ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The Kurdish administration in northeast Syria (Rojava) has donated one million US dollars to an ongoing aid campaign for the Druze community in southern Syria, following recent mass killings targeting the religious minority, a Kurdish humanitarian organization announced on Thursday.
“We launched a campaign on July 24. The people of northeast Syria are donating money to the campaign. We have set up collection boxes and bank accounts… The campaign will run for ten days,” Dilgash Issa, co-chair of the Rojava-based Kurdish Red Crescent, told Rudaw English.
He added that the Democratic Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (DAANES), the official name of the Kurdish-led enclave, contributed to the campaign with a donation of one million dollars.
“They handed over one million dollars to us to help deliver aid to Suwayda,” he noted, adding that other organisations and entities have also donated thousands of dollars.
The Kurdish Red Crescent has not been able to access the Druze-majority city of Suwayda, where recent clashes between Druze militants and Sunni tribal fighters have left over 1,300 people dead, according to the latest toll published by the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
Issa said they have requested permission from the Damascus government to enter Suwayda. The province is primarily controlled by Druze forces, while state-affiliated troops have been deployed at its entrances to prevent further clashes between Druze and Sunni fighters. Although there have been reports of an embargo on Suwayda, the interim government has denied these claims.
State-affiliated forces have been accused of siding with the Sunni fighters from the Bedouin tribes during the clashes.
The Druze community enjoy strong relations with Syria’s Kurds, and their most powerful spiritual leader has called for the establishment of a route to connect Suwayda to Rojava. The DAANES officials have expressed readiness to provide full support for the Druze, especially humanitarian.
Mazloum Abdi, chief of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), has confirmed that they had received appeals from the Druze in Suwayda to "secure safe passages for civilians and to stop the attacks targeting them."
Issa said the Kurdish Red Crescent plans to deliver medicine, food, and essential supplies for women and children to Suwayda once they receive permission to enter the province.
“If we cannot get permission to enter, we will try to send cash,” he stated, noting that sending aid is better than cash as the lack of essentials in the province will render cash useless.
