South Syrian groups signal readiness to integrate into new army

Former Syria rebel groups in the southern province of Daraa say they are not against integrating into a unified Syrian army under the control of the transitional government in Damascus, amid reports their leaders want to remain as an independent armed faction.

Nassim Abu Arra, the spokesperson of the ‘Southern Operations Room’ coalition, issued a statement carried by local outlet Daraa24 on Monday rejecting claims of divisions with Damascus.

He said the people of the south were the first to begin the revolution, were the first to call for the establishment of a new ministry of defence, and its fighters were also the first to enter Damascus during the collapse of the Assad regime. 

In his statement, Abu Arra outlined three principles that “form the foundation of our vision for Syria’s future”. The first principle states that the people of southern Syria are a “symbol for national unity” and affirms that Daraa will strive for stability and national unity.

The second saw Abu Arra claim that the south would not allow for the revolution to be undermined by internal and external forces and that the southern forces would never act against law and justice in Syria.

“We will build a free and strong Syria, under a system that protects the rights of its people and guarantees fair participation among all its components, based on merit and competence,” he said.

The coalition’s statement comes amid tension between the southern factions and the new transitional authority in Damascus over the former’s alleged refusal to dissolve into the new unified army.

On Thursday, Syria’s Defence Minister Murhaf Abu Qasra told The Washington Post that the leader of the Eight Brigade, Ahmed al-Awda, had rebuffed attempts by the defence ministry to bring his faction under central control.

Awda had previously reconciled with the Assad regime during an offensive against rebels in Daraa in 2018, coming under Russian patronage and protection.

As the HTS-led rebels launched an offensive against the regime and began moving towards Damascus, Awda launched an uprising against the regime in Daraa and entered the Damascus suburbs from the south.

A leader in the Eighth Brigade also told The New Arab’s Arabic language edition Al-Araby Al-Jadeed that high-level coordination between the southern factions and ministry of defence are taking place. 

“The Eighth Brigade is ready to integrate into the ministry of defence, but on condition that it operates within a disciplined military framework without the exclusion of defected officers and revolutionaries,” the commander said.

In separate comments to The New Arab’s affiliate Syria TV, Suleiman Abul Baqi said that local factions in Suweida had discussed their integration into a central body and that this could happen soon as part of a restructuring of military institutions.

Several Druze-majority militias operated in Syria during the war, outside the direct command of Bashar Al-Assad and sometimes clashing with armed factions linked to the regime.

He also indicated that defected officers from the Syrian army would be reinstated into the new military formation, reflecting a broader effort to unify ranks and reintegrate army personnel who had defected in past years. 

Following the toppling of the Assad regime on 8 December, Syria’s transitional government has attempted to consolidate its authority by centralising Syria’s myriad of rebel groups into a unified army.

In doing so the government established a new ministry of defence in December and in January announced the dissolution of rebel groups into the unified army.