Truce breach: Heavy clashes erupt in southern Syria; no casualties

Fierce fighting has erupted between Syrian internal security forces and the so-called National Guard units in the western countryside of Sweida, in yet another violation of the truce.

According to local sources, the confrontations saw the use of heavy machine guns together with mortar shelling, with intensified fighting along several lines of advance west of the city.

A Britain-based monitoring group, the so-called Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), also confirmed fresh shelling hitting zones in the vicinity of the civil prison and al-Omran roundabout on Sweida's western outskirts.

The group said the bombardment consisted of intense gunfire and mortar rounds launched by the Syrian administration troops together with armed tribal fighters stationed in Walgha, Mansoura, and neighboring villages.

No deaths or injuries have been recorded from the clashes so far.

Field reports showed that the front lines to the west of Sweida saw a new violation of the agreed ceasefire earlier in the evening. The western axis around the industrial zone, the civil prison, and the Al-Omran roundabout came under sustained heavy fire.

Based on intelligence gathered so far, the shooting originated from the Walgha, Rima Hazem, and Mansoura direction, the areas that Syrian administration forces and their allied tribal fighters are positioned.

The self-proclaimed National Guard units showed reaction by firing back toward the points of origin which caused reciprocal clashes across various battlefronts.

The developments have heightened tensions in the area, amid a state of military alert and mobilization.

The developments have raised tensions throughout the area, amid a state of military readiness and active mobilization.

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