Druze factions block students from taking exams in Sweida province amid row with Syria government

Armed factions in Syria’s Druze-majority Sweida province have blocked students from traveling to sit for official exams, demanding they be held instead in the areas they control, drawing condemnation from the Damascus-appointed governor.

Sweida city and other parts of the southern province are run by local armed groups and are the last areas outside the grasp of Syria’s new Islamist authorities, who have been trying to establish control over the entire country after toppling longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad in 2024.

Tensions have run high ever since clashes last year between the Druze and government-aligned forces that spiraled into some of the worst internecine violence the country had witnessed since Assad’s fall, and triggered Israeli strikes.

The authorities had scheduled an exam session for today in the government-controlled north of the province for students who were unable to take the test two months ago due to the ongoing tensions.

But Druze fighters in Shahba, north of Sweida city, said in a statement yesterday that “all roads are completely closed to the movement of students and proctors to examination centers outside the area,” insisting that tests should be held in their areas instead, citing security concerns.

Sweida governor Mustafa al-Bakkur condemns the move, saying: “Outlaw gangs are working to make the future of Sweida’s students a political bargaining chip to be manipulated as they please.”

He says that around 150 students were still able to sit for their exams, some of them having left Druze-controlled areas days prior to avoid any obstacles.

Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.