Syrian students get caught in rift between Druze leaders and Damascus

SWEIDA: Young people in Syria’s Sweida province are unable to progress through school and university due to a deepening rift between the post-Assad Islamist government and the Israel-aligned Druze leaders of the last area outside central control. Their dilemma reflects deep trauma and lingering instability in the province, where hundreds of Druze were killed last year in sectarian violence by government-linked forces and Israel struck Syria’s military, saying it was defending the minority. Maram