The Situation in al-Suwayda' Province: Interview with Local Faction Leader

Despite the recent ‘agreement’ between the central government and the spiritual and armed faction leaders of the primarily Druze province of al-Suwayda’ in southern Syria regarding the activation of local police and law enforcement apparatuses, local armed groups not formally affiliated with the central government still play a leading role in internal security in the province, having mobilised their forces to assist local police and law enforcement and to protect the province’s border regions in particular against external attacks by armed groups, some of which may be conducting their attacks on the pretext of trying to impose central government authority over the province. Internally, the central government-appointed governor of al-Suwayda’- Mustafa al-Bakur- has reportedly decided to suspend his work following the entry of an armed group into his office demanding the release of a detained person.

A final status resolution for the local factions has yet to be reached, as illustrated by a recent interview with the leader of Liwa al-Jabal (“The Mountain Brigade”; also known as “Liwa Jabal al-Karama”- “The Mountain of Dignity Brigade”). Although he denies a rupture in relations between the central government and al-Suwayda’ and affirms supposed readiness to join the new Syrian armed forces, he stresses that a process of integration should not be done through surrendering weapons.

In other words, this would suggest that the group and other local factions are seeking to be integrated into the new Syrian armed forces in their current form, where they would serve as local holding forces while receiving salaries from the state- somewhat similar to how the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces probably views the idea arrangement vis-à-vis the central government. In the broader picture, such arrangements could well transform the new Syrian armed forces into an institution similar to Iraq’s Popular Mobilisation Commission, where various armed factions have brigade numbers but have not shed their factional identities.

Below is the interview with Liwa al-Jabal’s leader.