21 killed, dozens injured in clashes between armed groups, tribes in southern Syria

DAMASCUS, July 14 (YPA) – At least 21 people, including two children, have been killed and around 50 others injured—some of them children—as a result of intense clashes and shelling on Sunday between local armed groups and tribal fighters in the Al-Muqawas neighborhood in the east of Al-Swuaidaa province, southern Syria.

According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), dozens of gunmen from Daraa countryside moved in vehicles towards the northern and western Al-Suwayda countryside, heading to the areas of ongoing clashes, amid anticipation of escalating confrontations in the coming hours, especially after deaths and injuries were reported during Sunday’s attacks.

Heavy fighting has continued in Al-Muqawas, with tensions spilling over into other parts of Al-Swuaidaa’s western and northern countryside.

Violent confrontations also broke out Sunday afternoon at the northern entrance to Al-Swuaidaa province near the village of Al-Sura Al-Kabira.

The clashes began after tribal gunmen launched an attack on a police checkpoint between Barak town and the Damascus–Al-Suwayda highway, with an exchange of fire between security forces and the attackers. Mortar shells fired by the gunmen also struck areas around Al-Sourah Al-Kabirah as they advanced toward the checkpoint.

These developments follow a series of coordinated actions earlier in the day, in which armed groups blocked key routes along the Damascus– Al-Swuaidaa highway.

@E.Y.M