Two Civilians Killed by Shelling Near Sweida Amid Renewed Clashes

Two civilians — a tractor driver and a woman riding with him — were killed on August 30, 2026 when a shell struck their tractor on the outskirts of Sweida city. A Druze security source told Arab News the shell was launched from a government-controlled area. The deaths came amid intermittent clashes since Saturday night between the Druze-aligned National Guard, led by Sheikh Hikmat al-Hijri, and Syrian government-affiliated forces, following a dispute over students sitting official exams in government-controlled areas. Sweida city and much of the surrounding Druze-majority province remain outside the transitional government's control.