Is Suwayda heading for a showdown with Damascus?

SUWAYDA/PARIS — Local military groups took to main streets and central squares in Syria’s southern Suwayda province on Thursday night, raising the Druze flag and firing into the air.

The armed demonstrations came hours after, Sheikh Hikmat al-Hijri—the spiritual leader of Syria’s minority Druze sect—made his most strongly worded statements yet, directed at the country’s new administration. “No understanding or agreement with the government in Damascus,” he vowed, calling it an “extremist government in every sense of the word, wanted by international justice” in a video posted online. “We are at a stage of ‘to be or not to be,’ working for our interest as a sect,” he added. 

One day before al-Hijri’s remarks, “memorandum of understanding,” bearing the signature of the Damascus government’s governor of Suwayda, Mustafa Bakour, and a number of figures from Suwayda circulated online. It appeared to indicate that an agreement had been reached with Damascus, following a meeting that al-Hijri himself attended. 

The sheikh’s apparent pivot points to the complex and ever-changing political situation in the Druze-majority province since Assad fell last December. 

While the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in northeastern Syria reached a landmark agreement with Damascus on March 10, Suwayda continues to grapple with internal tensions that have prevented it from reaching a final agreement with the new administration, headed by President Ahmad al-Sharaa. 

Al-Hijri’s current stance reflects a hardline current of thinking in Suwayda regarding its relationship with the central government. This camp includes a portion of local military factions, including the recently formed Suwayda Military Council, the Supreme Forces and the Sheikh al-Karama Forces. 

On the other side, those calling for greater openness to Damascus and involvement in its institutions include the Men of Dignity—one of Suwayda’s largest and oldest factions—alongside Ahrar Jabal al-Arab, the Sultan Pasha al-Atrash Battalion and military forces led by Laith al-Balous, the son of Men of Dignity founder Sheikh Wahid al-Balous. 

Recent statements by Israel, attempting to leverage the Druze and play them against the Damascus government, add yet another layer to the complicated scene in the southern province. In the face of all this, what does the future of Suwayda’s relationship with Damascus look like? What happens if it digs in its heels? 

No agreement with al-Sharaa

The handwritten “understanding” document that circulated this week, after al-Hijri and other figures from Suwayda met with the province’s governor, indicated that an agreement was reached on several points. These included immediately activating the judicial police and security files under the Ministry of Interior, organizing all defected officers, individuals and armed factions under the Ministry of Defense and recognizing the signatories to the document as a follow-up committee to oversee the implementation of its terms. 

However, hours after the document went viral on social media, local media in Suwayda quoted an unnamed source in the province’s spiritual leadership as saying that the document included nothing more than “requests” presented by those who met at Dar al-Qanawat—al-Hijri’s headquarters—to the new administration. It was not a “final agreement,” the source added. 

Notably, al-Hijri did not sign the document, though his name was explicitly mentioned in its written introduction. Others similarly mentioned, like Governor Bakour, did sign. 

“Al-Hijri doesn’t know what he wants. His latest statements deepen divisions on the mountain [Suwayda] and pit the [Druze] sect against other Syrians,” said Ammar Maarouf (a pseudonym), an activist who is part of Suwayda’s longstanding nonviolent protest movement, known locally as the hirak.

“Al-Hijri’s stance does not represent the largest segment of the peaceful civil movement,” Maarouf, who asked not to be identified for security reasons, said. “Rather, it represents the position of a group of factions that benefit from the state of chaos, run illegal activities and want the lawlessness and statelessness in Suwayda to continue,” he added. 

Those aligned with al-Hijri see things differently. “There are those who have sold out their people and religion and are trying to sign an agreement with al-Sharaa” and “will not succeed,” a spokesperson for the Supreme Forces faction said. “We have not and will not reach an agreement with the terrorist al-Sharaa,” he added, insinuating there would be new developments in the coming days without elaborating further. 

A wall in Suwayda city’s al-Karama Square bears the phrase: “First, an idea; in the middle, a revolution; in the end, victory,” 12/3/2025 (Shadi al-Dbeisi/Syria Direct)

Internal divisions

Divisions in Suwayda peaked in early March, when eight vehicles bearing the logo of the new government’s General Security Service entered the province. While they were not accompanied by security personnel, some read this as indicating that some factions in the current led by the Men of Dignity had signed an agreement with Damascus. 

