Visit The Syria Report Subscribe to our mailing list
EN ع
  • Twitter
Syria Report
  • All articles
  • News
  • Analysis & Features
  • Reports & Papers
  • Regulations
  • Directory
  • Search
  • Menu Menu
Home1 / HLP2 / News3 / Gangs Prevent Return of Bedouins to Suweida Governorate Town4
Print Friendly, PDF & Email

Gangs Prevent Return of Bedouins to Suweida Governorate Town

07-04-2021/in HLP, News /by admin

Members of a Bedouin tribe who have been displaced since 2012 from the majority-Druze town of Ariqa, in the northwestern part of Suweida governorate are being prevented from returning despite multiple mediation attempts led by local figures.

Ariqa was once home to hundreds of Bedouins from the Hawasneh clan. They reportedly owned more than 100 houses in the town. Tensions in Ariqa began when security forces started cracking down on members of the Hawasneh clan, accusing them of collaborating with another Bedouin tribe in the nearby Al-Lajat area, which sided with Daraa’s armed opposition in 2012.

Security forces began arresting members of the tribe in Ariqa, spurring residents to flee to neighbouring villages in Al-Lajat for safety.

This situation continued until August 16, 2014, when Jabhat Al-Nusra fighters in Al-Lajat attacked the nearby village of Deir Dama, massacring Druze residents before capturing the village and displacing most local families. As a consequence, a series of clashes occurred between local Druze armed groups and Jabhat Al-Nusra fighters in Deir Dama. The armed groups from Ariqa then attacked the homes of  Hawasneh tribe members. The groupsassumed that the tribe had colluded with Jabhat Al-Nusra, which The Syria Report cannot confirm. These attacks pushed remaining tribe members in the town to flee to Al-Lajat. The armed groups subsequently destroyed their empty homes, partially burning them.

The tribe members were repeatedly displaced from  various towns in the eastern part of the Daraa governorate after regime forces drove out their residents. They were displaced yet again in 2018 during battles in Al-Lajat following the Russian-backed reconciliation agreement that saw regime forces retake control of southern Syria.

At the time, tribe members were unable to return home to Ariqa, as local armed gangs had taken over their houses and turned them into poultry and livestock farms. Ariqa is under the control of armed gangs, who often kidnap people for ransom across rural western Suweida governorate and along the Damascus-Suweida highway. Some of these gangs have relationships with security forces, and have made multiple settlements with them, the latest of which was in January 2021.

Notables in Ariqa and rural western Suweida governorate have been unable to control these gangs, which have affected peace within the community. Some notables have already attempted negotiation to allow displaced residents to return. All attempts have so far failed due to pressure from security forces, who are exploiting the displacement of the Hawasneh clan to fuel local conflicts.

Source: SANA

Post Views: 1
Tags: english
Share this entry
  • Share on Facebook
  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on WhatsApp
  • Share on LinkedIn
  • Share by Mail
https://hlp.syria-report.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/Logo-300x81.png 0 0 admin https://hlp.syria-report.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/Logo-300x81.png admin2021-04-07 23:30:002021-07-14 14:11:18Gangs Prevent Return of Bedouins to Suweida Governorate Town

Read also

  • Explained: Limitation of Real Estate Disposal
  • NDF Extorts Real Estate in Homs’ Al-Zahraa Neighbourhood
  • Explained: How the General Directorate of Cadastral Affairs Stores Documents
  • Government Raises Prices of Alternative Housing in Marota City
HelpAbout usContact usAdvertise with The Syria ReportTerms & conditions
Copyright © 2022 The Syria Report – all rights reserved. Your use of this website is subject to our legal terms & conditions
Masyaf Building Permits Suspended for Years as City Awaits Zoning Plan أزمة السكن “الخفية” التي يواجهها السوريون...
Scroll to top

This site uses cookies. By continuing to browse the site, you are agreeing to our use of cookies.

Ok

Cookie and Privacy Settings



How we use cookies

We may request cookies to be set on your device. We use cookies to let us know when you visit our websites, how you interact with us, to enrich your user experience, and to customize your relationship with our website.

Click on the different category headings to find out more. You can also change some of your preferences. Note that blocking some types of cookies may impact your experience on our websites and the services we are able to offer.

Essential Website Cookies

These cookies are strictly necessary to provide you with services available through our website and to use some of its features.

Because these cookies are strictly necessary to deliver the website, refuseing them will have impact how our site functions. You always can block or delete cookies by changing your browser settings and force blocking all cookies on this website. But this will always prompt you to accept/refuse cookies when revisiting our site.

We fully respect if you want to refuse cookies but to avoid asking you again and again kindly allow us to store a cookie for that. You are free to opt out any time or opt in for other cookies to get a better experience. If you refuse cookies we will remove all set cookies in our domain.

We provide you with a list of stored cookies on your computer in our domain so you can check what we stored. Due to security reasons we are not able to show or modify cookies from other domains. You can check these in your browser security settings.

Other external services

We also use different external services like Google Webfonts, Google Maps, and external Video providers. Since these providers may collect personal data like your IP address we allow you to block them here. Please be aware that this might heavily reduce the functionality and appearance of our site. Changes will take effect once you reload the page.

Google Webfont Settings:

Google Map Settings:

Google reCaptcha Settings:

Vimeo and Youtube video embeds:

Privacy Policy

You can read about our cookies and privacy settings in detail on our Privacy Policy Page.