Violence Erupts Across Syria: Clashes in Sweida, Aleppo, and Quneitra Test Fragile Ceasefire
Syria experienced two separate outbreaks of violence over the weekend, threatening a fragile ceasefire across the war-torn nation. Government forces engaged in skirmishes with Kurdish-led forces in the north and clashed with Druze militias in Sweida province in the south.
In the north, government troops faced off against Kurdish forces who control much of the region. Meanwhile, in Sweida, there were violent encounters between the Syrian military and armed Druze groups.
The recent violence comes at a delicate time for Syria’s interim administration, which is attempting to maintain a fragile ceasefire in Sweida province following clashes with Druze factions last month. The government is also working towards implementing an agreement with the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) aimed at reintegrating northeastern Syria into the country’s governance structure.
President Ahmad al-Sharaa, who led a surprise insurgency that ousted former President Bashar Assad in December, has faced criticism for his de facto Islamist rule and cooperation with affiliated militant groups. Political opponents and ethnic and religious minorities have expressed concerns over Sharaa’s leadership.
State media reported clashes between government forces and Druze factions in Sweida on Saturday, resulting in the death of at least one security personnel member. The state-run Alikhbaria channel cited an anonymous security official who claimed that the ceasefire had been broken. No formal statement has been issued by the Defense Ministry.
According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a British war monitor, one Druze was killed and at least nine others were wounded in the clashes that took place in western Sweida province. The clashes occurred at strategic Tal al-Hadeed heights, overlooking Daraa province.
Aid convoys continue to enter Sweida city as part of a tense truce following over a week of violent clashes in July between Druze militias and armed Bedouin clans backed by government forces. However, humanitarian conditions remain dire, with residents calling for the road into the city to be fully opened, claiming that the aid received is insufficient.
The clashes displaced tens of thousands of people and followed months of tension between Damascus and Sweida. The fighting led to a series of targeted sectarian attacks against the Druze minority, who are now wary of peaceful coexistence. In response, Druze militias launched retaliatory attacks against Bedouin communities in western Sweida province, displacing many to neighboring Daraa.
Elsewhere, government-affiliated forces clashed with the SDF in northern Aleppo province. The Defense Ministry reported that three civilians and four soldiers were wounded after the SDF launched a rocket barrage near Manbij “in an irresponsible manner and without just cause.”
SDF spokesperson Farhad Shami, however, stated that the group was responding to indiscriminate shelling by government forces on Deir Haffar, an eastern city in the same province. The eastern part of Aleppo province is divided between areas controlled by the government and by the SDF, with tensions still high as both sides work towards implementing a ceasefire and agreement for integration.
“The Ministry of Defense’s efforts to distort facts and mislead public opinion do not contribute to security or stability,” Shami said in a post on X (formerly Twitter).
In Quneitra province, the Israeli military announced it conducted another ground operation in the area bordering the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights. The Israeli troops questioned several suspects they accused of involvement in weapons trafficking in the village of Hader and raided four areas where weapons were being trafficked.
Since Assad’s ouster, Israel has conducted numerous strikes and military operations in southern Syria, claiming that its forces are targeting militant groups that pose a threat to Israelis and residents of the Golan Heights. Damascus has criticized Israel’s military activity, and both sides have been attempting to negotiate a security arrangement through U.S.-mediated talks. The talks intensified after Israel backed the Druze in Sweida during the earlier clashes, with Israel striking military personnel near the southern city and launching an airstrike targeting the Defense Ministry headquarters in central Damascus.