Karam Mansour

A new security checkpoint in Suwayda city sparked angry protests and armed clashes between local factions and regime forces before an agreement negotiated by local civil and religious leadership averted further escalation. The incident underscores the delicate balance of keeping the peace in the southern province.

In Syria’s southern Suwayda province, suspected Jordanian airstrikes hunt drug traffickers and kill civilians. Regime-linked gangs operate with impunity and smugglers ferry drugs over the border. Local armed groups fight back. How did we get here?