SYRIA

The fighting is still going on!

Competing narratives in the attack upon the Druze.

1.    Has Legitimizing HTS Opened The Door To Violence Against The Druze? Just days after U.S. Special Envoy to Syria Thomas Barrack stated that federalism does not work in Syria and emphasized the need for one army, one nation, and one government, armed groups affiliated with the military and security forces under Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS) in Damascus launched a brutal attack against the Druze minority in Suwayda, a southern province of Syria. These attacks have been carried out under the direct orders of the transitional president, Ahmad Al-Shara (Abu Muhammad Al-Joulani), and his cabinet ministers, as if they are apparently interpreting Mr. Barrack's statements as a green light to subjugate the remaining components of Syrian society. (MEMRI)

2.    From Hussain Abdul-Hassain, a research fellow at FDD: This is a planned Islamist Jihadist onslaught planned, funded, and logistically supported by three of Jolani's henchmen: Chief of Intelligence Hussein al-Salamah, HTS Senior Commander and Under Minister for Foreign Affairs Youssef Al-Hajr, both from the same Ugaydaat tribe, and Muhammad Jassim, aka Abu Amsheh, famous for murdering Alawites 4 months ago, head of Turkey's Suleiman Brigade, and now head of 25th Brigade in Hama. All three are from the northeast of Syria and not remotely connected to the clans and Bedouins of south Syria.

3.    The declaration of jihad against the Druze in southern Syria followed their attempts to impede a Bedouin drug smuggling racket. They have been trying to halt Bedouin attacks and murders which have been claiming the lives of hundreds of Druze civilians. Despite pronouncements by al-Julani, the Syrian leader, that protecting the Druze is his priority, regime personnel have been heading off to join jihad against the Druze. Syrian media also reported that mobs of students hunted for their Druze’ classmates at Aleppo University.

 Note: The Syrian Arab Army (SAA) is the official name of the national army. SAA is a component of the broader "regime forces". The US Envoy to Syria: Al-Julani’s forces are behind Sweida massacres, not SAA; at the same time, officials in Damascus admitted that several “uncontrolled units” were involved.

Is NY Times giving Syrian Druze the Israeli Jews treatment? https://www.camera.org/article/is-the-ny-times-giving-syrian-druze-the-israeli-jews-treatment/

In Syria’s Sweida, the stench of death still lingers days after sectarian bloodshed https://apnews.com/article/syria-sweida-sectarianism-ahmad-alsharaa-druze-fighting-e1cec070de22805a492c9151c0ec6fd1

Syria for Beginners: Five Sources to Follow https://tcf.org/content/commentary/syria-for-beginners-five-sources-to-follow/

→→Action Alert: Urge Congress to Protect Syrian Minorities from Sunni Islamists

Renewing sanctions against the HTS-led government would pressure it to halt abuses and protect minorities. https://middle-east-forum.quorum.us/campaign/Druze/