24-25; Aaron Y. Zelin, [X], posted on: 27 August 2025, url
- 214
Enab Baladi, Suwayda’s “National Guard” releases more than 20 detainees arrested for supporting government, 27 March 2026, url
- 215
New Arab (The), Second Druze cleric dies after detention in Suweida, local reports say, 3 December 2025, url; New Arab (The), Sheikh Raed al-Mutni 'dies in detention' amid intra-Druze Suweida tensions, 2 December 2025, url
- 216
Enab Baladi, Suwayda’s “National Guard” releases more than 20 detainees arrested for supporting government, 27 March 2026, url