16 info about Syria's Sweida druze

info about Sweida = Suwayda's druze:

1.  The community is led by three religious figures: Hikmat al-Hajri, Youssef al-Jarbou, and Hamoud al-Hanawi.
2. Sheikh Hikmat is considered the most prominent representative of the sect. He commands a militia known as the Military Council, whose military leader is Tariq al-Shoufi, a former officer in Bashar al-Assad’s army, wanted by the government for war crimes.
   
   
   
3. Al-Hajri maintained a good relationship with Bashar al-Assad until 2020. However, he has opposed President Ahmad al-Shar’a and his government from their first day in power—barring them militarily and civilly from entering his areas of influence and accusing them of terrorism. This led to the death of a security officer at a Jaramana checkpoint on March 1, killed by a Military Council unit.
4. President al-Shar’a appointed Mustafa al-Bakour as governor of Sweida, but he remained without practical authority. He faced insults and threats from various actors in the province, eventually tendering his resignation on May 23, which was rejected.
   
   
   
5. A militia known as Shaheed el Karama (Martyr of Dignity) operated in Suwayda, led by Laith Balous maintaining a generally good relationship with the government and the governor. However, it suffered repeated threats and attacks from the Military Council, ultimately denouncing its young leader Laith al-Balous after he criticized Sheikh al-Hajri.
   
   
   
6. Despite clashes with the Military Council and Israeli airstrikes, General Security took control of Sahnaya and Ashrafiyat Sahnaya, both Druze-majority towns, on May 30. It had previously seized Jaramana on March 2.
7. Syrian military and security forces were close to controlling the Sweida Governorate on July 16, but an unprecedented Israeli offensive halted the takeover.
8. Sweida is home to a minority of Sunni Muslim tribal residents. Tensions with the Druze community have been long-standing and worsened after the fall of Assad, culminating in their displacement from the province following the recent battle.
9. Sheikh al-Hajri openly requested direct military protection from Israel during the recent conflict, after reneging on an agreement with the Syrian government to hand over control to official institutions.
10. As a religious group, the Druze are also present in Occupied Syrian Golan, with a significant number serving in the Israeli army.
11. Druze communities exist outside Sweida, notably in Quneitra’s countryside, Idlib.
12. Al-Hajri has demanded two land crossings with Jordan, and access to areas controlled by the Kurdish-led SDF, suggesting a desire for separation from the Syrian state.
13. Israel pledged military protection of the minority!
14. Walid Jumblatt, leader of Lebanon’s Progressive Socialist Party and a major Druze figure, was the first to visit President al-Shar’a after Assad’s fall. He criticized al-Hajri’s ambitions and said his cooperation with Israel damaged the Druze’s image.
    
    
    
15. The recent battle increased sectarian tension against the Druze, especially among university students.
16. The latest Syrian-Israeli agreement, brokered by Jordan, Turkey, and the U.S., appears unlikely to reintegrate Sweida into state authority due to al-Hajri’s intransigence.

Moumin sawady.