New York Center for Foreign Policy Analysis (NYCFPA) completely rejects the recent violence outburst in the southern region of the Syrian province of Sweida, where more than 350 civilians were killed and thousands others displaced in what has turned out to be one of the deadliest scenes in the post-2018 history of the entire region. The NYCFPA is deeply alarmed that the sectarian tension is increasing and urges an immediate, coordinated and principled international response to stop the ongoing bloodshed and stabilize the region.
Though a ceasefire deal, jointly arranged by the United States, inclusive of Turkey, Jordan and Egypt, has stopped the fighting, it is apparent that a cease of war is not a solution. Acts of disputed troop redeployment, surveillance activities, and hyperlocal power vacuums highlight the shakiness of the existing truce and leave complicated questions to be answered regarding its stability and maintenance. In order to apply international pressure, the NYCFPA highlights that a political framework that is sincere and inclusive to explain the grievances of the Druze community and other marginalized people in the south of Syria should occur alongside it.
The NYCFPA requests the international actors and institutions concerned to maintain their duties during this decisive time. It is a role of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner on Human Rights (OHCHR), the United Nations Special Envoy on Syria, the U.S. Department of State and the European External Action Service (EEAS), the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the League of Arab States to ensure clear conditions are met, that the ceasefire is observed, that the humanitarian assistance is facilitated without interference and that any and all violations of international law are documented and dealt with transparently. Both impunity and worsening of suffering among the already traumatized people due to over 10 years of war would only be stimulated by nonaction.
“The violence in Sweida is a sobering reminder that ceasefires are not peace agreements,”
said Dr. Layla Hammond, Senior Fellow for Middle East Strategy at NYCFPA. “Without structural reform, credible local representation, and accountability for all actors—including regional powers—this truce risks becoming another brief interlude in a longer cycle of injustice and instability.”
In Syria especially, any chance at achieving peace must first and foremost be about ensuring civilian safety and the restoration of sovereignty and territorial integrity of the country and provide room to allow Syrians to determine themselves how they want the future of their political landscape to be. International diplomacy should not consider temporary calm as a successful strategy. Rather, it has to direct urgent relief into sustainable change.
Citizens of Sweida are entitled to more than to stop violence. They should have their dignity, accountability, and sustainability of peace, which will not present them as collateral in larger geopolitical wars anymore.
