Key facts
- Clashes have erupted in Syria's Suweida province between local Druze factions and government forces.
- The fighting marks a breach of a fragile ceasefire previously brokered in the region.
- Reports from local sources indicate multiple deaths and injuries.
- Differing accounts exist regarding who initiated the latest hostilities.
- Tensions in Suweida reflect deeper grievances over governance and living conditions.
Clashes have renewed in Syria's Suweida province, breaching a fragile ceasefire between local Druze factions and government forces. Fighting was reported along the al-Majdal axis in the western part of the province, an area where tensions have been high for weeks.
Syrian state television channel Al-Ikhbariyah quoted a security source stating that "the rebellious gangs in Suwayda violated the ceasefire, and targeted positions of the Internal Security Forces in the village of al-Majdal west of the province." This narrative places blame on the local factions.
However, a separate source in Suweida, close to the local factions, offered a contrasting account to The New Arab's Arabic edition. This source stated that the al-Majdal axis experienced an exchange of fire between 7:30 a.m. and 9:00 a.m., and that the factions "responded only to the sources of fire" on that axis.