Armed group in Syria takes governor hostage for prisoner’s release

An armed group briefly took Governor Mustafa Al-Bakour of Syria’s Suwayda province hostage at the town hall on Wednesday, demanding the release of an imprisoned associate. The assailants stormed the government building at gunpoint, detaining the governor, employees, and security guards before securing the release of a prisoner convicted of vehicle theft for the hostages’ safety. Suwayda, a predominantly Druze area, is home to an Arabic-speaking religious minority with strong kinship ties across Syria, Lebanon, and Israel.