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<h1 class="gmail-">Thirty Druze factions merge to defend Suwayda
following July massacres</h1>
<p class="gmail-">Syrian authorities have excluded Suwayda and
the Kurdish-controlled north east from participating in
elections for a transitional parliament</p>
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<p><span style="color:rgb(84,88,94)">AUG 24, 2025 - </span><font
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href="https://thecradle.co/articles/thirty-druze-factions-merge-to-defend-suwayda-following-july-massacres"
moz-do-not-send="true" class="moz-txt-link-freetext">https://thecradle.co/articles/thirty-druze-factions-merge-to-defend-suwayda-following-july-massacres</a></font></p>
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<p><span style="background-color:transparent">Local
armed factions in the Druze-majority governorate of
Suwayda in southern Syria announced on 24 August the
formation of the "National Guard" under the
leadership of Druze spiritual leader Sheikh Hikmat
al-Hijri.</span></p>
<p><span style="background-color:transparent">The new
military formation brings together 30 local factions
to better protect Suwayda following the killing of
Druze fighters and civilians by forces loyal to
interim Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa in July.</span></p>
<p><span style="background-color:transparent">The
announcement of the National Guard was made through
a recorded statement </span><a
href="https://www.facebook.com/61578949776096/videos/%D8%A8%D8%B3%D9%85-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%84%D9%91%D9%8E%D9%87-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B1%D9%91%D9%8E%D8%AD%D9%85%D9%86-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B1%D9%91%D9%8E%D8%AD%D9%8A%D9%85%D8%A8%D8%AF%D8%A7%D9%8A%D8%A9%D9%8B-%D9%86%D8%AA%D8%B1%D8%AD%D9%85-%D8%B9%D9%84%D9%89-%D8%A7%D8%B1%D9%88%D8%A7%D8%AD-%D8%B4%D9%87%D8%AF%D8%A7%D8%A1%D9%86%D8%A7-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A7%D8%A8%D8%B1%D8%A7%D8%B1-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B0%D9%8A%D9%86-%D9%82%D8%B6%D9%88%D8%A7-%D9%81%D9%8A/1208769947594770/?rdid=IB3ARS1FAAjLKixc"
moz-do-not-send="true"><span
style="background-color:transparent">published</span></a><span
style="background-color:transparent"> on the guard's
official Facebook page.</span></p>
<p><span style="background-color:transparent">The
statement expressed "our condolences to the souls of
our righteous martyrs who died in battles of honor
and dignity," to defend the Druze "against abhorrent
Salafist gangs who practiced murder and terrorism in
the name of an alleged state that made no
distinction between human and stone."</span></p>
<p><a
href="https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2025/08/syria-un-experts-alarmed-attacks-druze-communities-including-sexual-violence"
moz-do-not-send="true"><span
style="background-color:transparent">According</span></a><span
style="background-color:transparent"> to the UN,
Sharaa's forces killed at least 1,000 Druze fighters
and civilians, including 196 people who were
extrajudicially executed during a week-long invasion
of Suwayda beginning on 13 July.</span></p>
<p><span style="background-color:transparent">The UN
also highlighted the abduction of at least 105 Druze
women and girls by armed groups affiliated with the
Syrian authorities, of whom 80 are still missing.</span></p>
<p><span style="background-color:transparent">The
National Guard statement expressed loyalty to the
Druze religious leadership, represented by Hijri,
whom they describe as the legitimate representative
of the Druze community in Suwayda.</span></p>
<p><span style="background-color:transparent">The
statement added that the National Guard constitutes
the Druze community's official military body.</span></p>
<p><span style="background-color:transparent">Factions
announcing their participation include the Saif
al-Haqq Forces, Al-Fahd Forces, Al-Uliya Forces, and
others.</span></p>
<p><span style="background-color:transparent">The
formation of the National Guard also received
support from the Men of Dignity movement, which </span><a
href="https://x.com/suwayda24/status/1959361858697363467"
moz-do-not-send="true"><span
style="background-color:transparent">welcomed</span></a><span
style="background-color:transparent"> the
establishment of an "organized military body" to
defend the Druze community against covetous
invaders."</span></p>
<p><span style="background-color:transparent">The Syrian
government's massacre of Druze in Suwayda has led
many of the religious minority to endorse separating
from the Syrian state to instead become an
autonomous region under international protection.</span></p>
<p><span style="background-color:transparent">At recent
demonstrations in Suwayda, which remains besieged by
Sharaa's forces, some Druze held Israeli flags. Some
in Suwayda wish to live under Israeli protection, in
part due to the influence of Druze relatives who are
citizens of Israel.</span></p>
<p><span style="background-color:transparent">Israel has
sought to exploit the horrific attacks against Druze
in July in an effort to </span><a
href="https://thecradle.co/articles/how-the-us-and-israel-partnered-with-syrias-new-president-to-massacre-the-druze"
moz-do-not-send="true"><span
style="background-color:transparent">intervene </span></a><span
style="background-color:transparent">further in
southern Syria.</span></p>
<p><span style="background-color:transparent">Israel is
seeking to establish the so-called David's Corridor
to link the land it occupies in the Golan Heights
with territory in northeast Syria controlled by
US-backed Kurdish forces known as the Syrian
Democratic Forces (SDF).</span></p>
<p><span style="background-color:transparent">The
massacre of Druze and, before that, the targeted
killings of over 1,600 Alawite civilians in March,
have made Syrian Kurds reluctant to give up their
weapons and relinquish control of the autonomous
region and its oil wealth.</span></p>
<p><span style="background-color:transparent">In a
further sign that Syria is splintering, Syria's
Supreme Election Committee announced on Saturday
that the Druze and Kurdish-controlled regions of the
country would not be allowed to participate in the
process of electing members of Syria's transitional
parliament.</span></p>
<p><span style="background-color:transparent">Citing
"security concerns," the election committee said the
process to choose a new 210-seat parliament would be
postponed in Suwayda, Raqqa, and Hasaka
Governorates.</span></p>
<p><span style="background-color:transparent">President
Sharaa, the former Islamic State in Iraq commander,
will choose 70 of the parliament's new members,
while local electoral councils formed by his
government will choose the remaining 140.</span></p>
<p><span style="background-color:transparent">On Sunday,
the Autonomous Administration of North and East
Syria (AANES) </span><a
href="https://www.newarab.com/news/syria-kurds-say-lawmaker-selection-process-undemocratic"
moz-do-not-send="true"><span
style="background-color:transparent">criticized</span></a><span
style="background-color:transparent"> the exclusion
of Kurdish-controlled governorates.</span></p>
<p><span style="background-color:transparent">"These
elections are neither democratic nor express the
will of Syrians in any way," a statement issued by
AANES said.</span></p>
<p><span style="background-color:transparent">It added
that "defining our regions as unsafe" was carried
out "to justify the policy of denial for more than
five million Syrians" in the area.</span></p>
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