More than 30 people were killed and nearly 100 others wounded during clashes between armed Bedouin tribal fighters and Druze militias in the southern Syrian governorate of Suwayda, according to the initial reports from the Interior Ministry on Monday.

The ministry expressed deep concern and sorrow over the “bloody developments” that took place between “local armed groups and tribes” in Suwayda’s Al-Maqous neighbourhood on late Sunday.

“In this context, the Ministry of Interior confirms that units of its forces, in coordination with the Ministry of Defense, will intervene directly in the region to resolve the conflict, stop clashes, impose security, prosecute those responsible for the events, and refer them to the competent judiciary,” it added.

‘Absence of institutions’

According to the state news agency SANA, a number of army forces deployed in the area also lost their lives while trying to protect the civilian population from the outlawed groups.

No further details regarding the number of casualties were reported.

Syrian Interior Minister Anas Khattab called “the absence of state institutions, particularly military and security ones” the main reason behind the ongoing tensions in the southern governorate of Suwayda and its countryside.

“There is no solution to this except imposing security (measures) and activating the role of institutions to ensure civil peace and the return of life to its normal state in all its details,” Khattab said on his X account.

On late Sunday, armed clashes broke out between local Bedouin tribes and Druze militias in Suwayda, resulting in the deaths and injuries of civilians and militia members.

Bashar al Assad, Syria’s dictator for nearly 25 years, fled to Russia in December, ending the Baath Party regime, which had been in power since 1963.

A new transitional administration led by President Ahmad al Sharaa was formed in Syria in January.