On Friday 5th October, a sit-in protest was organised at the Suweida Governorate Building in response to the third recent killing of a Druze hostage by ISIS. At the beginning of that week, Thawrat Fadil, who was captured at the village of Shabkai following ISIS’ 25th July attack of Suweida City, was executed in response to the Syrian Arab Army’s (SAA) continued offensive against the militants in the Safa Volcanic Plateau. The protest, which was organised by the families of the 30 Syrian Druze who were abducted by ISIS, continued over the proceeding weekend and into the start of this week.
Following the 25th July attack, Druze factions critical of the Syrian Government accused the Government of participating in the orchestration of the attack. Pro-Opposition faction Rijal al-Karama, also known as the ‘Men of Dignity’, in addition to the prominent Lebanese Druze leader Walid Jumblatt, have accused the government of using the attack to re-establish its control over the city. Suweida had previously been granted limited autonomy in exchange for Druze neutrality throughout Syria’s seven year-long conflict. Such accusations, in addition to the Syrian Government’s perceived inaction in securing the release of the Druze hostages, have further strained relations between the Government and the wider Druze population.
Towards the end of the week, Jumblatt levied blame on the Syrian Government for the death of Thawrat Fadil. Jumblatt suggested that the crisis was in the process of being resolved since the Russians and Sheikh Yahya al-Hajjar of the Men of Dignity group intervened in the talks, citing the timing of the execution as deeply suspicious and as a sign of possible collusion between Damascus and the militants.
ISIS, for its part, issued an ultimatum to the Syrian Government following the execution of Thawrat Fadil. The militants set a deadline of Friday 5th for the halting of the Safa offensive and the release of all ISIS prisoners, in addition to the payment of a ransom for each remaining hostage. Although the deadline given by the ISIS for Damascus to release ISIS militants and stop the Safa offensive was reached without any concessions, the group did not make any announcements towards executing prisoners. In the interim, SAA operations in Suweida appear to have slowed down, suggesting that talks are taking place on some capacity. However, it remains to be seen whether talks between the two sides will yield results, particularly as the Syrian Government remains reluctant to both release ISIS prisoners, as well as pay the group ransom money.
On the evening of Wednesday, 10th of October, pro-Opposition media reported that the Men of Dignity movement in Suweida have given the Syrian Government 24 hours to resolve the hostage crisis with ISIS. The group criticised Damascus for the failure to release the hostages and also criticised other Druze religious leaders for their “weakness” in achieving a resolution. Despite the group’s threats, Thursday evening’s deadline passed without any action taken by the Men of Dignity. However, without a solution to the crisis, the threat could lead to a further escalation to the protests in Suweida and further inflame tensions between the Druze community and the Syrian Government.
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