Suwayda governorate (southern Syria) is experiencing a sharp rise in fuel and food prices, alongside shortages of some goods and disruptions to essential services, amid conflicting accounts over the causes of the crisis and the flow of supplies through the al-Matouna checkpoint, the main crossing linking the governorate with Damascus.
While local and commercial bodies say restrictions are obstructing the entry of goods and fuel, government authorities maintain that transportation continues, raising questions about the role of monopolies and price manipulation inside the governorate.
The effects of the crisis extend beyond the markets. Students have been prevented from reaching their examination centers, electricity and water outages continue, and there are warnings that Shahba Hospital could cease operating because of a diesel shortage.
Suwayda is controlled by local factions operating under the name “National Guard,” with the support of Druze religious leader Hikmat al-Hijri, while government forces have been stationed around the governorate and in its western countryside since the events of July 2025.
Suwayda Students and the Exceptional Exam Session
The Shahba Operations Room, which is affiliated with the National Guard, along with a number of Suwayda residents, continued to prevent secondary and basic education students from leaving through the al-Matouna checkpoint to examination centers in government controlled areas of the governorate’s countryside.
Enab Baladi’s correspondent in Suwayda reported that students were prevented from leaving on Monday, September 7, the ninth and final day of the exceptional examination session.
The exceptional session was organized under Presidential Decree No. 163 of 2026, which granted Suwayda students who were unable to sit for the regular examination session an exceptional opportunity to take their exams following the security events the governorate witnessed in recent months.
Regarding reports circulated by local networks on September 5 that the National Guard had arrested two students, the correspondent said there was information indicating that National Guard members had removed two university students, whose identities remain unknown, from a passenger bus and arrested them. No further details about their fate were available.
The arrest of the two students prompted the transport company whose bus was involved to postpone its trips to Damascus for only one day.
Daily transportation from Suwayda to areas outside the governorate and in the opposite direction remains regular, according to the correspondent.
Since the exceptional exams began on August 29, movement between Suwayda and Damascus has been limited to the regular travel of civilians between areas controlled by the National Guard and those controlled by the government.
The official Suwayda Media Directorate reported, citing local sources on August 30, that National Guard forces affiliated with Druze leader Hikmat al-Hijri had set up three new checkpoints on the Suwayda to Shahba road to prevent students seeking to take their exams from leaving.
The directorate added that members of the National Guard checkpoint at al-Anqoud roundabout also confronted a group of students after they passed the checkpoint on foot in an attempt to reach their examination centers in northern rural Suwayda.
Gasoline Reaches 400 Liras, Diesel 200
Enab Baladi’s correspondent said Suwayda’s commercial sector is facing a severe supply squeeze because deliveries of petroleum products and fuel orders have been cut off since late last month.
The interruption caused fuel prices on Suwayda’s black market to surge to record levels. A liter of gasoline initially reached 230 new liras before quickly jumping to 400 liras, while a liter of diesel reached 200 liras amid shortages of both fuels.
The correspondent said Public Security personnel at the al-Matouna checkpoint today found a quantity of gasoline with a taxi driver arriving from Damascus. The gasoline and the vehicle’s load of fruit were seized, and the driver was prevented from bringing them into the governorate.
Trucks carrying goods enter Suwayda governorate from Syrian government-controlled areas through the al-Matouna checkpoint north of the governorate, September 6, 2026. (Suwayda Media Directorate)
Clashes on the western approaches to Suwayda city on August 31 knocked both the main and backup 66 kV power lines out of service, cutting electricity to large parts of Suwayda city, Shahba (northern Suwayda governorate), and surrounding villages. The outage directly affected water wells, pumping stations, and water supplies.
Repairs to the two lines require the issuance of “security approval,” which has prevented maintenance teams from carrying out the work. The correspondent said the Syrian government has imposed “conditions” requiring “guarantees” that technical crews or supply lines will not be targeted again.
The correspondent said Shahba Hospital is at risk of going out of service because the electricity outage is continuing and there is no diesel to operate its generators.
Regarding food supplies, the correspondent said no goods had been recorded entering Suwayda governorate through the al-Matouna checkpoint from government-controlled areas, except for limited quantities of flour and basic foodstuffs. This coincided with a ban on trucks carrying vegetables and fruit entering or leaving Suwayda.
The Suwayda Media Directorate, however, said on September 7 that traffic on the Damascus to Suwayda road continued to flow for both commercial and civilian movement.
