About 500 people killed in clashes, according to UK war monitor; AFP photographer counts 15 bodies strewn in city center amid looted shops and burned cars and houses

Residents emerged from their homes to scenes of devastation on Thursday after government forces withdrew from the Syrian Druze-majority city of Sweida, leaving behind looted shops, burned homes and

The death toll from the violence in southern Syria’s Sweida province continues to climb, with the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based war monitor, reporting at least 516 deaths since fighting erupted on July 13.

A walk through the Rachaiya market revealed a town in quiet mourning, as shops shuttered their doors in solidarity with victims of the recent violence in Sweida—part of a broader call from local religious leaders across the district.

A tense calm returned to Syria’s southern province of Sweida on Thursday as interim government troops fully withdrew after days of violent clashes involving government forces, Druze fighters, and Bedouin tribes.

Vantage with Palki Sharma | N18G Syria’s war may have faded from headlines, but in Sweida, violence has erupted once again — this time killing over 100, mostly from the Druze community. A tribal feud between Druze and Bedouins spiralled into a deadly confrontation,

Shops were looted, homes burned and bodies littered the streets of the city. Read more at straitstimes.com. Read more at straitstimes.com.

Druze spiritual leader in Lebanon Sheikh Sami Abi al-Mona has expressed his fear of sectarian tensions in Lebanon against the backdrop of Syria's Sweida events.In an interview, published Thursday in local An-Nahar newspaper,