Shadi al-Dbeisi

University students who returned to Druze-majority Suwayda during recent sectarian tensions on their campuses were stopped by a local armed group as they tried to go back to school last week. Some fear education is being politicized amid tensions with Damascus.

Factions in Syria’s southern Suwayda province are split on whether to merge with Damascus. One side—aligned with Druze spiritual leader Sheikh Hikmat al-Hijri—is opposed, while the other—including the powerful Men of Dignity—calls for opening to Damascus and joining its institutions.