ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – At least two people were killed and several others were injured as a result of renewed clashes between Syrian forces and the Druze-led National Guard forces in Suwayda, state media reported on Friday, with the two sides trading blame for the hostilities.

“Two people were killed and about 16 others were wounded among the rebel groups in Suwayda when internal security forces repelled their attempt to advance on the Tal Hadid axis in the western countryside,” Syria’s state broadcaster al-Ikhbariya reported.

The Druze-led National Guard forces in an earlier statement accused the Syrian army of initiating the offensive, claiming that government forces “have been carrying out systematic attacks since late last night using drones and various types of heavy and medium machine guns.”

The Druze-led forces said they responded to the source of fire and inflicted “direct and confirmed casualties among the attacking forces.”

Clashes between Druze fighters and Syrian forces have continued intermittently since the fall of former Syrian president Bashar al-Assad’s regime in December 2024, and the rise of Sunni rebels to power.

The Druze leadership have accused the government of pursuing sectarian policies and falling to protect the minority population, while Damascus authorities accuse Druze religious leaders and armed factions of pursuing a separatist agenda.

Tensions between the community and new government peaked in July where the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) documented over 1,600 deaths in Suwayda as a result of clashes between the Druze and Damascus-backed Bedouin tribesmen, including more than 700 individuals from the city, most of them being Druze.

Syrian Defense Minister Murhaf Abu Qasra announced a ceasefire in the Druze-majority city in mid-July, though sporadic clashes having raged on despite the deal.