Tensions in Al-Sweida: Local factions block military convoy, demand immediate retreat

Shafaq News/ Armed factions in the southern Syrian city of Al-Sweida (As Suwayda) blocked a military convoy from entering the city late Tuesday night, media reports confirmed on Wednesday.

The convoy, consisting of dozens of vehicles allegedly affiliated with Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and its General Security Directorate, attempted to reach the Al-Sweida Police Headquarters without prior coordination with local factions. This triggered a rapid response from the Al-Sweida Joint Operations Room, which deployed checkpoints on the Damascus-al-Sweida highway to halt the convoy.

A source from the operations room stated that the convoy’s commander complied with the demand to return to Damascus after being stopped at a checkpoint.

According to Al Jazeera, the decision to block the convoy was made following directives from Sheikh Hikmat al-Hijri, the spiritual leader of the Druze community, who emphasized that no external military presence would be permitted in the province.

Al-Sweida, predominantly inhabited by the Druze community, has long maintained a policy of resisting outside military interference. Local factions unified under a joint operations room shortly before regime forces withdrew from the province, expelling military personnel and dismantling regime security infrastructure.