DAMASCUS — Suwayda, the majority-Druze governorate in southern Syria, remains in stasis in its deadlock with the Syrian government, one of the last places in the country where Damascus does not have full control, Al Jazeera reported on Monday, October 26.

Source: Al Jazeera, Oct 26

US special envoy Tom Barrack, who is also ambassador to Turkiye and a special envoy to Syria and Iraq, spoke on Friday to Australian X personality Mario Nawfal about Syria and Suwayda in particular. He referred to "a particular Druze sheikh", thought to be Hikmat al-Hijri, a leading political and religious figure in Suwayda. The National Guard, a Druze armed group linked to al-Hijri, has been accused of receiving support from Israel with separatist ambitions — an accusation reported by Al Jazeera, not established as fact.

Source: Al Jazeera, Oct 26

"[Barrack's] message was totally clear," Navvar Saban, a researcher in security and military affairs at the Arab Center for Contemporary Syrian Studies, told Al Jazeera. "Israel backing [al-Hijri] does not equal American backing. Washington has prioritised an agreement with Damascus while Israel retains its own security demands and relationship." US President Donald Trump has built a strong relationship with his counterpart in Damascus, Ahmed al-Sharaa, and perceives any instability in Syria as dangerous for a country trying to rebuild after 13 years of war, Al Jazeera reported.

Source: Al Jazeera, Oct 26

A second account of the same remarks

The Syrian Observer, reporting the debate Barrack's remarks ignited, said he accused the unnamed Druze figure of nurturing illusions of American and Israeli support and using those claims to sideline other Druze, and also alleged that many armed groups between Daraa and Suwayda are linked to the Captagon trade and rely on illicit revenues to finance their weapons. Those are Barrack's allegations as reported by The Syrian Observer, not independently verified findings. The Observer noted its article was translated and edited and that it had not verified the content, with responsibility lying with the author.

Source: The Syrian Observer, Oct 26

Analyst Nanar Hawach, who visited Suwayda in September, told Al Jazeera: "[Barrack's] remarks expose differences with Israel. Washington is building a partner in Damascus while Israel appears to prefer a Damascus that is too weak to assert itself in the south." Since the fall of Bashar al-Assad in December 2024, the US has slowly rebuilt relations with Damascus, while Israel seized land in Quneitra and other areas, bombed Syria's Ministry of Defence and made repeated incursions into southern Syria, drawing outcry from Syrian officials, Al Jazeera reported.

Source: Al Jazeera, Oct 26

The deadlock traces to July 2025, when fighting between Bedouin tribes and Druze in Suwayda turned into deadly sectarian killings, with casualties overwhelmingly Druze and forces reportedly connected to the government joining on the Bedouin side, Al Jazeera reported. After those events the US began talks with the Syrian government hosted by Jordan, and a trilateral agreement signed in Amman in September 2025 said Syria would invite an independent international commission to investigate Suwayda and bring perpetrators to justice. Major fighting has not resumed, but many in the province have no trust in the government, Al Jazeera reported. Both Saban and Hawach told Al Jazeera that accountability for July 2025 and guarantees on movement, education and security are needed for any durable settlement.

Source: Al Jazeera, Oct 26