Traffic on the key Suweida–Damascus road was completely halted on Saturday after the closure of the Umm al-Zaytun checkpoint, operated the self-styled 'National Guard' militia loyal to Druze spiritual leader Hikmat al-Hijri.
Suweida's Media Directorate said that “outlaw groups at the Um al-Zaytun checkpoint are completely closing the Suweida–Damascus road and preventing citizens from travelling".
This is not the first time that groups affiliated with the National Guard have closed the road, as they had previously shut the road at the Umm al-Zaytun checkpoint on several occasions, particularly during periods coinciding with school examinations, disrupting students’ travel and movement.
The closure comes amid attempts by National Guard groups to infiltrate and carry out attacks in the western countryside of Suweida Governorate in recent days, without making any significant advances, according to the available information.
On 8 October, factions affiliated with the National Guard took control of the village of Waqm in the western countryside of Suweida, in southern Syria, following an attack launched from the town of Areeqa. They withdrew from the village several hours after taking control of it.
Speaking to The New Arab earlier this week, analysts said that the National Guard's activities are increasingly coinciding with the activities of Israeli forces occupying southern Syria, as well as moves by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to win over Palestinian Druze voters in the upcoming Israeli elections.
Hijri, who leads the group, has frequently expressed support for Israeli involvement in Syria, saying earlier this year that the Druze are an "integral part of Israel".
Israel, which has framed some of its attacks on Syria as being in defence of the religious minority, has expanded its occupation of Syrian land and carried out numerous airstrikes and raids into the country since the fall of Bashar al-Assad in December 2024.
