The Syrian Feminist Lobby is following with deep concern the ongoing military operations and fighting in Suwayda Governorate, which have resulted in dozens of civilian casualties, including women and children. These events have been accompanied by a sectarian incitement campaign in the media and on social media, which threatens to bring back scenes reminiscent of the massacres on the Syrian coast or the violations that took place in Sahnaya and Jaramana.
This campaign is being carried out by multiple militias, including extremist factions arriving from various Syrian cities, armed with heavy weaponry, and facing local factions from Suwayda.
The attacks are being executed with increasing brutality. Credible reports confirm the use of drones and heavy shelling, leading to a high number of civilian casualties, including women and children.
Circulating videos and photos have documented violations, images of corpses, and the burning of homes and shops in the villages entered by these groups, in addition to the desecration of national symbols.
We call today for an urgent ceasefire and an immediate halt to the fighting, and for dialogue toward a political solution that stops the bloodshed. Violence only begets more violence, and its victims are always civilians. This moment demands prioritizing reason, committing to international humanitarian law, and focusing on the protection of civilians, national dialogue, and a political resolution to all the crises the Syrian people are enduring—through openness and dialogue, not through force and domination.
We appeal to the Office of the UN Special Envoy to play a greater role in facilitating the ceasefire, promoting negotiations, and moving toward a political solution. We also urge all Syrian men and women to adopt inclusive national discourse and reject violence and sectarianism.
We further call on international legal organizations to document the violations, hold perpetrators accountable, and ensure the delivery of humanitarian and medical aid to Suwayda.
The country needs a genuine national dialogue that includes everyone and criminalizes hate speech.
We also need a national army, rooted in Syrian identity and committed to international humanitarian law, one that safeguards the dignity of all citizens.
Building trust requires the state to be a state for all Syrians—an inclusive state that guarantees equality for everyone through its institutions, without any form of discrimination. War criminals and violators must be held accountable to achieve civil peace.
