Head of UN rights office urges accountability for killings in Syrias Sweida

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United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk holds a press conference in Damascus, Syria January 15, 2025. REUTERS/Yamam Al Shaar/File photo

GENEVA - The head of the United Nations human rights office called on Friday for Syrias interim authorities to ensure accountability and justice for killings and rights violations in the southern city of Sweida.

Syrias government sent troops this week to the predominantly Druze city to quell fighting between Bedouins and Druze, but the violence grew until a ceasefire was declared.

The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) said it had received credible reports of widespread rights violations during the fighting.

These included reports of summary executions, kidnappings and destruction of private property by security forces and individuals linked to Syrias interim authorities, as well as other armed elements including Druze and Bedouins.

This bloodshed and the violence must stop, and the protection of all people must be the utmost priority, in line with international human rights law, OHCHR High Commissioner Volker Turk said in a statement.

At least 13 people were unlawfully killed in one recorded incident on July 15 when affiliates of the interim authorities opened fire at a family gathering, the OHCHR said. Six men were summarily executed near their homes the same day.

My Office has received accounts of distressed Syrians who are living in fear for their lives and those of their loved ones, Turk said.

Israel carried out airstrikes on Damascus on Wednesday and also hit government forces in the