Overview

• Clashes between Druze fighters and Bedouin tribes in Sweida’s Maqus district left 37 people dead, including two children, and wounded about 50
• Syrian security forces were dispatched to the region after the violence erupted to contain further bloodshed
• Governor Moustapha al-Bakour called on residents to exercise restraint as sporadic fighting and shelling broke out
• The Damascus-Sweida highway was closed to isolate the violence zone and restrict the movement of fighters
• The July flare-up marks the first fatal encounter between the communities since April–May clashes and underscores deep-rooted sectarian fault lines