[DAMASCUS] Two civilians were killed Sunday as intermittent clashes resumed between Syrian government forces and local armed groups west of the predominantly Druze city of As-Suwayda in southern Syria, marking a new escalation amid continuing tensions between Damascus and local forces controlling parts of the province.
The Media Line’s Syria correspondent, citing a media source in As-Suwayda, reported that a shell fired from an area controlled by government forces landed on the outskirts of As-Suwayda city and struck an agricultural tractor, killing two people aboard.
A second security source who inspected the site said the tractor was completely burned and that the two victims were agricultural workers.
The Media Line’s Syria correspondent also confirmed that intermittent clashes have been taking place since Saturday night between government forces and fighters from the National Guard, a local armed formation aligned with Druze spiritual leader Sheik Hikmat al-Hijri. The Syrian government did not immediately comment on the reported shelling or clashes.
As-Suwayda city and other parts of the southern province remain under the control of local armed groups, while Syrian authorities are seeking to extend state control across the country following the fall of Bashar Assad’s government in December 2024.
The renewed violence comes more than a year after deadly clashes swept As-Suwayda province in July 2025. The violence began amid tensions between Druze and Bedouin groups before government forces intervened and the fighting widened.
According to an official investigative committee, at least 1,760 people were killed in the violence last year. Damascus announced last month that trials had begun for defendants accused of involvement in the unrest.
The latest escalation also comes amid a dispute between Damascus and local forces in As-Suwayda over official school examinations, after thousands of students were unable to reach the centers designated by the Education Ministry for the exams over the past two days.
Government authorities have accused local armed groups of preventing students and buses from traveling to government-controlled areas to take the exams. Local groups, however, say their objections are based on security concerns and demands that the exams be held at safer centers closer to where students live.
Druze make up around 3% of Syria’s population, with As-Suwayda serving as the community’s main population center.
The renewed clashes come as security and administrative arrangements in the province remain a point of contention between Damascus and local forces, putting the fragile calm that followed last year’s violence to a new test.
