The Clashes Of The Armed Druze Faction, The Bedouin Tribe Increased In Suwayda

Major clashes erupted between armed Druze factions and Bedouin forces near the western entrance to Suwayda City in southern Syria on Friday (18/7).

According to the Anadolu correspondent in Syria, fighting escalated after armed group Druze affiliated with the Hikmat al-Hajri group expelled the Bedouin family from the surrounding area.

Tensions followed the withdrawal of Syrian government forces from the region on Wednesday (16/7) after an agreement in the local area was reached to defuse violence.

In response, armed group Druze withdrew from the outskirts and formed a defensive line in the city center, while small fighting continued along the western front.

Although the Syrian regime refrained from being directly involved in the ongoing fighting, the transitional government forces still control the main roads leading to the provincial capital.

In addition, Israeli forces on Wednesday also launched airstrikes against more than 160 targets in four Syrian regions - Suwayda, Daraa, Damascus and rural Damascus, killing three people and injuring 34 people in the capital alone.

Earlier on June 13, clashes erupted between several Bedouin Arabs and armed group Druze in Suwayda.

With violent acts increasing, there was also a deadly attack by Druze fighters against Syrian security forces stationed in the region. Dozens of soldiers were reported killed.

A temporary ceasefire was reached between government forces and local Druze factions, but is coming to an end. After that, Israel launched airstrikes, targeting the position and infrastructure of the Syrian military.

Israel argued that the attack on Syria last Wednesday was carried out to "protect the Druze community," especially in the southern region of the country. However, most of the Druze leaders in Syria have publicly rejected foreign interference and reaffirmed their commitment to the unity of the Syrian state.

After Bashar Assad's regime crashed in December 2024, Israel intensified its airstrikes in Syria and declared the buffer zone between the two countries no longer valid at the same time as the Release Agreement in 1974.

Assad, who has been a Syrian leader for nearly 25 years, fled to Russia in December, ending the Baath Party regime, which has been in power since 1963.

A new transitional government led by President Ahmad al-Sharaa was formed in Syria in January.