ABTAA, Syria (Dispatches) — More than a month after sectarian clashes erupted in Syria’s Sweida province, hundreds of Bedouin families displaced by the fighting are living in overcrowded classrooms in Abtaa, southern Dara’a province. 
Forced to flee amid intense conflict, the families now share cramped quarters, with three to four families per room. Due to limited space and privacy, women and children sleep inside while men sleep outside in the courtyard.
The violence began with local tensions between Bedouin clans and the Druze minority in Sweida but escalated into heavy clashes involving Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) militants —led by Abu Muhammad al-Jolani, a former Daesh and Al-Qaeda commander. HTS forces have targeted Druze and Alawite communities, killing civilians and deepening sectarian divisions.  
Munira al-Hamad, 56, from the Bedouin village of al-Kafr in Sweida, said her family was evacuated by the Syrian Arab Red Crescent after enduring a 15-day siege with no access to food or supplies. “We don’t want to live in tents. We want the government to find us houses or somewhere decent to live,” she said. “It’s impossible to return home. Just because we are Muslim, we are treated as enemies in Sweida.”
Al-Hamad described relatives being attacked and robbed by armed men during their flight. Jarrah al-Muhammad, 24, recalled how dozens fled their village, Sahwat Balata, overnight after Druze militants allegedly killed nine unarmed Bedouin civilians, including children under 15. “No one has gone back. Houses were burned and looted. Security no longer exists between us and the Druze. We are the minority here,” he said.
The displaced families face an uncertain future as the school they currently occupy is scheduled to reopen soon, with no clear plan from the HTS regime for their resettlement or safe return. The ongoing sectarian violence and the regime’s control over Sweida complicate any prospects for peace or rehabilitation.
Analysts warn that without meaningful political dialogue and a resolution to the sectarian conflict, displacement may become permanent, further altering the region’s demographics and fueling ongoing tensions. The plight of these Bedouin families underscores the deep humanitarian crisis amid Syria’s fractured conflict under Jolani.