Cautious calm prevailed on Thursday, October 16, in As-Suwayda (southern Syria), following clashes between government forces and local factions aligned with Sheikh Hikmat al-Hijri in Suwayda.
Enab Baladi’s correspondent reported that local factions in As-Suwayda launched an attack on government forces from the al-Mujabal area near the villages of Wulgha (Suwayda countryside, southern Syria) and Rima Hazem (Suwayda countryside, southern Syria).
According to the correspondent, exchanges of fire between the factions and security forces continued for a period on Thursday evening, after which calm set in.
The correspondent confirmed that “cautious calm” currently prevails along the lines of contact between government forces and the local factions in Suwayda.
While local factions control the provincial center and parts of its countryside, government forces hold the western countryside.
The “National Guard,” formed by the Druze spiritual leader Sheikh Hikmat al-Hijri and comprising 30 local factions, said in a statement on Wednesday evening, October 15, that what it described as “terrorist gangs” based in the village of Rima Hazem carried out medium-caliber machine-gun fire toward the town of Sleem (Suwayda countryside, southern Syria), in what it called a “clear breach” of the ceasefire and an attempt to “undermine security and stability.”
The “National Guard” said it responded to the sources of fire, affirmed that the situation on the axis was stable and secure, and stated it was “ready and prepared to deal with any contingency,” according to the statement.
The local platform “Suwayda 24,” which covers the province’s news, reported that two mortar shells fell near the towns of Sleem (Suwayda countryside, southern Syria) and Atil (Suwayda countryside, southern Syria), fired from Rima Hazem, where government forces are positioned, with no reports of injuries or fatalities.
The platform added that “National Guard” positions in the area responded to the attack with medium-caliber machine guns.
The Syrian government and the Ministries of Defense and Interior had not commented on the incident as of the time this report was published.
On July 19, the United States Special Envoy to Syria, Thomas Barrack, announced an international agreement for a ceasefire in As-Suwayda (southern Syria).
Suwayda events
The As-Suwayda events began on July 12, following tit-for-tat kidnappings between residents of the al-Maqous neighborhood in Suwayda, an area with a majority of Arab Bedouin residents, and members of the Druze community. The situation escalated the next day into a series of mutual clashes.
The Syrian government intervened on July 14 to end the dispute. Still, its intervention was accompanied by violations against Druze civilians, prompting local factions to respond, including some that had previously cooperated with the defense and interior ministries.
On July 16, government forces withdrew from Suwayda after being struck by Israeli forces. Subsequent violations and acts of retaliation targeted Bedouin residents in the province, leading to the dispatch of military convoys in the form of “tribal support” columns in their defense.
Afterward, the Syrian government and Israel reached an agreement, mediated by the United States, to halt military operations.
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