Syrian authorities have arrested an internal security officer as a suspect in the killing of four civilians in the majority-Druze Sweida province, the local internal security chief said.
Four people were shot dead and a fifth seriously wounded on Saturday in the village of Al-Matana, according to Hossam Al-Tahan, as reported by the state news agency SANA.
Initial investigations, carried out with the help of a survivor, indicated that the suspect was a member of the local Internal Security Directorate, Al-Tahan said. “The officer was immediately detained and referred for investigation,” he added.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights had earlier reported that the victims were attacked while harvesting olives in an area cleared for them by government forces.
Sweida province is a stronghold of the Druze minority in southern Syria. Violence erupted briefly in July last year, when clashes between Druze fighters and Sunni Bedouin escalated, drawing in government forces and tribal fighters from other regions.
Syrian authorities said their forces intervened to stop the clashes, but witnesses, Druze factions, and the London-based Observatory accused them of siding with the Bedouin and committing abuses against the Druze.
Although a ceasefire was reached later that month, tensions remain high and access to Sweida is limited. Residents accuse the government of imposing a blockade, from which tens of thousands have fled — a claim Damascus denies.
Several aid convoys have since entered the province. According to the Observatory, more than 185,000 people remain uprooted.
