The education of approximately 10,000 children in Syria’s southern Suwayda province has been severely disrupted due to recent intercommunal violence, according to a United Nations official. While humanitarian aid is reaching the Druze-majority region, it remains insufficient amid persistent intermittent blockades, war monitors report.

In an interview with Rudaw earlier this week, Mateo Frontini, Head of Field Operations and Emergency Response at UNICEF, warned that “10,000 children have missed their education” and “at least 15 schools” in the province are currently occupied by displaced persons, preventing the start of the school year.

“We are now working with the [Syrian] ministry of education and other UN agencies to find a solution so displaced people… can return to their communities” and allow “the children to go back to the school year,” Frontini stated.

The crisis stems from clashes that broke out in mid-July between Druze fighters and Sunni Bedouin tribes in Suwayda. The conflict escalated with the involvement of Syrian government forces before a ceasefire was announced on July 19.

The violence has had a devastating human cost. According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), a UK-based war monitor, the death toll nearly reached 2,000 by late August. The group reported that among the dead were approximately 765 Druze civilians who were “executed in the field by defense and interior ministry forces.”

The fighting triggered a massive displacement crisis. Suhair Zakkout, Middle East spokesperson for the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), told Rudaw that over 192,000 people were displaced, with at least 58,000 fleeing to neighboring Daraa province.

From Damascus, Frontini outlined UNICEF’s immediate response, which includes assessing the number of children affected by malnutrition and dispatching “at least 15 convoys” of “nutrition and medical supplies” in coordination with the ICRC and the Syrian Arab Red Crescent (SARC).

However, he affirmed that “this is not enough.” He emphasized the critical need to restore commercial access from Damascus to Suwayda to enable the private sector and other supporters to bring in sustained supplies of food and essentials.

The crisis extends beyond food and education. Frontini noted that UNICEF is also assessing “several water wells and systems that have been impacted” by the violence, stressing that access to clean water is "fundamental" and that “thousands of children have been impacted” by the shortage.

SOHR reports corroborate the severity of the situation, noting that residents faced a “severe food crisis, compounded by a blockade that had lasted for over a month.” Although aid trucks enter almost daily, “the supplies are insufficient to meet people’s daily needs,” forcing some to “reduce their meals or rely on lower-quality food items.” The monitor also relayed that the “18 wells that used to supply Suwayda with water have been destroyed,” leading to a severe water crisis.

Frontini concluded that the international community is pursuing a dual-track approach in Suwayda and across Syria, combining immediate humanitarian response with long-term development. “Reconstruction and recovery” is “for the best of the children” and “key for the future and the stability of the country and the region,” he emphasized.