Recent attacks on the Syrian Druze community threaten to further roil sectarian tensions, radicalize Druze elements, and potentially draw Israel into the civil war.
On June 10, al-Qaeda affiliate Jabhat al-Nusra (JN) killed at least twenty Druze in Qalb Loze, a village in Syria's northwestern Idlib province. Six days later, two Assad regime soldiers serving at the Druze town of Khadr on the border with Israel killed their Druze commander before defecting to JN. The next day, Islamist militants and other rebel forces seized a strategic hilltop north of Khadr and surrounded the village after fierce fighting with regime forces.
These events underscore the vulnerability of Druze communities straddling the borders of Lebanon, Syria, and Israel. The roughly 800,000 Druze in Syria no longer receive sufficient protection from what is left of the regime and are considered heretics by JN and other Islamist groups. Moreover, further escalation could spur Israel to intervene, among other perils.
MIXED DRUZE RESPONSE IN LEBANON
After the Qalb Loze incident, Lebanese Druze politician Walid Jumblatt, who does not recognize JN as a terrorist organization, rushed to condemn the killings and calm his enraged constituents. On June 12, he described the attack as an "individual" incident, adding that it took place at a time when the Assad regime is "killing hundreds of civilians on a daily basis." He noted that he would resolve the incident "via politics," leveraging his local connections to contain the situation.
On June 13, JN announced that the attack had been carried out by group members who "violated" the leadership's orders. Calling the incident "an unjustifiable mistake," the statement added, "Druze in the village are under our protection."
Jumblatt, a vociferous critic of Assad, has previously called on Druze in Syria, particularly in the southwestern Suwayda province, to abandon the regime and "reconcile" with rebels in the Sunni-dominated Deraa province. On June 11, the "Southern Front" rebel group declared that "the people of Suwayda are our people and we did not and will not fight them," adding, "We will join hands with [the Druze] to confront all dangers threatening Suwayda province if they ask us to do so."
Druze in Suwayda are currently divided into three camps: those who side with the regime, those who refused army service and chose to defend the province by themselves, and those who are still neutral. On June 16, Sheikh Wahid al-Balous, a Druze critic of the regime, stated that he and his supporters, known as "Mashayekh [clerics] of dignity," favor a ceasefire between Deraa and Suwayda. More important, he reportedly said that his group is indirectly coordinating with rebels from the Free Syrian Army, which enjoys an influential role in Deraa.
Meanwhile, pro-Assad Druze politician Wiam Wahab, who heads the Tawhid Party, criticized Jumblatt's restrained position on Qalb Loze and called on Druze in Lebanon to aid their Syrian co-religionists. Some of his supporters have urged local Druze to take up arms, and during a recent press conference he noted that "Druze in Lebanon and around the world are able to form an army comprising 200,000 members to defend Suwayda."