The Syrian government’s attempted offensive on Suwayda appears to have been aimed at taking advantage of skirmishes between Bedouin tribal militias and Druze factions to dismantle local autonomy under the pretense of halting intercommunal violence. The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) views the Suwayda assault as a model the central regime may employ against its own autonomous region in northeast Syria. These concerns are exacerbated by the collapse of integration talks between the SDF and the Syrian Interim Government in July.
Experts warn that unless Damascus abandons its agenda of centralization, Syria risks renewed conflict between the state and its autonomous regions. In particular, the Kurds are unlikely to reintegrate into the new Syrian army unless meaningful guarantees of their autonomy and security within the new state are provided. On July 12, intense clashes broke out between Druze and Bedouin armed groups in Suwayda, Syria. This occurred after an informal Bedouin checkpoint kidnapped a Druze vegetable truck driver, resulting in a series of escalating kidnappings and killings between the two groups (Alhurra, July 16).
Suwayda is a province in southwestern Syria that contains significant Druze, Christian, and Sunni Arab populations. The main players in the region adopted a position of neutrality during the Syrian Civil War, maintaining limited autonomy from Damascus while becoming a refuge for those fleeing the al-Assad regime, including individuals fleeing conscription (Etana, February 22, 2024). In April 2023, anti-regime protests erupted in Suwayda; by December, the Druze joined the fight against the al-Assad regime.
opening up another front in the final days of the war from the south (Anadolu Ajansı, August 17, 2024; CNN, December 6, 2024). Among the leaders of Suwayda’s Druze is Hikmat al-Hijri—a former al-Assad supporter who came to endorse the new regime when Suwayda’s autonomy was put in danger. Now, the Druze fear that the new Syrian government will encroach on their autonomy. This is an especially poignant threat in light of the latter’s Islamism and failure to protect minorities, most notably the Alawites, more than 1000 of whom were killed in March.
No comments:
Post a Comment