US citizens executed under eight druzen family members in Syria

US citizens executed under eight druzen family members in Syria

An American citizen from Oklahoma was among eight men who were killed in an execution style during the violent clashes in Syria last week. Hosam Saraya, a 35-year-old Syrian-American citizen, was identified by his friend Bahaa Imad and a relative from the United States as one of the victims whose murder was recorded in a video that circulated on weekends on social media.

The cruel murder

The video that CNN is geolocalized shows a group of armed men in military uniforms and with facial masks that fire on eight captured men and call "God is big". CNN cannot confirm the identity of the shooters in the video independently. A statement by the Syrian government was requested.

According to a relative in the USA who wanted to remain anonymous, Saraya's brother Kareem and other family members were also executed. She spoke directly to relatives in Syria, who reported that all male family members were killed, while only women and daughters survived.

The murders occurred on July 17 during a breakout from Sectarian Violence between Syrian Druze groups and Bedouin trunks in the mostly druze-shaped province of Suwayda.

background to the druze community

Saraya, who had studied in Oklahoma before returning to Syria, belonged to the Druze community, an Arab religious group of around one million people who mainly live in Syria, Lebanon and Israel. He returned to Syria to take care of his sick father, the relative reported in the USA.

surviving women of the family remembered how militant stormed the family's multi -storey house in the early morning, which caused the residents to defend themselves. After a family member was wounded, the others gave up their weapons and the men were brought outside.

Bahaa Imad, a 20-year-old friend of the Saraya family, confirmed these details by explaining that he observed how the militants stormed the house and drained eight men, while the female family members stayed inside

The desperate message

The relative in the USA learned for the first time of the attack when one of the surviving women sent her a desperate message: "Pray for us, they kidnapped the boys, they shot on the house, they stole things."

twelve hours passed while the family desperately waited for news and hoped that their relatives would surely return. Only when another relative saw the videos of execution abroad did they realize that the eight men had been killed.

Imad reported that relatives later told him that the prisoners were marched to the Tishreen-Platz 200 meters, where they were placed and shot in a row. One of the men had sent a last message to friends who said: "Come and help us if you can. They surrounded us," said Imad.

imad identified the body of Hosam Saraya after seeing the video.

reactions and demands

"I don't understand how monsters can do something like this," the relative in the United States told CNN. When asked about Saraya's death, the US State Department confirmed on Monday that an American citizen in Suwayda had died. No further details about the incident were announced, but they were “very concerned” when a US citizen was damaged abroad, and called “accounting in all cases in which US citizens suffer damage abroad.”

The senators from Oklahoma, James Lankford and Markwayne Mulllin, also confirmed the killing of an American from their state in Syria. Lankford wrote on X: "Hosam was an Oklahoman and a member of the Druze community, which tragically was executed together with other family members in Syria. We pray for his family, friends and the entire community during this period of mourning about this senseless loss."

Mulllin wrote on X that an "American citizen from Oklahoma" "brutally executed together with his family members in Syria" and added that he worked with partners in the region to find out more about it. The Saraya family did not call his tweet by name.

end of violence?

The widespread violence between the druze minority and Bedouin trunks in southern Syria broke out on July 13th and has challenged hundreds of fatalities. This is the latest eruption of sectarian violence since the fall of the authoritarian regime of Bashar al-Assad through a coalition of Islamist rebels. Violence led to an Israeli intervention in favor of the druze and a conviction by the United States and an international effort to prevent the fights from escalating.

The Syrian government announced on the weekend that the Waffeitus agreement between the government, druze-groups and Bedouin tremors. A separate ceasefire was agreed between Syria and Israel. The deal was announced by US ambassador in Turkey, Tom Barrack, who said it was "accepted" by Turkey, Jordan and other neighboring countries.