At least ten armed elements affiliated with the ruling Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) regime have been injured after they engaged in a fierce exchange of gunfire with members of a local Druze group in Syria’s restive southern province of Sweida.
Local news outlets, citing the so-called Internal Security Command in the province, said HTS forces were targeted near the villages of al-Mansoura, Walgha, and Tall Hadid on Monday night.
Renewed fighting between so-called Druze National Guard forces led by Sheikh Hikmat al-Hijri, a Druze religious leader, and HTS forces affiliated with former al-Qaeda commander and the Arab country’s self-proclaimed president Abu Mohammad al-Jolani, broke out after two civilians were killed in similar clashes west of Sweida city, according to reports.
An unnamed Druze security source told AFP news agency that a shell launched Sunday from an area controlled by HTS militants “targeted the outskirts of the city of Sweida, striking a tractor and killing two people on board, the driver and a woman who was with him.”
The so-called Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said in a report that HTS forces and local Druze armed groups have been locked in heavy fighting since Saturday night.
In a statement on Monday night, the Druze National Guard accused HTS-linked militants of “firing a number of mortar shells and indiscriminately firing 23mm machine guns… with the aim of harming civilians,” adding that a child was wounded as a result.
The group said it was “responding to the sources of fire with appropriate means.”
Rights groups and local residents say the HTS administration has intensified sectarian divisions and fueled waves of violence across Syria’s provinces.
Sweida saw some of the deadliest incidents. The province witnessed a week of bloody clashes beginning July 13, with estimates of the death toll ranging from 814 to 1,653.
Most of the victims were Druze, though it remains unclear how many were civilians or fighters.
The violence forms part of a pattern seen across Syria since the downfall of President Bashar al-Assad’s government.
The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported nearly 11,000 civilian deaths since militant factions led by HTS seized power in December 2024.
It documented widespread abuses, including field executions, torture, kidnappings, and indiscriminate attacks.
