Call for greater efforts to end the blockade of al-Suwaida and protect the Druze

At a press conference today (September 11), the Society for Threatened Peoples (STP) and members of the Druze community urgently called for greater efforts by the German government to end the blockade of al-Suwaida and protect the Druze. Since July 2025, the complete blockade has prevented the import of food and medicine and restricted the population's freedom of movement.

“For Druze, life under the rule of this Islamist regime is impossible. This regime is trying to completely wipe out our ethnic group,” said Ghada Bouhsas, herself a Druze from al-Suwaida, at the press conference. “During attacks, Islamists have abducted at least 293 women, children, and men. Women and children are being raped.”

“If we want the hundreds of thousands of Druze in the province of al-Suwaida to survive, safe border crossings from Jordan or airlifts, for example from Israel, must be established immediately,” demanded Dr. Maher Tyfour, a Druze who also comes from al-Suwaida. “The Islamist regime wants to starve the Druze through a complete blockade. The international community must not tolerate this.“

”The blockade must be ended,“ demanded Dr. Kamal Sido, Middle East expert at the Society for Threatened Peoples. ”Germany must help all Syrians, especially those who want to preserve diversity, democracy, and women's rights, not the Islamists,” the human rights activist appealed to the German government.

Threats against Druze are also increasing in Germany. Maher Tyfour said that he can no longer shop in many Syrian supermarkets because he is threatened there. “Druze must not be persecuted, either on German streets or in Syria,” said Kamal Sido. The German federal government must work to ensure this.

In the run-up to the press conference, the STP, together with members of the Druze community, presented an appeal to the members of the Foreign Affairs Committee and the Committee for Development and Cooperation in the German Bundestag at a meeting with Bundestag member Johannes Volkmann (CDU). In it, the STP calls for the establishment of border crossings to Jordan or Israel.

“Please do not abandon the Druze, other minorities, and the democracy movement in Syria to their fate! If you do not act, the regime will subjugate, starve, decimate, and drive the Druze into exile,” the STP's appeal states.

This press release was translated from German to English using AI. If you come across errors or ambiguities, please contact us at presse@gfbv.de.