Clashes broke out May 4 in Syria's southern as-Suwayda [13] (Suweida) governorate between the central government's Internal Security Forces and Druze armed groups affiliated with the region's self-declared "National Guard [14]." Fighters from the Guard's "501 Knights of Hamza" battalion attempted to advance toward government lines in the governorate's western countryside under heavy cover fire, including from truck-mounted machine-guns and rocket-launchers. Government forces responded with mortar fire. (TNA [16])
Since the fall of the Bashar Assad dictatorship in December 2024, Israel has occupied large areas of eastern as-Suwayda, and is believed to have dropped arms to Druze fighters in the region. The province has been effectively divided since fighting broke out last year between Druze militia and central government forces and their local Bedouin allies. (ToI [17])
The new fighting came one day after Jordan carried out air-strikes on as-Suwayda, ostensibly targeting a depot storing arms and illicit drugs "controlled by rebel groups" in the village of Shahba. Contraband trade in the drug captagon [18] has long been a source of revenue for warring factions in Syria. (AFP [19])
Syria's transitional government [20] continues to face other challenges. Damascus on May 5 declared that its forces had foiled a Hezbollah plot to assassinate members of President Ahmad al Shara's government, with security forces seizing weapons and explosives in raids across the country. The raids, in which at least 11 people were detained, were the most extensive yet against Hezbollah since the fall from power of the group's former patron Bashar Assad. (The National [21], UAE)
