Druze worry about being left behind in post-war Syria

Recent attacks on the religious minority in Damascus have fuelled growing distrust towards the state.

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For hours, she cowered in fear as fighters dressed in military-style uniforms and desert camouflage roamed the streets of the neighbourhood. A heavy machine gun was mounted on a military vehicle just beneath her balcony window.

"Jihad against Druze" and "we are going to kill you, Druze," the men were shouting.

She did not know who the men were - extremists, government security forces, or someone else entirely - but the message was clear: as a Druze, she was not safe.

The Druze - a community with its own unique practices and beliefs, whose faith began as an off-shoot of Shia Islam - have historically occupied a precarious position in Syria's political order.