Druze Factions of al-Suwayda': Interview with Bayraq Sulayman bin Dawud

Reports have now emerged of a new agreement between the central government in Damascus and Druze religious and military leaders in the primarily Druze province of al-Suwayda’ in southern Syria. The new reported agreement, which includes stipulation of activating the role of police and law enforcement comprising local personnel, reflects yet another reiteration of prior demands and reported agreements. While it is now reported that local police has begun to deploy in the northern border village of al-Sawar al-Kabira where the central government’s Public Security Apparatus had deployed following attacks on the village by non-Druze armed gangs, it remains to be seen whether the reported agreement is actually implemented, or is just another case of the same demands being echoed as understandings on paper without real implementation.

Below is an interview conducted earlier today with Khalid Jarira, who serves as a media activist for a relatively new local Druze armed group called Bayraq Sulayman bin Dawud (“Banner of Solomon the son of David”), which lost one of its cadres in the recent events. The interview concerns the latest developments in al-Suwayda’ and the group’s position on them.

Q: When was Bayraq Sulayman bin Dawud formed and is it affiliated with Harakat Rijal al-Karama for example?