Syria and Lebanon After Assad's Fall

Interview with a Former Lebanese Commander of a Pro-Assad Militia

Of the various militias that fought on the side of the Assad regime, Dir‘ al-Watan (“Homeland Shield”) was one of the more interesting groups, led by Lebanese national al-Hajj Muhammad Ja‘afar and affiliated with the Russian-backed V Corps. Its recruits hailed from both sides of the porous borderlands of Homs province in Syria and Baalbek-Hermel province in northeast Lebanon.

While the group gained some prominence between 2017 and 2020, its profile subsequently dropped off. In this interview conducted late last month, al-Hajj Muhammad Ja‘afar, presently based in Lebanon, discusses what happened to the Dir‘ al-Watan group, and his assessment of the situation in Syria and Lebanon since the fall of the Assad regime, including the issue of the potential disarmament of Hezbollah.

The logo of Dir‘ al-Watan when it was a force inside Syria

Q: Was the Dir‘ al-Watan formation dissolved?