DAMASCUS/ISTANBUL

Outlaw groups have continued to undermine security in Syria’s southern Suwayda province and violate the ceasefire agreement for the third consecutive day, according to state media on Saturday.

A security source told the official Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) that “outlaw groups in Suwayda are violating the ceasefire agreement and targeting Internal Security Forces positions along the Walgha axis in the province’s countryside.”

Another security source, speaking to the state-run Alikhbariah TV channel, said that outlaw groups in Suwayda breached the ceasefire and targeted security force positions in the village of Al-Majdal in the western countryside.

Neither source provided further details about casualties or the identity of the perpetrators.

On Friday, Suleiman Abdel-Baqi, head of the Internal Security Directorate in Suwayda, told Alikhbariah that no injuries were recorded among security personnel during the latest security breach in the province.

Abdel-Baqi said there were recommendations to contain tensions and keep channels of dialogue open, noting that the province had previously experienced unrest. He added that large numbers of residents are now contacting security authorities, demanding an end to the chaos without bloodshed.

According to the channel, Abdel-Baqi added that “Hikmat al-Hijri, the spiritual leader of Syria’s Druze community, bears responsibility for dragging Suwayda toward bloodshed.”

Earlier on Saturday, a security source told Alikhbariah that “rebel gangs in Suwayda targeted service facilities in the Mazraa area of the provincial countryside.”

On Thursday, outlaw groups targeted the towns of Walgha, Tel al-Aqra’, Tel Hadid, and Mazraa in Suwayda’s countryside with mortar shells and heavy machine guns.

Suwayda has observed a ceasefire since July 19 following a weeklong bout of clashes between Druze groups and Bedouin tribes that left hundreds dead.

Since Bashar al-Assad’s ouster in late 2024, Syria’s new administration has taken several measures to restore security in Syria and pursued political and economic reforms, while promoting social cohesion and working to expand cooperation with regional and international partners.

Assad, Syria’s leader for nearly 25 years, fled to Russia last December, ending the Baath Party regime, which had been in power since 1963. A new transitional administration led by President Ahmad al-Sharaa was formed in January.