Schools in the cities of Sahnaya and Jaramana in rural Damascus have suspended classes for the second consecutive day due to the security tensions and clashes that have occurred in the two cities over the past two days.

According to what Enab Baladi monitored through social media groups for schools in the two cities, the suspension of classes continued today, Wednesday, April 30.

Meanwhile, some private universities along the Daraa Highway have postponed their classes due to the inability of students to reach them, following the security tensions affecting the southern road leading to Daraa.

According to a student named Hala Sarawi from Jaramana, speaking to Enab Baladi, the Arab International University on the Daraa Highway has not issued a decision to suspend classes, but the university administration turned away students who arrived there today.

Today, the city of Jaramana in rural Damascus is experiencing cautious calm after armed confrontations began on the evening of Monday, April 28, and lasted until the morning of Tuesday, resulting in an agreement between the city’s elders and the government.

With the cautious calm in Jaramana, clashes have escalated in the Ashrafiat Sahnaya area between groups that were part of the Syrian opposition and local factions stationed in the city.

According to a report from the Syrian News Agency (SANA) by the media office of the Ministry of Health today, Wednesday, April 30, the number of fatalities from the clashes in Ashrafiat Sahnaya has reached 11.

Four journalists from the Ashrafiat Sahnaya city, who requested anonymity for security reasons, told Enab Baladi in a prior conversation that the attacks on the area originated from the southern side of the city, near the Arab Bank at the city’s southern entrance.

One of the journalists, who lost contact during the conversation while seeking a safe place to take shelter, reported that shells are still falling on residential neighborhoods, without knowing the origin of their fire.

Two of the journalists mentioned to Enab Baladi that the area under attack does not have hospitals, although there are several small health centers (clinics), which do not meet the needs. Meanwhile, Red Crescent teams are working to transfer the injured to hospitals outside the area, passing through General Security checkpoints heading towards Damascus.

Emergency teams have been unable to enter the city from outside, while ambulances belonging to the Syrian Red Crescent center in Ashrafiat Sahnaya are managing to transport the injured “smoothly,” according to the journalists.

The journalists told Enab Baladi that General Security Service checkpoints have prevented entry to the area from the road leading to Daraa province and established security barriers around it to prevent the expansion of confrontations.

An audio recording ignited clashes

The clashes in Ashrafiat Sahnaya and Jaramana erupted following the spread of an audio recording on social media that contained insults to the Prophet Muhammad, attributed to one of the Druze sect’s clerics, which the cleric himself later denied.

The first spark of escalation came from the university dormitory in Homs on the evening of Sunday, April 27, when some students attacked other students from the Druze community following the spread of the audio recording, prompting authorities to arrest those involved in the attacks.

Within hours, the confrontations extended to the outskirts of the capital, Damascus, as military groups attacked the cities of Jaramana and Sahnaya in reaction to the spread of the audio recording as well.

For its part, the Syrian Ministry of Interior announced on Tuesday, April 29, that it has launched comprehensive investigations regarding the circulated audio recording, and initial investigations proved that the person attributed to the recording is not the actual voice’s owner.

The ministry called for adherence to public order and refraining from any individual or collective actions that could disturb public security or infringe upon lives and property, noting that it is committed to holding those responsible accountable.