According to the directorate, trucks carrying goods and food supplies continue to enter Suwayda governorate as part of efforts to secure supplies, stabilize stocks, and meet local market demand for basic goods.
Governor Explains the Flow of Goods
Suwayda Governor Mustafa al-Bakour said in a September 5 statement that the Suwayda to Damascus road was completely open and had not been closed, and that transportation and the entry of commercial goods, food, vegetables, and fuel into the governorate were continuing.
Speaking through the Suwayda Media Directorate’s Facebook page, al-Bakour said the governorate was committed to presenting citizens with the facts and preventing rumors and inaccurate information that affect markets and people’s lives. He added that government departments and institutions in the governorate continued to operate and provide services to residents.
Al-Bakour asked that if the road was open and food, vegetables, and fuel were entering the governorate, who was benefiting from promoting claims that the road was cut off and goods were not arriving? Who was monopolizing goods after they entered? Who was raising prices for residents? And who was benefiting from creating fear in the markets?
Trucks loaded with vegetables that Suwayda 24 said entered Suwayda through the al-Matouna checkpoint, September 6, 2026. (Suwayda 24/Facebook)
The governor instructed Suwayda’s Directorate of Internal Trade and Consumer Protection to:
- Intensify its inspection rounds and maintain a direct, continuous presence in markets and shops.
- Monitor prices and the sale of basic goods.
- Investigate cases of monopoly, exploitation, and unjustified price increases.
- Issue the necessary violation reports against offenders and refer them to the relevant authorities in accordance with the law.
He also instructed the relevant energy and fuel authorities to tighten oversight of fuel stations, monitor the quantities of fuel entering and being distributed, as well as sales mechanisms and prices, investigate any irregular sales or diversion of fuel to the open market, and take legal action against anyone proven to be involved.
Al-Bakour called on Suwayda residents to report any fuel station, mobile fuel seller, or commercial shop proven to be monopolizing goods, exploiting residents’ needs, manipulating prices, or selling goods and fuel at unauthorized prices.
He said his office was open to citizens wishing to submit complaints and documented information about any case of monopoly, exploitation, or price manipulation, adding that every serious complaint would be addressed and anyone proven to have committed a violation would be held accountable under the law without exception or favoritism.
Regarding reports and complaints that groups described as outside the law were monopolizing some goods and fuel, imposing levies on fuel stations, or taking portions of their allocations for resale on the open market, al-Bakour said these were “serious allegations that require investigation.”
He called on anyone with information or evidence concerning such practices to submit it to the relevant authorities so that the necessary legal action could be taken.
Fuel and Food Enter Through al-Matouna Checkpoint
Suwayda 24 reported on September 6, citing unnamed sources, that about 45,000 liters of diesel had entered Suwayda governorate through the al-Matouna checkpoint, along with nearly 80 trucks carrying vegetables and fruit and another 50 trucks carrying various food products and commercial goods.
According to the outlet, the sources denied reports that commercial trucks were being prevented from entering the governorate.
Tankers that sources told Suwayda 24 were carrying fuel across from Syrian government-controlled areas through the al-Matouna checkpoint into areas controlled by the National Guard, September 6, 2026. (Suwayda 24/Facebook)
Suwayda Chamber of Commerce Condemns “Siege”
For its part, the Suwayda Chamber of Commerce and Industry, which is based inside the governorate, said on September 6 that Suwayda city had experienced the following for four days:
- A “siege” and increasing restrictions on the entry and exit of goods, affecting all materials and commodities.
- Stricter inspections of food and vegetables.
- A ban on the entry of fuel and construction materials.
- Restrictions on shipping companies.
The chamber said there had also been complaints of abuses and mistreatment of traders, as well as the destruction and damage of several incoming shipments.
The chamber said it condemned what it described as the siege and restrictions and called for them to end, for roads to be opened to trade and shipping, and for all goods and materials to be allowed to enter without obstruction to preserve market stability, protect traders’ rights, and meet residents’ needs.
Suwayda 24, meanwhile, cited unnamed sources as saying pressure had been placed on the head of the Chamber of Commerce and several traders to participate in a sit-in, even though those same traders pay large levies at the Umm al-Zaytoun checkpoint under the designation of “donations” to the National Guard.
The sources added that the circulating rumors were intended to distract public opinion in Suwayda from mismanagement, corruption, the theft of cables and cars, and other issues, while shifting responsibility for the governorate’s problems onto the government instead of the parties controlling decision-making inside Suwayda.