Suweida truce under threat as Druze gunmen attack Syrian troops

Clashes between government forces and Druze gunmen erupted in Suweida on Sunday morning, threatening a fragile two-week truce that ended the worst sectarian violence to hit southern Syria in years.

At least one member of the security forces was killed and several others injured after Druze fighters attacked a government position near the village of Al-Thala, according to local media.

The interior ministry said its forces had come under fire in multiple locations, with several villages in the Suweida countryside hit with mortars and rockets.

The fighting resulted in the "martyrdom and injury of a number of security personnel", it said in a statement.

The attacks jeopardise the ceasefire in place since 19 July that brought an end to a week of clashes between Druze militias, Bedouin tribes and government forces.

Hundreds of people were killed and tens of thousands were displaced in the violence. Pro-government fighters and Druze gunmen were accused of committing war crimes against civilians.

Damascus has since deployed troops into the semi-autonomous Druze-majority region, whose leaders have been reluctant to fully integrate with the country's new Islamist-led government.

The fighting on Sunday began when armed groups seized a strategic hilltop west of Suweida, which had been controlled by government forces since the ceasefire, sources told Al Araby Al Jadeed, the Arabic-language sister site of The New Arab.

Videos and images circulating on Telegram showed Druze fighters in possession of police trucks and an armoured vehicle that appear to have been captured during the attack. The New Arab was unable to independently verify the images.

Security forces later closed a humanitarian corridor near Busra al-Sham, south of the provincial capital, following the clashes, security sources told Syria TV.

"As these gangs failed to thwart the efforts of the Syrian state and its responsibilities towards our people in Suweida, they resorted to violating the ceasefire agreement by launching treacherous attacks internal security forces," the interior ministry said.

"Rebel gangs continue their attempts to drag [Suweida] into tension and chaos, driven by the personal motives of their leaders," it added, accusing the groups of stealing humanitarian aid and conducting arbitrary arrests.

Druze leaders have been divided about how to engage with the new Syrian government amid concerns about its attitude towards minorities.

Damascus has been in talks with the community over reintegrating the province into national institutions such as the army, though the negotiations are yet to bear fruit.

The clashes came as the Israeli military conducted fresh raids in southern Syria.

Israel seized swathes of Syrian territory and launched hundreds of airstrikes against its military in the days following Bashar al-Assad's ouster in December.

In July, it bombed government sites in Damascus and Suweida province to force Syrian troops to withdraw from the south.

Israel claims it is acting to protect the Druze and has threatened to attack the new government with full force if it deploys across the south.

Officials, including the Israeli foreign minister, have declared ambitions to fragment the country along sectarian lines.