Syria is looking to rebuild its healthcare system after a 14-year long civil war that left at least 300,000 dead and 70% of its population dependent on humanitarian aid.

But the new government faces a major challenge in ensuring the safety of minority groups, along with access to healthcare and humanitarian aid.

The primarily Druze region of Sweida in southern Syria saw a fresh wave of violence in July, displacing 175,000 people. More than 1,400 people were killed, including in reported extra-judicial executions by Bedouin and government troops sent to secure the area, according to multiple media and eyewitness reports as well as the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

UN Syria Envoy Geir Pedersen has expressed serious concerns over “credible reports” of summary executions, arbitrary killings, and abductions of Druze women in Sweida city, following the entry of government security forces in July.

Sweida, which is 91% Druze, has remained under siege with water, food and fuel being in short supply and only one ICRC convoy reaching the area on 29 July – just before fresh clashes erupted again over the weekend between Druze militias and Syrian security forces.