The explosion in southern Syria hit the worst violence in the post-Assad era. What does this mean for the future of the region
Syria’s seven-month relative calm fell into trouble last week in a bloody ending when local skirmishes escalated into the worst battle since the fall of Bashar al-Assad in December.
The battle took place in Suwayda, a southern Syria province that has been outside government control since troops led by incumbent President Ahmed Al-Sharaa have swept Damascus and have taken control of the country last year.
Suwayda is dominated by the Abrahamic group Druze Sect, whose beliefs include all aspects of Christianity, Islam and other religions. It also has a large number of Bedouins, a Sunni Arabs who live a semi-nominated lifestyle as shepherds.
The conflict between the two groups was frequent, but nothing was upgraded to any degree last week, which began after the kidnapping of the Druze businessman on July 11.
By the time a crumbling armistice was established a week later, both Syrian and Israeli government forces were involved, displaced 150,000 people and unstable the region – prepared for further violence.
The initial incident led to two days of fighting between Druze and Bedouin militia. On July 14, the Syrian government deployed its troops to the province for intervention – until then Suwayda was completely out of the way.
Some government forces were ambushed by Druze fighters associated with Hikmet al-Hijri, a controversial Druze spiritual leader who had a significant influence in the region.
Charles Lister, director of the Syrian Programs, a nonprofit think tank in Washington, D.C., said the region’s undefined status and Damascus’ desire to regain control of the province have promoted escalation.
“A type of tit tat upgraded spiral spiral spiral spiral spiral spiral , unless there is a intensive, partial negotiation process,” Liszt said.
“I think Damascus can be carried out in some way for two or three days to do so from its perspective, this chaos will only continue [Suwayda] Still not outside government control. ”
Violence against Druze
When a large-scale battle broke out between Druze and the Syrian government forces, the troops in Damascus were then promoted to the city of Suvada itself. What happened there shows the vast bay that exists in the loosely organized militia that now constitutes the new Syrian army.
Some are more professional fighters, trained by Sharaa for many years and reliably obey orders to not harm civilians. Other factors are sectarianism and extremists, and recently there is a history of massacre of ethnic minorities, just like the Alawian sects on the Syrian coast in March.
“We’re at home for the first time [government] The warriors arrived,” said Druze resident in Suwayda in his 20s. “At first, they just asked if we had any weapons – they had no problems. ”
CBC News did not name the woman because she was worried about revenge for speaking publicly.
“Short later, we received a call from an elderly relative, a man in his 80s,” she said. “Other fighters came to their home and told them that if they wanted to survive, they would be better off asking for leave. They were still lucky. We soon learned that some of our other relatives were executed in their homes.”
Reports about atrocities against the Suwayda Druze population drown social media. The worst behavior was reportedly at the city’s main hospital, and in the days after the fight, the BBC visited. Doctors there said Syrian government fighters killed “dozens of patients from childhood to older.”
Israeli participation
It is at this point that a new actor entered the competition: Israel, who later warned the Syrian government several times that it would intervene if it moved its troops to the south of the country. The two sides met on July 12, although Lister said there might be a misunderstanding of whether Syria has a green light that can be claimed in Suwayda.
On July 15, Israel launched air strikes on Syrian government forces in Suvada and elsewhere in southern Syria, hitting tanks and killing dozens of soldiers. A day later, Tel Aviv took a bet in the Syrian Ministry of Defense building in the heart of Damascus, a clear warning to salads and Syrian leaders.
“Israel hopes to challenge the authority of NSW by maintaining chaos in the south and maintaining its ability to exert influence on Syria so that they can remain leveraged in Damascus,” Liszt said.
Leicester added that Israel is also a large minority in the Druze minority, and he called on government intervention to support their fellow countrymen in Syria, adding to domestic reasons for the calculations of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
After the air strikes, the Syrian government succumbed to Israel and Druze’s request and withdrew its troops from Suwayda later on July 16. When they withdraw, the Druze militia advance quickly and quickly to avenge the initial opponents in the conflict: Bedouin: Bedouin.
Samy Akil, a non-resident researcher based in Taril’s Middle East policy in Washington, DC, said the deadly conflict in Suvada, the southern Syrian province, showed that the new regime could not protect all Syrians, including their minorities. Dozens of people died after Syrian government officials last week’s attacks between local Bedouin fighter jets and militias associated with the Druze minority, prompting Israel’s air strikes in Damascus on Wednesday.
Druze retaliates and ceasefire
Local Bedouin Jamel Abo Sakhr told CBC News that Druze militia burned down houses and killed civilians.
“They shelled us for a few days and trapped us in our village, but [Syrian] The Army left,” Abo Sakhr said.
“Hikmet al-Hijri’s German militia were the most barbaric.
According to data from the UN humanitarian agency Ocha, Abo Sakhr himself is now one of nearly 150,000 people displaced from Suwayda due to recent combat. Not all families have managed to escape, he said.
“My two cousins Mahdi and Omran are grazing their sheep,” Abo Sakhr said. “They are not armed.
Druze’s revenge almost completely out of control, as Bedouin tribal combatants mobilized 50,000 or more people throughout Syria and headed to Suwayda to support their brothers. On July 20, a ceasefire last weekend finally ended, ending the conflict between the city of Bedou and government forces from Suvada.
Impact on the region
As the dust settles in the latest round of battles, the scale of sectarian killings between both sides and Israeli characters has made the incident impact on the future of Syria itself.
“Israel’s intervention undoubtedly created this zero-sum mentality on all sides,” Lister said. The air movement and the ensuing mobilization led to the Druze and the Bedouin seeing the fight in a “existent” way.
In Druze, a character emerges from the Holocaust: Israel-backed Sheikh Hikmat al-Hijri is the toughest rival of any Suwayda reintegrated into the central Syrian country.
“Hijri is not only a national hero [for the Druze]He is actually a god now.
For her and the other Druzes, it was difficult to accept anything Damascus had to offer after what they had gone through.
“We all have hope for this government,” the woman said. “We think what happened on the coast, the killing of the Alawites is simply because Assad is the Alawite.” She mentioned the incident in March, and gunmen loyal to the new government carried out revenge killings on a few Alawites denominations of Assad.
“But now, after they come here and slaughter us, we see that we are not safe either.”
With Israel’s air power, Suwayda appears to be out of government control for the foreseeable future.
“Suwayda may maintain this semi-independent status for a while,” Liszt said.
“But the current situation is unsustainable. Without long negotiations to find an acceptable solution, this will only lead to another rise in the fight at some point.”
