UN: Over 100 Druze women abducted amid Suwayda violence

By Qais al- Abdullah

SUWAYDA, Syria (North Press) – United Nations experts said Thursday that they received reports of the abduction of at least 105 Druze women and girls by armed groups during recent unrest in Suwayda, with more than 80 still missing.

According to the UN experts, several of the abducted women were subjected to sexual violence before being executed. The same reports documented that at least 763 people remain missing since the outbreak of violence in early July.

In their statement, published by the UN on August 21, the experts expressed “deep concern over reports of attacks targeting the Druze minority because of their faith and other reasons, including the forced shaving of religious men’s mustaches and hate speech on social media portraying Druze as traitors and infidels who should be killed, calling for the abduction and enslavement of Druze women.”

The Suwayda events have left more than 1,000 people dead, including at least 539 Druze civilians — 39 women and 21 children among them — the UN said. At least 196 people, including 30 women and eight children, were reportedly executed extrajudicially. More than 33 villages were burned, according to the same report.

The UN experts noted that survivors, including university students in Damascus, Homs, Aleppo, and Latakia, continue to face harassment and fear for their safety. They stressed that “the reported violations reveal a clear systematic failure to protect minorities and to address gender-based violence in the absence of comprehensive, independent, and impartial investigations into extrajudicial killings, torture, or abductions.”

The experts also said they are monitoring the situation of an estimated 192,000 internally displaced people in Suwayda, Daraa, and Homs, noting that already scarce resources are under severe strain.

“The Syrian government must allow prompt and independent investigations, prosecute perpetrators, and determine the fate and whereabouts of the missing,” the experts said. They further emphasized the need for authorities to protect all minorities, including the Druze, end incitement to violence, and ensure safe return or durable solutions for the displaced.