Druze factions block students from sitting exams in row with Syria govt

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

Suweida 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 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 spiralled into some of the worst internecine violence the country had witnessed since Assad's fall.

The authorities had scheduled an exam session for Saturday 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 Suweida city, said in a statement on Friday that "all roads are completely closed to the movement of students and proctors to examination centres outside the area", insisting that tests should be held in their areas instead, citing security concerns.

Suweida governor Mustafa al-Bakkur condemned the move on Saturday, saying: "Outlaw gangs are working to make the future of Suweida's students a political bargaining chip to be manipulated as they please."

He said 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.

One 18-year-old student told *AFP *news agency she was on a bus in Suweida city hoping for the road to open when "an armed group arrived and threatened the students".

"Some members of these factions fired shots into the air to intimidate and frighten the students" after they insisted on heading north, she added, requesting anonymity out of fear for her safety.

The education ministry said in a statement that it "regrets that not all of our students were able to reach the examination centers".

In July 2025, clashes erupted in Suweida between Druze factions and Bedouin fighters, with security forces intervening on the side of the Bedouins along with other tribal groups.

In the end, more than 2,000 people were killed, including 789 Druze civilians, according to Syrian rights monitors. A committee formed by the Syrian government said it had documented the killing of 1,760 people.

Government forces and their allies were accused at the time of executing civilians and other abuses, and Damascus last month said it began trying suspects over the violence.

Israel, which also has a Druze population, intervened militarily during the clashes with strikes in Suweida and Damascus, saying it was defending the minority community.

One Druze leader, Hikmat al-Hijri, went so far as to say on Monday that his community is "an integral part of the State of Israel".