However, the arrival of the vehicles—which were reportedly distributed to four local factions to activate the security apparatus in Suwayda—did not necessarily point to a final agreement. 

A statement put out by the Men of Dignity at the time explained the step “came in response to the demands of religious and social figures who insisted that security personnel be from Suwayda, which was agreed upon with the Ministry of Interior.” It was a practical measure, the faction said, to “reactivate state institutions and law enforcement in a manner appropriate to the current circumstances.” 

The factions aligned with al-Hijri were incensed, and some threatened to burn the general security vehicles, according to audio recordings attributed to military commanders. The Men of Dignity responded, calling such statements “irresponsible” and saying they reflected “a clear rejection of the return of the law and confirm there are parties benefiting from the chaos that seek to obstruct any initiative aimed at restoring security and stability.” 

The interior ministry had agreed to support Suwayda with logistical supplies that were received by local factions, local media outlet Suwayda 24 reported, citing “informed sources.” Its aim was to “strengthen the work of judicial police to counter rising crime.”

The Men of Dignity are holding ongoing negotiations and meetings with the new Syrian government to “clarify contracts, salaries and the military and ideological structure of the army,” its spokesperson Abu Taymour told Syria Direct. There is “understanding and progress, but the matter may take more time given the sensitivity of Suwayda,” he added. 

“The movement has no conditions for integrating with the defense ministry, but we want clarifications and reassurances,” Abu Taymour said. His faction has objected to “non-Syrians in positions of leadership in the army, which is a big sticking point” and has “reservations about appointments.” 

“It makes no sense to place a person with the rank of a warrant officer first class as the commander of a military division that has high-ranking officers in it,” he added. Abu Taymour was referring to Bunyan al-Hariri, the commander of the Ministry of Defense’s South Division—the military body factions from Syria’s southern Daraa, Suwayda and Quneitra provinces would be integrated into. 

Al-Hariri defected from the Assad regime as a warrant officer first class and later attended the military college in Idlib, graduating as a colonel. Rank has also been a point of contention for factions in Daraa province, which neighbors Suwayda, as local military bodies include members who defected from the regime at higher ranks. 

Read more: Why the delay in merging Daraa’s factions into a new Syrian army?

“The negotiations are still in broad strokes,” Abu Taymour added. The Men of Dignity are coordinating with other Suwayda factions through “a permanently convened operations room” at its headquarters, he said. 

On the other side, the Suwayda Military Council—a body formed after the regime fell last December—is taking an escalatory stance towards Syria’s new administration. It issued a statement on March 5, referring to the entrance of general security vehicles, saying some military groups “assisted Hayat Tahrir al-Sham” and attempted to bring it into the province “without coordinating with the military council, the local community or religious bodies.” It condemned “these acts” and reaffirmed its stance “rejecting the de facto authority in Damascus.” 

“The current government in Damascus does not represent the aspirations of our Syrian people, and cannot be accepted as a de facto authority under any pretext,” the Suwayda Military Council said in its statement. It warned “anyone who dares attempt to impose de facto authority over the land and people of Suwayda that these actions will lead to undesirable consequences and threaten civil peace.” 

The Suwayda Military Council first emerged after the Assad regime was toppled in December 2024, when many local military groups quickly joined it. It is among the most prominent military entities aligned with al-Hijri, and has been accused of being funded by and linked to the SDF. 

In response, Eyad al-Matni, a member of the Suwayda Military Council, told Syria Direct it aims to bring together armed forces in the province that “have not sullied their hands with Syrian blood, to fill the security vacuum, activate the judicial police and control security until a national government is formed and they join the army.” 

The council communicates with the Ministry of Defense and has presented the defense minister with “a memorandum of understanding” demanding “the rights of retired people and military personnel who were at their posts before the regime fell, the rights of martyrs’ families, achieving transitional justice and accountability for those with claims against them,” al-Matni said. “These demands were met with promises and procrastination.” 

