RENEWED FIGHTING ERUPTS IN SYRIA AMID INTERIM GOVERNMENT’S EFFORTS TO REDUCE FACTIONAL TENSIONS. (PHOTO).

 Renewed fighting erupts in Syria amid interim government’s efforts to reduce factional tensions

New outbreaks of violence erupted overnight into Sunday in Syria at two separate hotspots, putting a fragile ceasefire under severe strain and raising doubts about the transitional government’s ability to maintain control nationwide.

In the north, fighters aligned with the government clashed with Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), who control much of the region. Meanwhile, in the southern Sweida province, government forces confronted Druze armed groups. These incidents come amid ongoing efforts by Syria’s interim government, led by President Ahmad al-Sharaa, to uphold a tense truce in Sweida after last month’s clashes with Druze factions, and to implement an agreement with the U.S.-backed SDF aimed at reintegrating northeastern Syria under Damascus’s authority.

Since Sharaa’s surprise insurgency ousted Bashar Assad in December, ending decades of Assad family rule, the transitional government has struggled to consolidate power. Political opponents and minority groups remain wary of Sharaa’s de facto Islamist administration and its alliance with militant-affiliated fighters. Syrian state television reported that Druze factions attacked government security forces in Sweida on Saturday, killing at least one soldier and breaking the ceasefire. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights confirmed the deaths of one Druze and one security member, with nine others wounded during fighting near the strategic Tal al-Hadeed heights overlooking neighboring Daraa province.

Despite a tense truce, humanitarian conditions in Sweida remain dire. State media says aid convoys continue to enter the city following violent clashes last month between Druze militias and armed Bedouin clans supported by government forces. However, locals say the aid is insufficient and have called for the full reopening of the road into Sweida. The recent violence displaced tens of thousands amid long-standing sectarian tensions between Damascus and the Druze community, fueling mutual suspicion and retaliatory attacks that displaced many Bedouin families toward Daraa.

In northern Aleppo province, government-affiliated fighters and the SDF exchanged fire near Manbij. The Defense Ministry accused the SDF of irresponsibly launching rocket attacks that wounded three civilians and four soldiers, while the SDF claimed it was responding to attacks by rogue government factions in Deir Haffar. The area remains a tense frontline as both sides slowly work to enforce a ceasefire and integrate the SDF-controlled zones under Damascus.

Adding to the instability, the Israeli military announced a ground operation in southern Quneitra province near the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights. Israeli forces detained several suspects involved in weapons trafficking and raided multiple locations. Since Assad’s removal, Israel has repeatedly conducted strikes in southern Syria to target militant groups it views as threats to its security. Damascus has condemned these incursions but refrains from military retaliation, while U.S.-mediated talks seek a security arrangement between the two nations. These discussions have intensified since Israel supported the Druze during recent Sweida clashes and launched an airstrike on the Defense Ministry headquarters in Damascus.