Syria Direct

Dreams of Tremseh come alive as thousands return to Syrian village Explore Tremseh, a village rebuilt after displacement, where residents reclaim their homes and community amid natural beauty.

Dreams of Tremseh come alive as thousands return to Syrian village

✍️ Hanna Davis

Some of the work of rebuilding is subtle, made of everyday moments: hearing the experiences of old friends who never left Tremseh, sharing tea with neighbors or reliving memories of friendly soccer games played with neighboring villages. Dreams, now, are for the future.

Al-Jassem hopes Tremseh can leave the past behind, and focus on rebuilding. They are starting with what they can do as a community: pooling money to buy a new water tank, or donating bread to those in need.

Elsewhere in Hama province, mass attacks have been carried out against Alawite villages blamed for atrocities committed under the Assad regime. In 2012, a UN probe found neighboring villages provided “support” for regime forces during the Tremseh massacre.

Memories of the 2012 massacre are engraved in villagers’ memories, and the scars remain on nearly every street corner. Al-Jassem, who recently became the village’s new mayor, says residents have “opened a new page” and “don’t care for revenge.”

Nearly 20,000 people have returned to Tremseh, the village’s population swelled by new families and children. Since last December, around 1.2 million internally displaced Syrians have returned to their communities, according to the UN.

On January 1, less than a month after the regime fell, al-Jassem and his family found their way back. For his children, the stories of Tremseh came to life. “They were surprised by the water, the trees, the fish,” he recalls.

Bassam al-Jassem ended up in Idlib’s Atma camps, where he stayed for 12 years. When he married and became a father, his children’s bedtime stories were tales of Tremseh: its clear springs, its orchards heavy with fruit.

Most of Tremseh’s original 14,000 residents fled after a massacre on July 12, 2012, scattered to the wind. That day, the village was surrounded by army and pro-regime shabiha forces and bombarded for hours before execution-style killings began.

A recently returned Tremseh villager walks through an orchard with his young son, on his way to tend to his beehives, 19/7/2025

🧵 In Tremseh, an idyllic village in northern Hama with a bloody past, thousands of displaced residents have found their way home. Reunited with old friends, they are working to rebuild a community and heal old scars.

🔗 bit.ly/47jFW4R

Deep grief follows Suwayda’s days of blood - Syria Direct Druze and Bedouin families are united in pain, if little else, reeling with uncertainty and loss after days of deadly violence in Suwayda.

Druze and Bedouin families in southern Syria are united in pain, if little else, reeling with uncertainty and loss after days of deadly violence. Anagha Subhash Nair reports from Suwayda and Daraa:

syriadirect.org/deep-grief-f...

Is there a road forward for Suwayda’s Druze and Damascus? - Syria Direct Activists in Suwayda who were once open to the Damascus government weigh in on how their views have changed following a wave of sectarian violence—and whether any path forward remains.

Is there a road forward for Suwayda’s Druze and Damascus?

✍️ @natachadanon.bsky.social & Walid Al Nofal

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“The future of Suwayda—and perhaps the future of social cohesion in Syria—depends on the state's ability to demonstrate its genuine commitment to citizenship and justice,” said journalist and rights activist Ebaa Munzer.

While many in Suwayda doubt the rift can be bridged, they say what prospect of reconciliation remains is only possible once there is security, meaningful justice, inclusive governance and real national dialogue.

For many local activists, the recent violence was the coup de grace to a gradual process of disillusionment with Syria’s new government. “Little by little, things began to reveal themselves…like the coastal massacres, then the constitutional declaration,” the activist said.

“We regret to say the Syrian people are not one, Syrian blood is not one,” a Druze activist told Syria Direct. She was one of the organizers of Suwayda’s longstanding anti-Assad protest movement, and participated in the March demonstration.

More than 800 people were killed in Suwayda this month, during several days of clashes and sectarian violence involving Druze factions, government security forces and Bedouin tribal forces.

In early March, Suwayda city’s al-Karama (Dignity) Square was filled with optimism as demonstrators chanted in support of Syrian unity: “One, one, one, the Syrian people are one.” Today, those voices are silent.

An aerial view of Druze-majority Suwayda city in southern Syria, 18/7/2025

🧵 Activists in Suwayda who were once open to the Damascus government weigh in on how their views have changed following a wave of sectarian violence—and whether any path forward remains.

🔗 bit.ly/4fb5NhB

Will Europe follow the US, or carve out a Syria policy of its own? - Syria Direct While Brussels followed Washington in lifting sanctions on Syria in May, the European Union and its member states have the opportunity to chart their own course, analysts argue.

Will Europe follow the US, or carve out a Syria policy of its own?

✍️ @natachadanon.bsky.social

Unlike the US, “the Europeans are going to be one of the few voices internationally who are…going to try to work with the Syrians to…address issues like inclusive governance and participation as a cornerstone of longer term stability,” @jbdacey.bsky.social added.

The EU is closely monitoring violence in Suwayda, but "for now, the prevailing assessment is that [al-Sharaa] lacks control, not intent—a view that justifies continued engagement with the current government,” said Katarzyna Sidło of the EU Institute for Security Studies.

“EU institutions themselves are still trying to find their footing in terms of striking the right balance between engagement and also conditionality,” added @rmomtaz.bsky.social of Carnegie Europe.

“The Europeans clearly followed President Trump’s decision-making, and the US decision to lift full sanctions resulted in the Europeans doing the same a few days later,” said @jbdacey.bsky.social of the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR).

Earlier this year, the EU conditioned possible sanctions relief on the protection and inclusion of minorities and women. But in May, two weeks after US President Trump announced his country would lift sanctions, Brussels quickly followed suit.

In December, the EU deployed its Syria envoy and France sent a diplomatic mission, days before the US did. It also partially lifted sanctions months before the US decided to do so.

In the weeks and months after the Assad regime fell, the EU and individual member states conducted a flurry of visits to Damascus, reestablishing diplomatic ties after a 14-year hiatus.

French President Emmanuel Macron (right) and Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa attend a joint press conference in Paris during al-Sharaa’s first visit to Europe since overthrowing Bashar al-Assad in December 2024, 7/5/2025

🧵 As Europe navigates Syria’s post-Assad reality, will it walk in the US’ footsteps or chart a course of its own?

🔗 bit.ly/3GVV25W

Tribal forces flock to Suwayda, clashes reignite after Damascus withdraws - Syria Direct Bedouin tribal fighters clashed with Druze forces in Syria’s southern Suwayda province on Friday, one day after reported revenge attacks in the wake of a government withdrawal touched off a new wave o...

Bedouin tribal fighters clashed with Druze forces in Syria’s southern Suwayda province on Friday, one day after reported revenge attacks in the wake of a government withdrawal touched off a new wave of sectarian violence.

Damascus begins Suwayda withdrawal after days of bloodshed  - Syria Direct The Syrian army began to withdraw from Suwayda city on Wednesday night local time, following two days of clashes with local Druze forces that killed and injured hundreds and provided an opening for ex...

The Syrian army began to withdraw from Suwayda city on Wednesday night local time, following two days of clashes with local Druze forces left hundreds dead and injured and provided an opening for expanded Israeli intervention.

✍️ Walid Al Nofal

syriadirect.org/damascus-beg...