Syria builds temporary camps as 25,000 flee violence in Suweida

The local government in Syria's southern Daraa province has announced the construction of temporary camps to shelter thousands of displaced people fleeing violence in neighbouring Suweida, where recent clashes have left hundreds dead and triggered a mass exodus.

According to a statement from Daraa's emergency committee, more than 4,600 families, over 25,000 people, have arrived from Suweida in the past two weeks.

The displacement was driven by what authorities described as "terrorising and killing operations" carried out by "lawless gangs" across various parts of the province.

Many of the displaced are originally from Suweida, while others had been living there before the latest escalation.

The Daraa governorate has already set up 63 temporary shelters in unused school buildings in the eastern and central countryside, in coordination with local and international organisations.

However, due to concerns about the continued use of schools as shelters ahead of the new academic year, as well as ongoing fears among the displaced of returning to Suweida amid continued kidnappings and violence, authorities said they had decided to build temporary camps.

The local government said the move was intended to be a stopgap measure "until security and stability are restored in Suweida to allow for a safe and dignified return".

UN prepares emergency aid

The announcement comes amid worsening humanitarian conditions in Suweida, where a fragile ceasefire has followed nearly two weeks of fierce fighting between Druze local factions and Bedouin tribal fighters.

The violence, which began on 13 July, intensified after Syrian government forces intervened, resulting in more than 1,000 deaths, according to the Syrian Network for Human Rights. The United Nations estimates that roughly 175,000 people have been displaced in total.

With Syria's foreign ministry recently granting approval for direct access to Suweida, UN agencies are preparing a new humanitarian aid convoy to deliver food and supplies to affected communities.

"We're organising a convoy with a variety of different UN agencies' support, which we expect will be the beginning of blanket access," said Marianne Ward, head of the World Food Programme (WFP) in Syria.

Ward noted that "essentially anyone who lives in Sweida now needs support, and anybody who has left Sweida to go to Daraa needs support".

The WFP has already delivered nearly 250 metric tons of wheat flour to bakeries in Suweida and sent ready-to-eat meals for 50,000 people there, along with food for 10,000 displaced people in Daraa.

Despite the ceasefire, residents told Reuters that basic services such as electricity, water, food, and medicine remain in critically short supply. Humanitarian groups have warned that without a lasting calm, sustained aid delivery will remain impossible.

"We can't just drop it and run away - we have to be able to bring it and provide it to those people who need it most," Ward added.

Thousands of families have been transported by bus from inside Suweida to the Bosra al-Sham crossing into Daraa, where Syria's civil defence has coordinated their relocation to safer areas.

The UN says it is continuing to assess needs on the ground and prepare additional support, while the Syrian government and international agencies work to prevent further deterioration of conditions in the south.