Around 50 Lebanese people killed in Sweida clashes: Who were they?
The fighting, which killed more than 1,300 people, initially pitted Druze militiamen against Bedouins before forces from the Syrian government intervened to support the Bedouins. The Israeli army subsequently intervened against the government forces, striking targets in Sweida as well as important targets in Damascus, including the Defense Ministry. Following the cease-fire, the fighting had largely subsided by Sunday, bringing a fragile calm to the region.
Who are the Lebanese people killed?
Nidaa al-Watan reported on Wednesday that "funeral announcements revealed that dozens of Lebanese were killed in the recent events in Sweid" without mentioning their sect or affiliation.
Commenting on this report, Sheikh Salem Ahmad told L'Orient Today that 50 Lebanese Druze from the Chouf region, who were living in Syria, died in the clashes. He added that absentee funeral prayers have been held for them in the Chouf region, adding that once the situation calms down, each family will assess whether to bring the bodies of the deceased to Lebanon.
Many Lebanese people from Druze areas in Lebanon have been living in Sweida for a long time. Meanwhile, others, who are married to natives from the city, often go there to pay family visits.
Apart from the Druze killed, a Lebanese man from an Arab tribe in Wadi Khaled also died in the clashes. The president of the municipal council of Rama, Khaled Ahmad al-Baddaoui, in the Wadi Khaled region, told L'Orient Today on July 19 that the man killed was in his 30s and had been working in Syria "for a long time, even before the fall of the Assad regime [last Dec. 8]." Contacted by L'Orient Today on Wednesday, Ahmad al-Sheikh, a member of the Arab tribes council, confirmed to L'Orient Today that this man was the only Lebanese person from the Arab tribes who died in the fighting.
Lebanon is home to numerous Arab tribes from different religious communities, notably in the Bekaa, Akkar and the Khaldeh region, near Beirut.
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