Fresh clashes in Syria as al-Sharaa's interim government flails

South China Morning Post

2 days ago

New outbreaks of violence overnight into Sunday rocked Syria at two distinct flashpoints, straining a fragile ceasefire and calling into question the ability of the transitional government to exert its authority across the whole country.
In the north, government-affiliated fighters confronted Kurdish-led forces who control much of the region, while in the southern province of Sweida, they clashed with Druze armed groups.
The outbreaks come at a time when Syria's interim authorities are trying to maintain a tense ceasefire in Sweida province after clashes with Druze factions last month, and to implement an agreement with the US-backed, Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces that would reintegrate large swathes of northeastern Syria with the rest of the country.
The Syrian government under interim President
Ahmad al-Sharaa has been struggling to consolidate control since he led a surprise insurgency that ousted former President Bashar al-Assad in December, ending the Assad family's decades-long autocratic rule. Political opponents and ethnic and religious minorities have been suspicious of Sharaa's de facto Islamist rule and cooperation with affiliated fighters that come from militant groups.
State television said clashes between government forces and militias belonging to the Druze religious minority rocked the southern province of Sweida on Saturday after
Druze factions attacked Syrian security forces, killing at least one member. The state-run Alikhbaria channel cited an anonymous security official who said the ceasefire has been broken. The Defence Ministry has not issued any formal statement.
Wafa Ziadah, a Druze from Abu Snan, takes part in a charity drive collecting aid, including food, medicine and other goods, at a community centre in Julis, northern Israel, to be sent to the Druze city of Sweida in Syria, on July 28. Photo: Reuters
Meanwhile, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based war monitor, said in addition to the member of the security forces killed, one Druze was killed and at least nine others were wounded in the clashes that took place in the western part of Sweida province. The Observatory said the clashes took place at the strategic Tal al-Hadeed heights that overlook Daraa province next door.