Statements of Druze Factions on the Fighting with Government Forces in al-Suwayda'

Despite the joint statement from notables and factional leaders that initially allowed for the deployment and entry of the Syrian government’s military and security forces into al-Suwayda’ and called for the local factions to disarm, reports of violations committed by the military and security forces against Druze civilians- including executions, acts of sectarian humiliation, looting and indiscriminate mortar fire- have prompted a larger mobilisation of Druze factions to prevent those forces from imposing their control over al-Suwayda’ city in particular. The following post is a survey of some statements and discourse by local factions.

The important point to note is that contrary to the narrative of some Syrian government supporters, the mobilisation is not merely a reflection of stubborn opposition by Druze spiritual leader Hikmat al-Hijri and his self-declared followers (who effectively want the constitution rewritten for a secular and decentralised state) or the result of some Israeli-backed Druze conspiracy against the Syrian state. Rather, the Syrian government forces blew an opportunity to show that local concerns about the entry of external military and security forces into the province were unjustified, while Israel is pursuing a policy of protecting Syrian Druze in line with a broad commitment it has made to the Israeli Druze community, in addition to seeking to minimise the supposed threat of consolidated Syrian government control over southern Syria. The rationale of Israeli policy can be questioned, but there is no Druze separatist conspiracy, nor is Israel the primary reason for the escalation.