Security tensions are escalating in the southern Syrian province of Suwaida, where engineer Munir Najib al-Bahri was killed on Tuesday in the al-Dabisi neighborhood in the center of Suwaida city, after being subjected to heavy gunfire during an attempt to kidnap him by gunmen. Local sources said that al-Bahri was one of the fiercest opponents of Sheikh Hikmat al-Hijri, one of the religious authorities of the Druze community, who appeared hours before the assassination, emphasizing the depth of the “historical relationship with the State of Israel and its role in supporting the members of the community,” stressing that “the blood of the Druze is a sacrifice for Israel.”
According to initial information, gunmen fired ten shots from a “Saba” type car at Al-Bahri, which led to his immediate death at the scene.
The local network “Suwaida 24” reported that Al-Bahri “was one of the prominent opposition figures to Sheikh Hikmat Al-Hijri and the National Guard forces in Suwaida Governorate, and is considered one of the first participants in the popular protests that broke out in 2011 against the former Bashar Al-Assad regime.”
There are differing positions among various local factions in Suwaida regarding the form of local administration and the nature of the relationship with state institutions.
This assassination comes amid differing positions among various local factions in Suwaida regarding the form of local administration and the nature of the relationship with state institutions in Damascus.
one of the religious authorities of the Druze community, sparked widespread controversy after he spoke about what he described as the “historical relationship” between the Druze community and Israel, pointing to its role in supporting the community.
However, Al-Hijri’s full speech came in a broader context in which he addressed a range of issues related to the situation in Suwaida and southern Syria, especially in light of the recent tensions with the Syrian government in Damascus.
During the speech, he spoke about the bloody events that the province witnessed in July of 2025, stressing that “the sons of the sect seek to build a state based on law and justice.”
He touched on the recent developments in Suwaida, including the dissolution of the “Supreme Legal Committee” and the formation of a new administrative council to manage the governorate, following the incident in which an armed group stormed the Education Directorate building and forced the new director, Safwan Balan, to apologize for continuing his duties, which he had been assigned by the Ministry of Education in the Syrian government.
Al-Hijri accused the Syrian government of being behind what he described as the "strife" that occurred in the Education Directorate, considering what happened to be part of a plan targeting the local community in Suwaida. He also said that some of those involved in the events were from the area itself, describing them as belonging to well-known local families.
He stressed that the administration of Suwaida Governorate should be in the hands of "the people of the region and its decision-makers," as he put it, referring to those he called "the blood relatives" as the ultimate authority in local decision-making. He also stated that the people of Suwaida are capable of managing their own affairs without the need for external intervention, while acknowledging the continued presence of security risks and attempts by the central government in Damascus to "infiltrate" the region.
Al-Hijri called for all those who support the Syrian government to leave the Suwaida governorate “without returning.”
Al-Hijri also called, according to the video clip, for all those who support the Syrian government to leave the Suwaida governorate “without returning,” and directed sharp criticism at those he considered “traitors to the covenant,” referring to the recently dismissed director of education, as he put it.
He added: “We are capable of managing ourselves, while ISIS in Damascus, as he described it, works day and night to infiltrate us as Druze or as Jabal al-Bashan, at a time when the people of Suwaida manage all our official departments.”
He also expressed his gratitude to the Druze community in Israel and to Israel itself, affirming his appreciation for the country and emphasizing the historical ties between the two sides. He indicated that these relations would be re-examined in the future, as stated in his speech. He said, “We have reached a point where we can honestly say that our blood is a sacrifice for Israel, and our blood is on their account. This is based on a historical issue that unites us as Druze monotheists with the State of Israel, an issue we had overlooked, but which we will now return to.”
Tags:
asiawest
