As-Sawra al-Kabira
As-Sawra al-Kabira
الصورة الكبيرة | |
|---|---|
Village | |
As-Sawra al-Kabira Location in Syria | |
| Coordinates: 33°7′55.48″N 36°31′32.4″E / 33.1320778°N 36.525667°E | |
| Country | Syria |
| Governorate | Suwayda |
| District | Shahba |
| Subdistrict | Sawra as-Saghira |
| Population (2004) | |
• Total | 885 |
| Time zone | UTC+2 (EET) |
| • Summer (DST) | +3 |
As-Sawra al-Kabira (Arabic: الصورة الكبيرة) is a village situated in the Shahba District of Suwayda Governorate, in southern Syria. According to the Syria Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), As-Sawra al-Kabira had a population of 885 in the 2004 census.[1] Its inhabitants are predominantly Druze, with a Christian minority.[2]
Civil war
On the evening on 30 April 2025, armed groups attacked Druze-majority villages of Ira, Rasas, and As-Sawra al-Kabira, and shelled Kanaker in Suwayda Governorate and clashed with local Druze armed groups. Syrian government forces were soon after deployed to the area to restore stability.[3][4] The attackers were later reportedly identified to be linked to the Syrian Ministry of Defense.[5]
In As-Sawra al-Kabira, the shrine and museum of Issam Zahreddine, a late Druze military officer and former commander of the Syrian Republican Guard who had a poor reputation as part of the Ba'athist regime's forces, was burned and destroyed by unknown attackers,[6][7] the building was eventually blown up.[8]
During the southern Syria clashes in July 2025, the Mar Mikhael Church in the village was robbed, vandalized, and burned by members of the Defence and Interior Ministries, along with armed Bedouin men.[9][10][11]
Demographics
In 2011, the Melkite Greek Catholic Church had approximately 2,500 believers.[12]
Religious buildings
See also
References
- ^ "نتائج تعداد السكان والمساكن لعام 2004 على مستوى المدينة / قرية". Archived from the original on 2016-03-05. Retrieved 2016-03-05.
- ^ "Druze communities in the Middle East". British Druze Society. Archived from the original on September 11, 2011.
- ^ "هدوء حذر في السويداء بعد اشتباكات عنيفة وانتشار للجيش لضبط الأمن" [Calm returns to Suwayda after fierce clashes and army deployment to restore security]. Syria TV (in Arabic). 1 May 2025. Archived from the original on 1 May 2025. Retrieved 1 May 2025.
- ^ "انتشار قوات الأمن العام في بلدة الصورة الكبرى بريف السويداء لتعزيز الأمن والاستقرار" [Deployment of Public Security Forces in al-Surah al-Kubra, rural Suwayda, to enhance security and stability]. Syrian Arab News Agency (in Arabic). 1 May 2025. Archived from the original on 1 May 2025. Retrieved 1 May 2025.
- ^ "بعد قصفها بالمدفعية.. قوات وزارة الدفاع السورية تنتشر في بلدة بريف السويداء" [After shelling it with artillery.. Syrian Ministry of Defense forces deploy in a town in Suwayda's countryside]. Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (in Arabic). 30 April 2025. Retrieved 1 May 2025.
- ^ "حرق ضريح عصام زهر الدين في ريف السويداء" [Issam Zahreddine's mausoleum burned in Suwayda's countryside]. Al-Modon (in Arabic). 1 May 2025. Archived from the original on 1 May 2025. Retrieved 1 May 2025.
- ^ "الأمن العام ينتشر في قرية عصام زهر الدين وصور صادمة عن "ضريح" ومتحف "السفاح"" [General Security deployed in Issam Zahreddine's village amid shocking images from the "mausoleum" and "butcher's museum"]. Syria TV (in Arabic). 1 May 2025. Archived from the original on 1 May 2025. Retrieved 1 May 2025.
- ^ "منفذ مذابح دير الزور بلا قبر: تفجير ضريح المجرم "اللواء عصام زهر الدين" في السويداء" [Perpetrator of Deir ez-Zor massacres left without a grave: Shrine of criminal Major General Issam Zahreddine blown up in Suwayda]. Shaam News Network (in Arabic). 1 May 2025. Archived from the original on 3 May 2025. Retrieved 3 May 2025.
- ^ "مجموعة مسلحة تضرم النار في كنيسة مار ميخائيل بريف السويداء" [Armed group sets fire to Mar Mikhael Church in Suwayda's countryside]. Syria TV (in Arabic). 16 July 2025. Archived from the original on 16 July 2025. Retrieved 16 July 2025.
- ^ "Local factions retake large swaths of As-Suwayda Governorate". Hawar News Agency. 15 July 2025. Archived from the original on 15 July 2025. Retrieved 15 July 2025.
- ^ https://www.syriahr.com/en/367805/
- ^ https://www.melkitepat.org/melkite_greek_catholic_church/Metropole-of-Bosra-and-Hauran
- ^ https://albishara.net/church/details/3140
- ^ https://www.melkitepat.org/melkite_greek_catholic_church/Metropole-of-Bosra-and-Hauran