Over the last few days there has been increasing tension in the provinces of Suwayda and Daraa due to clashes between the 5th Corps’ 8th Brigade (whose fighters come from Daraa) and local factions from Suwayda. The fighting has been taking place in Al-Qariya, SW Suwayda. So far the clashes have resulted in many killed and dozens injured from both sides after local fighters from Al-Qariya carried out surprise attacks on the 5th Corps’ locations which have been there for a number of months
The roots of the dispute
The tension arose on 27 March this year when members of the 5th Corps killed Hisham Shaqir (a civilian from Al-Qariya) in the agricultural area. They had originally tried to kidnap him under the pretext of two civilians being kidnapped from Busra Al-Sham in Daraa, Nidal Al-Awd and Khaldun Al-Hassan. Despite the fact that Shaqir had no connection to kidnapping gangs (according to locals from the area who spoke to Suwayda24), armed factions from both Daraa and Suwayda are resorting to kidnapping civilians as a means of pressure and raising funds. Every time a gang from Daraa kidnaps a civilian from Suwayda, the hostage’s family are forced to pay a ransom. The same happens with hostages from Daraa. After the death of Shaqir, local armed groups from Al-Qariya combed the area where he had been killed, but were subjected to a surprise ambush from the 5th Corps in Al-Ghadeer in western Al-Qariya. Clashes between the two sides ensued resulting in 15 killed from Al-Qariya and its neighbouring village. The 5th Corps accuse the other side of killing six of their fighters after they had been captured. After the clashes in late March Fifth Corps fighters entered the area of Al-Qariya, taking over an area of 2-4km. They created a number of berms and prevented local farmers from entering Fifth Corps areas, refusing to withdraw. After a month they clashed with Firas Mleh, a local farmer who was trying to get to his land, resulting in Mleh’s death and two fighters from the 5th Corps being injured. Over the last few months, prominent figures from Al-Qariya have held a number of meetings with both Syrian authorities and Russian forces demanding that the 5th Corps withdraw from the area and those culpable for the events on 27 March be held legally accountable for their actions. Both the Syrian authorities and Russian forces made multiple promises regarding the situation, but as of yet have failed to act on these promise
At the beginning of May, Russian Military Police went to Al-Qariya to oversee the partial withdrawal of the 5th Corps from the area and the removal of some of their berms. However, the Russian forces left before the complete intended withdrawal had taken place, leading to 5th Corps re-deploying their fighters again. Local farmers could not access their land or their harvest until the Russian military arrived to allow them to do so. Spiritual Institutions put an end to suspicious Hezbollah activity. In August, Suwayda24 carried out an investigation exposing suspicious activities by Lebanese Hezbollah. Hezbollah has been providing logistical support to the National Defence Forces (NDF), which subsequently deployed armed members to Al-Qariya, strengthening its positions with mortars. They were exploiting the existing tension in the area and locals’ discontent with Ahmad Al-Awdah’s transgressions and refusal to withdraw from the area. The investigation into Hezbollah’s suspicious activities provoked disgust among the religious and social circles of Suwayda. Prominent members in Suwayda refused Hezbollah to have any role to the extent that his eminence Sheikh Hikmat Al-Hijri, the spiritual leader of the monotheist Muslims – the Druze, issued a directive stating: “We are of a sect which knows its people and we do not need support from an external entity guided by personal interests. We don’t just belong to a particular group, we belong to the land and this ancient nation. We are part of its fabric and one of its key elements.”A source close to the spiritual leadership commented in a statement to Suwayda24 that the guidance is a message to factions looking to create strife in Southern Syria and meddle in Suwayda’s affairs with the intention of fulfilling their own suspicious agendas – especially non-Syrian factions. Suwayda will not be exploited by any external faction. Ahmad Al-Awdah “threatens stability in the area” Between April and June a number of negotiations took place among notables from Suwayda on the one side and their counterparts from Dera’ on the other in order to contain tensions between Busra Al-Sham and Al-Qariya. Both sides issued statements calling for the protection of locals and to prevent the area from becoming embroiled in renewed clashes
Sources informed Suwayda24 that the dignitaries from Suwayda repeatedly asked their counterparts in Daraa to completely withdraw 5th Corps fighters from Al-Qariya as part of an initiative to defuse the crisis in the area. However, Ahmad Al-Awdah, commander of the unit’s 8th Division, refused to withdraw, resulting in increased anger among locals in the area. Locals of Al-Qariya resort to weapons after local mediations fail On the 29 September local fighters from Al-Qariya attacked the Fifth Corps’ locations in the agricultural area, managing to retake control but not proceeding to the areas under the control of the 5th Corps. Nonetheless, pro 5th Corps social media pages pushed the narrative that the attack had taken place on Busra Al-Sham. Rijal Al-Karama Movement participated in paving the way for the attack by locating themselves at two two points, Al-Zuqaq and Burd, with medium-sized weapons, enabling the offensive party to reclaim points in the initial hours of the battle. The NDF’s participation in the battle was modest, as they did not use their heavy weapons. Many local factions were absent from the battle despite the hundreds of fighters from Suwayda that had spontaneously flocked to the battleground. Nonetheless, 5th Corps fighters mounted a counter attack on the points that it had lost through heavy mortar and rocket attacks, relying on overwhelming fire power from heavy machine guns. Meanwhile, it was clear that the Suwayda factions lacked coordination and expertise , and had instead relied on the principle of shock and awe. Their lack of organised coordination was to the benefit of the 5th Corps who gained weapons and ordnance. During the battle, the 5th Corps targeted two areas with a high concentration of civilians with mortars: Al-Qariya and Burd. This caused damage to property but meanwhile no attacks hit Busra Al-Sham, which contradicts the narrative spread by the 5th Corps. Negotiations to withdraw 5th Corps and deploy the army A high level source informed Suwayda24 that local leaders form Suwayda and religious leaders of the Druze requested the Presidential Palace to deploy the Syrian Army to the area between the two provinces of Daraa and Suwayda, and to force the 5th Corps to withdraw from Al-Qariya. Recent reports suggest that Syrian Army units will deploy to the rural area between the two provinces in the coming days. Further, Sheikh Mouqif Tareef, the spiritual leader for the Druze in Israel, spoke with senior members from the Russian authorities to obtain promises from the Russians for a ceasefire in south-west Suwayda, and to force the 5th Corps to withdraw to their locations in Busra Al-Sham in south-east Daraa. It should be noted that since the very beginning of the conflict in Syria, the provinces of Suwayda and Daraa have witnessed attempts to undermine stability. But the awareness of rational entities on both sides and the strong relationships between them means that they have always tried to overcome attempts to create strife