Clashes erupt between Druze and Syrian government forces in Suwayda

Violent clashes erupted on Thursday night in western Suwayda governorate between the newly formed Druze National Guard and Syrian government General Security forces, involving heavy weapons and drones in the most significant escalation in the region in months.

The fighting lasted for hours and included mutual targeting of contact lines using drones, mortars and heavy machine guns, the sources said. No information was available on any changes to control maps.

The National Guard, founded by Sheikh Hikmat al-Hijri, a Druze leader, blamed government forces for the escalation.

The town of al-Majdal "was subjected to a large-scale attack that lasted for more than an hour, through several axes, using heavy and medium weapons and attack drones," the National Guard said in a statement.

His forces "valiantly repelled the attempt, inflicting heavy losses on the attacking forces in terms of equipment and personnel."

The state-run Syrian News Agency quoted a security source as saying "outlaw groups are targeting with mortars and heavy machine guns the towns of Wolga, Tal al-Aqra, Tal Hadid and al-Mazraa in rural Sweida." There was no immediate official comment from the General Security Service or the Syrian government.

The almost daily skirmishes that have continued for months escalated into large-scale clashes.

According to media reports, General Security Forces carried out "several attacks and violations" from their positions, using drones and heavy machine guns.

The National Guard intensified strikes on the "sources of fire" with heavy machine guns and mortars in response.

'Will Syria become a peaceful country?'

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Israel is keeping an eye on the latest developments and decisions by interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa, stating, "I'm going to look at what is actually being done, what is actually being achieved."

"Does Syria become a peaceful country? Does he weed out the jihadists in his own military? Does he work forward with me to achieve a demilitarised zone in southwest Syria that abuts the Golan Heights?" Netanyahu asked in a televised interview on Thursday.

"What do we do to secure our Druze brothers, the Syrian Druze brothers of Israel, who were mutilated, massacred, almost as bad as in the 7 October massacre that was conducted by Hamas in Gaza," he said.

If the demilitarisation of southwest Syria and permanent protection for the Druze minority does take place, "we can move on," Netanyahu concluded.

Speaking at an event in London on Thursday, Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad Hassan al-Shibani said that the events in Suwayda "stemmed from accumulated social tensions that escalated into clashes, sparked by Israeli interference."

The government is "working carefully to contain the crisis", al-Shibani said, noting that more than 70 relief convoys have been sent to the province. He added that "there are parties in the province that do not want a settlement."