Hamza al-Amareen, 33, head of an emergency response center for the White Helmets, was abducted from his vehicle on July 16 while assisting UN evacuations after violence in Sweida. His family had brief phone contact with his kidnappers and has had no further news. The family believes a Druze militia may be holding him and that he may have been targeted because he is Sunni. The mid-July violence in Sweida killed almost 1,700 people. Separate fighting in coastal areas in March reportedly killed around 1,000, mostly Alawites. Observers report a renewed insurgency against the interim government and continued targeted killings, kidnappings, sectarian abuse, and widespread disinformation and conspiracy theories about responsibility.
"Why would he be kidnapped in this way? Because humanitarian workers are usually not targeted; they have nothing to do with any conflict. We were shocked because [Hamza] has no connection to any side: His mission was purely humanitarian." Al-Amareen's kidnapping is part of intercommunal violence in Syria that most recently saw members of the Druze minority clash with other Syrians, including Bedouin Sunnis and members of the new national military.
The violence in Sweida that started in mid-July resulted in the deaths of almost 1,700 people. And it is not the only such incident of intercommunal violence. Human rights monitors reported that around 1,000 people died due to fighting in coastal areas, mostly home to the country's Alawite minority, in March. This month, observers say what appears to be an insurgency against Syria's interim government flared up again. There are also ongoing incidents of targeted killing, kidnapping and sectarian abuse.
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