A question regarding alleged reports of Druze militia internal violence
I've been hearing quite a few reports of infighting between rival Druze militias in Suwayda. Apparently, al-Hijri is purging his enemies, and a handful have been tortured and killed if those reports are to be believed. If any of this is true, should we include reports of alleged internal violence amongst Druze militias in this page's infobox? Randomuser335S (talk) 20:11, 3 December 2025 (UTC)
- I think it's a good addition to the infobox and the body. David O. Johnson (talk) 20:52, 3 December 2025 (UTC)
- Completely agree with you on that, as the internal violence between those Druze militias seems to be greatly escalating in this past month or two. If the clashes and killings between them get any worse, they probably deserve a wikipedia article in their own right. Randomuser335S (talk) 05:08, 4 December 2025 (UTC)
Very loose use of the term "civilians" by SOHR
One sentence in the article states: 'According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights [SOHR], the Ministry of Defense executed civilians at a poultry farm outside the town of Sahnaya.'
The reference is https://www.syriahr.com/en/360974/
I was going to insert the number of civilians killed, but the headline is so misaligned with the body of the article that I don't know what to make of it.
The headline in the referenced SOHR article states: '47 civilians kil*led in Rif Dimashq and Al-Suwaydaa'
Yet the body of the article describes all but two of the 47 killed as either 'gunmen', or 'forces':
'16 members of the General Security forces in Ashrafiyat Sahnaya.
Six Druze gunmen in Ashrafiyat Sahnaya.
Two Druze men were field-executed.
Ten members of forces supporting the Syrian Ministry of Defence in Jarmana neighborhood.
Seven Druze gunmen in Jarmana neighborhood.
Six Druze gunmen on Al-Suwaidaa- Damascus highway.'
The main article, (April 2025 massacres of Syrian Druze), refers to a different, later SOHR article that refers to a further 7 field executions, bringing the total to 9. It does not specify whether they were captured combatants, which most people would be hesitant to call 'civilians'. https://www.syriahr.com/9-%d8%ad%d8%a7%d9%84%d8%a7%d8%aa-%d8%a5%d8%b9%d8%af%d8%a7%d9%85-%d9%85%d9%8a%d8%af%d8%a7%d9%86%d9%8a-%d9%8892-%d9%82%d8%aa%d9%8a%d9%84%d8%a7-%d8%ae%d9%84%d8%a7%d9%84-%d8%a7%d9%84%d8%a7%d8%b4%d8%aa/759406/
I presume they were captured combatants, and if so, they are more accurately called executed prisoners of war rather than executed civilians - The Geneva Conventions specifically exclude militias from the definition of civilians and instead include them in the definition of prisoners of war:
https://ihl-databases.icrc.org/pt/customary-ihl/v2/rule5
https://ihl-databases.icrc.org/en/ihl-treaties/gciii-1949/article-4 MathewMunro (talk) 20:11, 21 January 2026 (UTC)
Requested move 15 July 2026
Druze insurgency in Southern Syria → Southern Syria conflict (2025–present) – No sources call this conflict an "insurgency." Southern Syria conflict I think would be the most fitting, it has spilled over into most of Southern Syria. Militant.Insurgency (talk) 05:18, 15 July 2026 (UTC)