Overview

• The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported 37 fatalities in the Sweida clashes, including 27 Druze—two of them children—and 10 Bedouin, with about 50 wounded.
• Violence ignited in the Maqus neighborhood after a wave of kidnappings on the Damascus-Sweida highway, among them the abduction of a Druze merchant.
• This marks the first major deadly confrontation in Sweida since April and May when Druze fighters and security forces clashed.
• Governor Mustapha al-Bakour urged residents to exercise restraint as state security forces were deployed to de-escalate tensions.
• The highway closure disrupted travel and led authorities to postpone secondary school exams scheduled for Monday.