Thirty Druze Factions Merge To Defend Suwayda Following July Massacres

Syrian authorities have excluded Suwayda and the Kurdish-controlled north east from participating in elections for a transitional parliament

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.

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.

The announcement of the National Guard was made through a recorded statement published on the guard's official Facebook page.

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."

According 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.

🔗SOURCE ➡️ The Cradle

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