Syrian Druze brigade reluctant to give up their arms in uncertain times
Syria's new rulers have called for the disbanding of all armed groups. But in the southwestern town of Suwayda, a small group of Druze fighters are reluctant to give up their arms. These fighters from the Druze religious minority say they prefer to rely on their own men, rather than the promises made by Syria’s transitional authorities.
Issued on: 24/12/2024 -
By: FRANCE 24
Video by:
Liza KAMINOV
Mohamed FARHAT
© Screengrab, FRANCE 24
A small group of armed fighters renew their allegiance to their brigade commander with a traditional Druze dance in the Syrian town of Suwayda near the border with Jordan.
Suwayda is the bastion of the Druze, one of the Middle East’s most insular minorities based largely in the borderlands between Syria, Lebanon and Israel.
Chekib Azzam is the strongman of Suwayda, with a brigade of around 7,000 fighters under his command.
He welcomes all the fighters who have pledged loyalty to him and states his position clearly.
02:23A small group of Druze fighters in Suwayda, Syria, say they are reluctant to give up their arms after the fall of Bashar al-Assad.
“Our brigades are all united. But we categorically refuse to give up our weapons, we are in the field, and we are used to the fear and distrust,” he says.
Following the ouster of Bashar al-Assad, Syria’s de facto leader Ahmed al-Sharaa, also known by his nom de guerre Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, has said the country’s myriad armed factions will be dissolved and enter the national army with all weapons coming under state control.
Read moreSyrian rebel leader Ahmed al-Sharaa says state to control all weapons
But in this southwestern corner of Syria, there is still distrust in these uncertain times.
SYRIA NEEDS TO BECOME A DEMOCRATIC CONFEDERATION
Syrian authorities say armed groups agree to disband, merge under defence ministry
Syria's new authorities announced Tuesday that they had reached an agreement with the country's rebel groups on their dissolution and integration into the regular defence forces.
Issued on: 24/12/2024 -
FRANCE 24
'Economic leverage'
Turkey has long held ties with HTS, and analysts say that since the Islamists took over Syria, both sides have sought to profit from the relationship.
Ankara accuses the People's Protection Units (YPG) -- the main component of the SDF -- of being affiliated with the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which has waged a decades-long insurgency on Turkish soil.
Earlier this month, a Syria specialist who advises Western diplomats in Turkey said: "The Turks would like to push HTS into striking at the Kurds but HTS doesn't want to get involved."
Although Ankara's role in Assad's overthrow had been "overstated", Turkey now has "real economic leverage" thanks to the 900-kilometre (560-mile) border it shares with Syria, the source said on condition of anonymity.
How the situation develops will also depend on US President-elect Donald Trump, who takes office on January 20 but has already proclaimed that "Turkey is going to hold the key to Syria".
Since late November, the SDF has been battling Turkey-backed fighters who launched an offensive on Kurdish-held areas at the same time as HTS's anti-Assad campaign.
On Tuesday, the SDF said in a statement its fighters were waging deadly combat to the east of the key city of Manbij, with 16 deaths in its ranks.
Syria's Kurds, long oppressed under Assad's rule, saw an opportunity during the war to carve out a semi-autonomous territory in the northeast.
They proved an indispensable ally to the US-led coalition battling the Islamist State group.
Since Assad's ouster on December 8, they have issued numerous statements welcoming his downfall, and also put out calls for dialogue with the new leadership in Damascus and with Turkey.
In Syria's northeast, both the Kurdish flag and the three-star independence-era flag used by the new authorities can be seen.
(FRANCE 24 with AFP and Reuters)
Syrian authorities say armed groups agree to disband, merge under defence ministry
Syria's new authorities announced Tuesday that they had reached an agreement with the country's rebel groups on their dissolution and integration into the regular defence forces.
Issued on: 24/12/2024 -
FRANCE 24
Ff Syrian rebel leader Ahmed al-Sharaa taken in Damascus on December 17, 2024.
© SANA via AFP
"A meeting of the heads of the groups" with new Syrian leader Ahmed al-Sharaa "ended in an agreement on the dissolution of all the groups and their integration under the supervision of the ministry of defence", said a statement carried by state media agency SANA and the authorities' Telegram account.
No details of the armed groups were provided.
Photos published by the state-run SANA news agency showed the country's new leader, Ahmed al-Sharaa, surrounded by the heads of several armed factions -- but not representatives of the Kurdish-led forces in Syria's northeast.
Syria's new prime minister, Mohammed al-Bashir, had said last week that the ministry would be restructured using former rebel factions and officers who defected from Bashar al-Assad's army.
On Sunday, Sharaa said the new authorities would "absolutely not allow there to be weapons in the country outside state control".
That also applied to the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, he said.
