Bitter clashes rekindle between HTS forces, Druze fighters in Syria’s Suweida
Clashes have flared again in Syria’s southwestern province of Suweida, marking the most serious escalation in months between militants affiliated with Syria’s ruling Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) regime and Druze fighters who control most of the region.
The latest fighting involving heavy machine guns erupted late on Friday between local fighters from the so-called National Guard, associated with prominent Druze spiritual leader Sheikh Hikmat al-Hijri, on one side and HTS militants and their allied forces on the other, in an area between Rimat Hazem village and al-Naql district, and situated northwest of Suweida city.
According to the so-called Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), the clashes took place as an explosive-laden drone operated by HTS forces targeted the vicinity of a military installation run by Druze fighters.
Local sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the unmanned aerial vehicle was launched from positions held by HTS-affiliated militants in the village of Al-Mansoura, northwest of Suweida.
The SOHR did not report any casualties on either side.
Advocacy organizations and local residents assert that the HTS administration has exacerbated sectarian divisions and incited surges of violence throughout Syria's provinces.
Suweida experienced some of the most lethal incidents. The province endured a week of violent confrontations starting on July 13, with death toll estimates varying between 814 and 1,653.
The majority of the victims were Druze; however, it is still uncertain how many of them were civilians or combatants.
The violence forms part of a pattern observed throughout Syria following the collapse of President Bashar al-Assad's administration.
According to the Britain-based SOHR, there have been close to 11,000 civilian fatalities since militant groups, primarily HTS, took control in December 2024.
It has recorded extensive violations, such as field executions, torture, abductions, and indiscriminate assaults.
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