Daijiworld Media Network – Damascus

Damascus, Aug 21: Syria continues to reel under a fresh wave of intercommunal violence, with hundreds of lives lost in recent months and humanitarian workers increasingly caught in the crossfire. The abduction of Hamza al-Amareen, a White Helmets responder, has highlighted the growing lawlessness in Sweida, where clashes between the Druze minority, Bedouin Sunnis, and militia groups have spiraled into bloodshed.

Human rights monitors reported that almost 1,700 people were killed in Sweida since mid-July, while around 1,000 lives were lost in coastal Alawite-majority areas earlier this year. Despite the ouster of the Assad regime, sectarian fault lines and decades of mistrust have resurfaced, with armed groups, local militias, and even civilians accused of killings, kidnappings, and targeted attacks.

Investigations by both Syria’s interim government and the United Nations confirm that atrocities have occurred on all sides, with fighters linked to government factions, remnants of the Assad dictatorship, and independent militias implicated. Analysts say that while the Assad regime’s divide-and-rule tactics sowed the seeds, today’s violence is being fuelled by impunity, misinformation, and the proliferation of weapons across the country.

Observers warn that the onus now lies on Syria’s interim government to take urgent steps to restore order, hold perpetrators accountable, and protect civilians. Without accountability, experts fear that sectarian violence and abductions—such as that of Hamza al-Amareen—will only deepen Syria’s fragmentation and prolong its instability.