The rebellion in Hauran erupted in May 1909, when a business dispute between Druze chief Yahia bey Atrash in the village of Busra al-Harir escalated into a clash of arms between the Druze and Ottoman-backed local villagers. A year of truce attempts followed, but failed to achieve any stability in the area and prompting an Ottoman response. Sami Pasha al-Farouqi arrived in Damascus in August 1910, leading an Ottoman expeditionary force of some 35 battalions. Though the Druze recognized their inferiority against such a force, several clashes followed. Zuqan al-Atrash led a fierce battle against the Ottomans near al-Kafr, where he faced the forces of Sami Pasha al-Farouqi. After engaging Ottoman troops in two villages the Druze resistance collapsed. Sami Pasha used military force and trickery and succeeded in occupying the whole Jabal el-Druze. The rebellion ended with massive casualties among the Druze inhabitants of the Hauran, reaching as much as 10% of the population. The number of killed is put at 2,000 with a similar number of wounded and hundreds of imprisoned, taken into custody in Damascus and Acre. This led to significant depopulation of entire areas within the region. Zuqan, the leader of the revolt, was captured and later executed in 1911 .

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