Syria has quietly sent around 1,000 more soldiers to the southern province of Sweida as Israel moves military equipment into the area, The National reports, citing security sources.
The reinforcements, mostly from rural Damascus, bring the number of government troops there to about 3,000, according to the sources, and a Syrian security official confirmed troops had been sent. Sources said Israeli helicopters had dropped surveillance and radar equipment on hills held by the Israeli-backed Sweida National Guard, a group of Druze militias, possibly in preparation for a base.
Sweida, the heartland of Syria's Druze minority, is a major obstacle to a US push for peace between Syria and Israel. In July 2025 Israeli air strikes halted a government offensive there, in fighting that killed around 1,700 people.
Source: The National