A statue of Sultan Pasha al-Atrash—the Druze leader of the 1925 Great Syrian Revolt against French colonial rule—stands in the center of a square named for him in Suwayda city, 12/3/2025 (Shadi al-Dbeisi/Syria Direct)

Sticking to their guns

“We met with the defense minister and he asked us for the personal details of personnel to join the army, but we refused,” the sources from Suwayda’s Supreme Forces faction told Syria Direct. Syria’s interim president al-Sharaa “usurped power, and it is difficult to get from the state of factionalism to an army,” he added. “They are Jabhat al-Nusra, fanatics, while what Syria wants is justice, equality and coexistence.”

The Supreme Forces are among several military groups that are holding on to their weapons, in Suwayda and across Syria. “This is not exclusive to military factions and religious authorities,” Socrates Nofal, a member of the Suwayda Civil Forum, which includes several civil society groups in the province. “There is also a segment of people who refuse to surrender their weapons, despite being aware of the drawbacks.”

“There is a sort of concern about the Syrian government, the absence of law” and a feeling that “the hand that holds a weapon has the final say, and nobody wants to be the weaker party,” Nofal told Syria Direct. 

“The vast majority of [Suwayda] factions used to receive funding from regime security branches and illegal activities. As a rule, they will not lay down their weapons because handing them over will make them equal before the law, no longer able to carry out activities that generate a large income,” Nofal contended. “Since the operating cost for any faction—salaries and weapons—is very high, how were they funding themselves?”

Regardless of the justifications, “holding on to [weapons] is not acceptable,” Reham Abu Yahya, a lawyer and activist in Suwayda, said. “By law, it falls under crimes against public safety that threaten the security and safety of individuals,” she added. “It contradicts the state we call for and strive to consolidate through the rule of law.” 

Abu Yahya suggested the insistence on retaining weapons “intersects with the interests of paid collaborators who are trying to float their separatist projects in the region.” She is critical of the Suwayda Military Council, saying its formation, “in light of the state’s efforts to extend security and stability, can only be seen as insurrection and armed rebellion against state agencies and institutions.” 

“Every group or faction includes individuals accused of past crimes, or who were in the ranks of the defunct regime and raise slogans or flags reflecting their association with a particular project or orientation, which are actions criminalized by law,” Abu Yahya said. Calling for secession “falls under crimes against the constitution,” she said, while calling for the formation of the military council and its leadership “falls under usurping political, civil or military authority and is considered an act of sedition, terrorism and infighting among Syrians.” 

The downsides of uncontrolled weapons are not limited to Suwayda’s relationship with Damascus or other provinces, but have internal implications, Abu Yahya added. “The spread of weapons leaves space open for arbitrary factionalism, keeping Suwayda a flashpoint of lasting conflict.” 

She fears “the military formations” perpetuate “concerns of fighting among Syrians themselves, which we categorically reject.” Suwayda “doesn’t need reassurances, statements or interventions by war criminals. When we need any protection, we will reach out to the Syrians with whom we share a single fate, goal and homeland.” 

The continued presence of multiple factions in Suwayda casts a shadow on the local economy too, Nofal said. “There is no economic improvement without security stability.” 

He gave the example of “a young man who was threatened by one of the factions after he secured a deal for household gas. He was about to put it on the market for 15,000 Syrian pounds per kilogram, when its price was 22,000 pounds.” The faction, he said, told the man “it wouldn’t allow him to sell at this competitive price that threatens its interests,” as it is involved in the local gas trade. Syria Direct could not independently confirm this account. 

An SDF connection?

On December 11, 2024, three days after Assad fell, the Suwayda Military Council was born when a group of retired officers and defectors announced its formation. Around two months later, on February 22, the group changed its logo and branding in a way that bore similarities to those of SDF-affiliated bodies such as the Manbij Military Council and Internal Security Forces (Asayish).

Changes to the visual identity of the Suwayda Military Council between its founding in December 2024 and an update in February 2025 (Syria Direct)

The next day, the first local military groups in Suwayda began to join the council. Others followed, until it became one of the largest military groups in the southern province. 

On February 24, the council adopted the idea of a “secular, decentralized state” in a statement released during a military parade in al-Ghariya, a Suwayda countryside village near the border with Jordan. 

The council was initially met with criticism from many factions, religious authorities and activists in Suwayda. The province’s Decisive Operations Room and Joint Operations Room issued a statement calling the Suwayda Military Council “illegitimate” and saying its founding statement “only represents itself.” Sheikh al-Hijri said, at the time, the body “does not represent the people of the province,” before later changing his view. 

