A scholar of religious minorities and the Middle East explains the historical persecution and marginalization of the Alawite and Druze communities.

After deadly clashes in southern Syria, Euronews spoke exclusively to religious leaders and activists from the community about the origins of the Druze and the effects of recent violence. View on euro

A Syrian-American who was taking care of his ill father was among the eight Druze men kidnapped from their family home and “executed’ in the middle of the street, harrowing video shows.

Relatives and officials say a Syrian-American man of the Druze religious minority is among dozens of civilians killed in sectarian clashes in southern Syria

As violence broke out last week between two ethnic groups in southern Syria, both the Israeli and Syrian governments intervened.

When the Syrian civil war erupted in March 2011, Syrian Druze were targeted at times by both the Assad regime, which pressured them to support it, and by Islamist rebel groups that regarded them as infidels. The Druze straddled a fine line throughout the war, seeking, not always successfully, to be left on their own.

Dozens of Bedouin tribesmen marched to Al-Mazraa near Sweida on July 20, residents reported calm in city after days of violence. The armed tribesmen drove towards village which is 12 Km away from centre of Sweida.