Syria arrests military, security personnel over Sweida unrest

Alsharq Tribune-Otaify 

Syria's national committee for investigating the Sweida unrest said Sunday that several army and security personnel had been detained after investigations confirmed their violations during the recent unrest in the southern province of Sweida.

Hatem al-Nassan, head of the committee, said during a press conference that the arrests were made after investigators examined videos circulating on social media that clearly showed the faces of individuals accused of committing violations.

He noted that the defense authorities detained the implicated army personnel, while the interior authorities detained the security members.

The committee subsequently visited the detention sites, questioned the detainees, and prepared an indictment list that has been transferred to the judiciary.

Al-Nassan said that further fieldwork is required to complete a comprehensive review of the unrest.

Addressing circulating allegations about the presence of foreign fighters in Sweida, al-Nassan said the committee found no evidence of any organized group of foreign combatants entering the province.

According to the committee's findings, a few individuals from outside the country may have entered the area individually or alongside tribal groups during the chaos, but there was no structured foreign fighting unit involved.

The committee is expected to continue its investigations and field visits over the coming weeks before submitting its final report to the Syrian authorities.

Sweida, a predominantly Druze province in southern Syria, witnessed a sudden outbreak of violence in July after tensions escalated between local armed groups and government forces.

The clashes, which erupted in several neighborhoods of the provincial capital, resulted in dozens of casualties, damage to housing, and widespread displacement.