Syrian Photojournalist Sari Majid Al‑Shoufi Killed While Covering Sweida Clashes

July 30, 2025 – Syria –

Sari Majid Al‑Shoufi, a photojournalist for Suwayda 24, was killed while reporting on armed clashes in the countryside around the southern Syrian city of Sweida. He disappeared in the early hours of July 14 during confrontations between Druze militias, Bedouin armed groups, and Syrian military forces. After several days of community‑led searching, his death was confirmed on July 24, prompting urgent calls by the Committee to Protect Journalists for accountability and inquiry.

Al‑Shoufi’s last known location was near a makeshift checkpoint in his home village of Taara, where he had informed colleagues by phone that he was safe and staying with armed locals. He never checked in again.

The violence erupted in mid‑July amid escalating sectarian tensions. Druze and Bedouin fighters clashed violently in both rural and urban sectors of Sweida Governorate, triggering mass displacement and leaving a civilian death toll nearing 138. Al‑Shoufi joined other journalists risking their lives to document developments during intense hostilities marked by gunfire, shelling, and summary executions.

CPJ strongly condemned the killing, describing it as a brutal breach of press protections. The organisation emphasized that Al‑Shoufi’s death underscores how local media workers, often without institutional safeguards, become frontline witnesses and casualties amid conflict. CPJ’s Levant program coordinator called for independent investigations and justice for him. The committee warned that reprisals and impunity are eroding journalistic safety across Syria. They urged local authorities and international bodies to uphold protections guaranteed by international law and to ensure that journalists reporting from volatile zones are not silenced by violence or fear.

Al‑Shoufi’s death represents a painful blow to a community striving to document unfolding violence despite life‑threatening risks. His legacy is a testament to the critical role journalists play in resisting erasure through eyewitness reporting, even as conflict zones grow more dangerous.

References – 

https://cpj.org/2025/07/syrian-photojournalist-killed-while-covering-clashes-in-sweida/