Syrian President Ahmad Al Shara's elder brother and chief of staff brokered a deal between Syrian authorities and a leading Druze faction to exchange prisoners during deadly clashes in the south of the country, a source has told The National.
The swap, overseen by the International Committee of the Red Cross, involved 25 government personnel and 61 Druze prisoners, including children.
It comes in partial fulfilment of a peace deal brokered by the US in September to end the conflict between Syrian government forces and the predominantly Druze Sweida region. The sect's leadership, especially senior religious figure Hikmat Al Hijri, has largely resisted the authorities' push to assert control over the area.
A Druze figure involved in the talks told The National that the two sides have been negotiating the swap through the Red Cross for two months. The talks were given impetus after a meeting in Damascus in which Maher Al Shara, the President's brother and one of the most influential men in the country, represented the authorities.
The brother met a representative of Mr Al Hijri and "confidence building measures were discussed", the source said. "The prisoner exchange came as a result."
However, he said the fate of 120 people on both sides who went missing after government forces and tribal auxiliaries attacked Sweida in July remains unresolved.
Maher Al Shara's official role is chief of staff for the president, but he has played a significant role in sensitive issues, like building ties with Russia.
He was assisted in the talks by Hussam Al Tahhan, an official in charge of security in Sweida, while a member of Mr Al Hijri's inner circle, whom the source declined to name, led the negotiations on the Druze side.
The Druze question is among the thorniest sectarian issues in the country. The religious minority is also present in Lebanon, Jordan and Israel. Mr Al Hijri has labelled the government as extremist and called for a right of self-determination for Syria's Druze, which is anathema to the central order led by President Al Shara, who wants a unitary state.
Since toppling former president Bashar Al Assad in December 2024, Mr Al Shara, a former Al Qaeda operative, has become friendly to the United States and has not ruled out peace with Israel.
However, the government attack on Sweida in July drew Israeli military intervention against the Syrian state. Hundreds of civilians, mostly Druze, were killed by the attacking forces. Thousands of tribal auxiliaries joined the government in the fighting.
Official television said on Thursday that the government sent those being released by bus from a prison in Damascus to a roadblock in Sweida, where the exchange then took place.
Stephan Sakalian, head of the ICRC delegation in Syria that co-ordinated the exchange, said it was a step towards more releases and closer dialogue between Damascus and Sweida. “We would like to thank all parties who played a role in reuniting families who have spent months anxiously waiting for their relatives,” he said after the transfer.
“The ICRC hopes this operation will pave the way towards possible further releases and dialogue between all parties on other humanitarian concerns, including on the fate and whereabouts of people gone missing in relation to the hostilities in southern Syria since July 2025."
They were traded for 25 security personnel held by a militia called the National Guard. The 25 were transferred to a compound in Sweida city, the provincial capital, where their relatives were waiting. “The switch has occurred,” independent activist Rayyan Maarouf said.
Interior Ministry spokesman Nour Al Din Al Baba said the swap "falls under" the US-brokered deal in September, which he said was aimed at "easing tensions in Sweida and advancing a peaceful political solution".
"A national solution to the Sweida [issue] is being pursued with international efforts," he said.
The September deal stipulated that the two sides “release all detainees and abductees” held during the government offensive on Sweida in July. Druze sources said children were among the Druze detainees who were released on Thursday. Mr Al Baba said "the humanitarian situation of those released in outlaw groups in Sweida was extremely dire".
Fighting broke out last summer after months of resistance from Mr Al Hijsri, the most senior Druze spiritual leader, to government attempts to impose control in Sweida and appoint new officials in the region. The area has been surrounded by government forces since, with the population reliant on UN and Red Cross aid convoys. The conflict has yet to be fully resolved.
