A tense calm returned Sunday to the fighting fronts in Sweida, southern Syria, after a new breach of the local ceasefire was reported early in the morning. 

According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, the violation involved heavy machine-gun fire targeting the village of Ara, southwest of Sweida, launched from positions held by government forces in the al-Burj area west of the village. 

Local Druze factions responded to the gunfire, though no confirmed casualties were reported, the Observatory said. 

A source from the local factions in Sweida told the Observatory that the incident in Ara was not an internal dispute between Druze groups, as claimed by media aligned with the transitional government in Damascus, but rather an infiltration attempt by government elements toward one of the village’s fronts, which the factions repelled. 

Ceasefire agreement

Government forces and Druze factions had reached a truce in Sweida that took full effect on July 21. The deal stipulated the withdrawal of armed tribesmen who had entered from other provinces, as well as the pullout of all government military personnel from the governorate’s administrative borders, with future entry of army convoys banned.

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Sweida witnessed heavy clashes last July between Druze gunmen and Bedouin tribesmen backed by Damascus government forces, leading to the deaths of 2,026 people in field executions, Israeli strikes, and other forms of armed violence, according to the Observatory.

The United Nations' Special Envoy for Syria, Geir Pedersen, briefed the Security Council on August 21 that the Sweida ceasefire "agreed on 19 July has come under strain, but, so far, has prevented a slide back into open conflict… That said, we are still seeing dangerous hostilities and skirmishes on the margins of Sweida, and violence could resume at any moment."

Pedersen added that "the absence of stronger commitments and mutual trust continues to undermine the ceasefire’s stability."

Calls for independent Druze region

The spiritual leader of Syria's Druze community, Sheikh Hikmat al-Hijri, called on "the international community and free nations" to stand by Syria's Druze in declaring, per his words, "a separate region to protect us."

Sheikh al-Hijri's remarks followed the announcement of the formation of a local military force in Sweida, dubbed the "National Guard," stressing that this force will "defend the land with the guarantees of nations concerned."

He pointed out that "our journey has begun with a new title following the recent ordeal, which was intended to exterminate the Druze community in Syria," referring to the clashes that took place in Sweida Governorate from July through August.

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The Druze spiritual leader emphasised the necessity of forming a participatory government, adopting a civilian constitution, and establishing a national army. He also proposed the option of adopting a decentralised system in the country, making these demands conditional on the cooperation of the ruling Ahmad al-Sharaa administration.