Tensions Spread from Damascus suburbs to Sweida countryside

According to the Observatory, pro-government forces fired mortar shells at areas near civilian homes in the villages of Rassas and Al-Soura Al-Kabira in the Sweida countryside, and also used heavy machine guns to target the latter village. These attacks originated from gatherings of government loyalists around the two villages.

This escalation coincides with rising tensions in the Damascus countryside, particularly in areas inhabited by members of the Druze community (Jaramana, Sahnaya, and Ashrafiyat Sahnaya).

Media sources also reported that loud explosions were heard in Ashrafiyat Sahnaya, attributed to Israeli airstrikes coinciding with the presence of aircraft in the skies.

Amid the escalating violence, three young men were killed and ten others wounded— all members of the Druze community—while heading in a convoy from Sweida to Sahnaya in rural Damascus to support local armed groups. They were ambushed by forces affiliated with the Damascus government.

Meanwhile, the “Sweida 24” website reported that a delegation of Druze sheikhs from Sweida arrived in the city of Daraya in rural Damascus. The delegation was led by the spiritual leaders Abu Osama Youssef Jarbou’, Abu Wael Hammoud Al-Hinnawi, the commander of the “Men of Dignity Movement” Sheikh Abu Hassan Yahya Al-Hajjar, and Sheikh Laith Al-Balaous. Their purpose was to hold a meeting with officials from the Damascus government to seek a quick resolution to the crisis in Ashrafiyat Sahnaya.

The website added that the meeting is currently underway and includes governors from Sweida, Damascus, and Rural Damascus on the government side.

a.k

ANHA