Groups described by Syrian state media as operating outside the law prevented a joint UN humanitarian delegation from entering the southern Syrian city of Sweida on Sunday, citing a lack of coordination with them, according to Syria’s Al-Ikhbariya television channel. The delegation included representatives of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and international organizations. Its visit had been coordinated with the Sweida branch of the Syrian Arab Red Crescent, whose team was expected to accompany the delegation on field visits to Sweida city, Shahba and the village of Ara. Al-Ikhbariya reported that the groups stopped the delegation at the Umm al-Zeitoun checkpoint for two to three hours before informing its members that entry was prohibited. The delegation had earlier passed through the Al-Matouna checkpoint, operated by the Sweida Security Directorate. The broadcaster also recalled that groups affiliated with Druze spiritual leader Sheikh Hikmat al-Hijri had blocked commercial trucks carrying essential goods and fuel from entering Sweida province on September 10. According to Al-Ikhbariya’s correspondent at the time, the restrictions on commercial convoys coincided with the groups preventing approximately 12,000 students from reaching examination centers to sit special make-up exams for students in Sweida.
