The American envoy to Syria, Tom Barrack, entered the scene of renewed tension in Suwayda, commenting on the issue of the kidnapping of civil activist Atef Heneidi, known as “the Pasha,” and warning of the repercussions of the governance vacuum within the governorate.
In a post on the “X” platform, Barak expressed his concern about the renewed escalation in Suwayda, speaking about gangs that he said were trying to fill the vacuum resulting from the lack of governance in the governorate.
He pointed out that a limited number of individuals with “toxic motives” attacked members of their community, including Atef Heneidi, who said he was arbitrarily arrested and forced to leave his home.
Barak recalled the tripartite road map that he signed about a year ago alongside Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad Al-Shaibani and his Jordanian counterpart, Ayman Al-Safadi, considering that it charts a path to re-integrate Suwayda in a dignified manner, while ensuring full civil rights and duties for members of the Druze community.
He stressed that this path is still, as he put it, the only path leading to a different future instead of returning to the cycle of sadness and suffering.
He also called for strengthening cooperation between the Druze, Arab tribes, and neighboring countries on the borders of Suwayda, on the basis of tolerance and understanding, warning of the sensitivity and precision of the circumstances, and urging all parties to exercise restraint and dialogue.
Barak’s position came days after the Heneidi case, as SANA reported that armed groups surrounded his house in the town of Al-Majdal in the western countryside of Suwayda, before attacking him with live bullets and throwing hand grenades inside the house.
According to SANA, the groups were able to storm the house and take Heneidi at gunpoint to one of their headquarters, where he was tortured during his kidnapping.
The official Syrian sources added that Heneidi was asked to issue a statement retracting a previous position in which he criticized the statements of Druze Sheikh Hikmat Al-Hijri regarding the dependency of the Druze in Syria on Israel, but he refused to do so.
While he maintained his position, Huneidi was forced to leave Suwayda Governorate and head to Damascus, where he was secured in a safe place.
Suwayda had witnessed clashes between armed Druze groups affiliated with the Hijri and others affiliated with the tribes, before a ceasefire agreement was reached in July 2025, while official Syrian sources spoke of subsequent violations of the agreement and the targeting of military points, at a time when they said that the government adhered to it and facilitated evacuations and the entry of humanitarian aid.
