By Feras Dalatey
DAMASCUS, Feb 26 (Reuters) – The Syrian government and Druze factions controlling the southern city of Sweida carried out their first prisoner exchange on Thursday since deadly sectarian clashes last summer, the Syrian government’s Sweida media office said.
Hundreds were killed in days of bloodshed in July before a comprehensive ceasefire halted the fighting. Sweida province, predominantly populated by the Druze community – a distant offshoot of Islam – remains outside government control.
Syria has been plagued by bouts of sectarian strife since the sudden fall of President Bashar al-Assad and his police state in December 2024 after 14 years of civil war.
SWAP FACILITATED BY ICRC
Thursday’s swap involved Damascus releasing 61 prisoners from the Druze factions detained in Adra Central Prison, near the capital, in return for the Druze National Guard Forces freeing 25 Syrian government personnel, the media office said.
The operation was carried out by the International Committee of the Red Cross.
Stephen Sakalian, head of the ICRC delegation in Syria, said the organisation hoped it would pave the way towards possible further releases and dialogue on humanitarian concerns, including the fate of people missing since last July’s violence.
A Syrian government and a Druze source told Reuters that the swap was successful and followed mediation by the Tim Ballard Foundation, a U.S. non-profit that fights human trafficking. The foundation did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
SECTARIAN CLASHES
Fierce sectarian clashes in Sweida between Druze fighters and Sunni Bedouin tribes erupted in mid-July, and intensified further when forces of the Islamist-led government were sent to quell the fighting in the provincial capital.
The clashes drew strikes from Israel, which backs the Druze, who comprised around 3% of Syria’s pre-war population of 24 million, against President Ahmed al-Sharaa’s government.
Last September, Syria, the U.S. and Jordan announced a seven-step roadmap to address the crisis in Sweida that aimed to ensure the uninterrupted delivery of humanitarian and medical aid.
The roadmap prioritised restoring basic services, deploying local security forces to secure roads, compensating those affected and facilitating the return of displaced residents. It also sought to clarify the fate of the missing and launch an inclusive reconciliation process, while holding those responsible for abuses against civilians accountable.
DOZENS STILL HELD
The Syrian government has been holding 140 Druze citizens in Adra Central Prison since the events of July, according to a security source. There has been no official confirmation of the number.
The governor of Sweida province, Mustafa al-Bakour, told Qatari-funded Syria TV last month that they were being held under “precautionary detention”, with no formal charges against them.
The Syrian government released 36 of them last October. One of those released said he received no documents confirming his imprisonment or release, but rather 1 million Syrian pounds ($90) and a new mobile phone.
Syria’s interior ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment. A Druze security source told Reuters that the National Guard still held five government military officers.
(Reporting by Feras Dalatey in Damascus; Editing by Ros Russell and Alex Richardson)
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