One military source from a faction aligned with al-Hijri told Syria Direct, on condition of not revealing his name or that of his faction, that they met with Tariq al-Shoufi, the commander of the Suwayda Military Council, a few days ago. Al-Shoufi made an offer for them to join the body, but his faction refused, citing “its unknown funding.”

“Al-Shoufi says its funding comes from the [United States-led] international coalition, and some of the information we have indicates that it is linked to the SDF,” the source said. 

Ashraf al-Hassan (a pseudonym), a media activist living in Suwayda city, said “emissaries from the SDF met with Sheikh al-Hijri and the military factions last week,” which Syria Direct could not independently confirm. Al-Shoufi “attended the Raqqa conference held by the SDF on March 7,” he added on condition of anonymity. 

The Raqqa conference was a meeting held by SDF commander Mazloum Abdi with the participation of coalition forces, attended by a delegation of sheikhs and notables from Raqqa and Tabqa and a number of military and security commanders, to discuss developments in northeastern Syria. 

In this context, Majd Naim (a pseudonym), an activist from Suwayda city’s protest movement who is close to local military factions, said “there is logistical and financial support originating from the SDF that has reached the factions” affiliated with al-Hijri. “Many fighters have joined the council, and they receive salaries of $150 a month,” he added. “All of this is done with the blessing of Sheikh al-Hijri, whose strength these factions are the base of.” 

In response, Suwayda Military Council commander al-Matni denied it had received any funding from any party. “We hope the [Damascus] interim government will support the council to organize weapons and training. We have the expertise to establish military and security forces capable of assuming responsibility for defense and protection in accordance with fair judicial laws and rulings,” he told Syria Direct. 

“If the government does not respond, we may be forgiven for seeking funders without compromising the national situation,” al-Matni added. 

Israel stirs the pot

Alongside its invasion of Syria that began immediately after Assad fell on December 8, Israel has sought to position itself as a protector of Syria’s Druze and win members of the minority over. Just this past week, Israel’s Minister of Defense Israel Katz announced Syrian Druze would soon be allowed to enter and work in the occupied Golan Heights.

On March 4, unidentified individuals raised the Israeli flag in a square in Suwayda—which was later taken down and burned—coinciding with the publication of a video of masked figures calling on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to intervene against the Damascus government. 

“Some parties and factions are trying to pull in that direction [Israel], exploiting the bad economic situation,” Nofal said. “On principle, we have apples and they have apples,” he said, referring to economic disparities between Druze in Syria and in the occupied Golan Heights despite similarities in local agriculture. “So why are they sending us [relatives inside Syria] bags of dollars?”

“There are armed factions funded by Israel carrying out agendas,” Nofal asserted. “Israel has an interest in instability in the area, and will work to carry out everything that serves its interests. That is why it plays on the Druze chord,” but “not because it is keen on us.” 

“Israeli intervention is a blatant attack on Syrian sovereignty,” said Hassan Shams, a journalist who lives in Majdal Shams, a Druze town in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. He called for the current authorities in Damascus to “assume responsibility for preserving the sovereignty of its territory by the available legal and political means.” 

Shams urged “the Syrian government to condemn every Syrian citizen who builds any relationship with Israel, consider this act intentional, unjustified betrayal and prosecute the perpetrators.” 

Damascus’ actions—or lack thereof—could drive some toward Israel, Shams added. The transitional government’s “failure to assert its sovereignty over southern Syria, in word and deed, or clarify its stance on this matter, and its neglect of its duty to provide security and meet citizens’ basic needs amounts to blatant complicity in pushing people towards this fatal error,” he said. 

As he reads Israel’s position, Tel Aviv “is annoyed by any Syrian agreement, and was the most annoyed by the SDF-Damascus agreement. That is why it is courting the Alawites, Druze and others.”

“Israel acts in its own interests, and once it is finished with these gloves [those who coordinate or collaborate with it] it will throw them in the nearest garbage dump,” Shams added. “Anyone with dignity would not accept to be a tool for Israel.” 

This report was originally published in Arabic and translated into English by Mateo Nelson.