Read moreSyrian rebel leader says state to control all weapons
The country's new rulers appointed Murhaf Abu Qasra, a leading figure in the insurgency against Assad, as defence minister in the interim government.
Sharaa will face the daunting task of trying to avoid clashes between the myriad groups.
Last week, the military chief of Sharaa's Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) – the Islamist group that spearheaded the offensive that toppled Assad – told AFP that Kurdish-held areas would be integrated under the new leadership, and that "Syria will not be divided".
Syria's historic ethnic and religious minorities include Muslim Kurds and Shiites – who feared during the civil war that any future Sunni Islamist rule would imperil their way of life – as well as Syriac, Greek and Armenian Orthodox Christians, and the Druze community.
Sharaa has told Western officials visiting him that the HTS will neither seek revenge against the former regime nor repress any religious minority.
Thirteen years of civil war in Syria has left more than half a million people dead and fragmented the country into zones of influence controlled by different armed groups backed by regional and international powers.
SDF spokesman Farhad Shami told AFP the question of his group's integration into the national armed forces "should be discussed directly".
He did not dismiss the possibility, saying that doing so would strengthen "the whole of Syria".
Shami added that his forces prefer "dialogue with Damascus to resolve all questions".
"A meeting of the heads of the groups" with new Syrian leader Ahmed al-Sharaa "ended in an agreement on the dissolution of all the groups and their integration under the supervision of the ministry of defence", said a statement carried by state media agency SANA and the authorities' Telegram account.
No details of the armed groups were provided.
Photos published by the state-run SANA news agency showed the country's new leader, Ahmed al-Sharaa, surrounded by the heads of several armed factions -- but not representatives of the Kurdish-led forces in Syria's northeast.
Syria's new prime minister, Mohammed al-Bashir, had said last week that the ministry would be restructured using former rebel factions and officers who defected from Bashar al-Assad's army.
On Sunday, Sharaa said the new authorities would "absolutely not allow there to be weapons in the country outside state control".
That also applied to the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, he said.
Read moreSyrian rebel leader says state to control all weapons
The country's new rulers appointed Murhaf Abu Qasra, a leading figure in the insurgency against Assad, as defence minister in the interim government.
Sharaa will face the daunting task of trying to avoid clashes between the myriad groups.
Last week, the military chief of Sharaa's Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) – the Islamist group that spearheaded the offensive that toppled Assad – told AFP that Kurdish-held areas would be integrated under the new leadership, and that "Syria will not be divided".
Syria's historic ethnic and religious minorities include Muslim Kurds and Shiites – who feared during the civil war that any future Sunni Islamist rule would imperil their way of life – as well as Syriac, Greek and Armenian Orthodox Christians, and the Druze community.
Sharaa has told Western officials visiting him that the HTS will neither seek revenge against the former regime nor repress any religious minority.
Thirteen years of civil war in Syria has left more than half a million people dead and fragmented the country into zones of influence controlled by different armed groups backed by regional and international powers.
SDF spokesman Farhad Shami told AFP the question of his group's integration into the national armed forces "should be discussed directly".
He did not dismiss the possibility, saying that doing so would strengthen "the whole of Syria".
Shami added that his forces prefer "dialogue with Damascus to resolve all questions".
'Economic leverage'
Turkey has long held ties with HTS, and analysts say that since the Islamists took over Syria, both sides have sought to profit from the relationship.
Ankara accuses the People's Protection Units (YPG) -- the main component of the SDF -- of being affiliated with the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which has waged a decades-long insurgency on Turkish soil.
Earlier this month, a Syria specialist who advises Western diplomats in Turkey said: "The Turks would like to push HTS into striking at the Kurds but HTS doesn't want to get involved."
Although Ankara's role in Assad's overthrow had been "overstated", Turkey now has "real economic leverage" thanks to the 900-kilometre (560-mile) border it shares with Syria, the source said on condition of anonymity.
How the situation develops will also depend on US President-elect Donald Trump, who takes office on January 20 but has already proclaimed that "Turkey is going to hold the key to Syria".
Since late November, the SDF has been battling Turkey-backed fighters who launched an offensive on Kurdish-held areas at the same time as HTS's anti-Assad campaign.
On Tuesday, the SDF said in a statement its fighters were waging deadly combat to the east of the key city of Manbij, with 16 deaths in its ranks.
Syria's Kurds, long oppressed under Assad's rule, saw an opportunity during the war to carve out a semi-autonomous territory in the northeast.
They proved an indispensable ally to the US-led coalition battling the Islamist State group.
Since Assad's ouster on December 8, they have issued numerous statements welcoming his downfall, and also put out calls for dialogue with the new leadership in Damascus and with Turkey.
In Syria's northeast, both the Kurdish flag and the three-star independence-era flag used by the new authorities can be seen.
(FRANCE 24 with AFP and Reuters)
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