There are a number of local armed factions in the primarily Druze province of al-Suwayda’ in southern Syria, where protests against the government continue to be held on a regular basis, even as the province is formally controlled by the Syrian government. One of the most prominent local armed factions is Liwa Jabal al-Karama (“Mountain of Dignity Brigade”), whose leader Murhij al-Jaramani was killed in July 2024. Although there was speculation that Murhij had been assassinated by Syrian government supporters because of his support for the protests, it turned out through his group’s own investigations that his own daughter and wife had killed him in an internal family dispute.
More recently during the course of this month, Liwa Jabal al-Karama has been engaging in training exercises. I decided to conduct an interview with Ziyad Abu Tafesh, who does media work for the group. The interview discusses the training exercises and the group’s assessment of the general situation in al-Suwayda’. It is slightly edited and condensed for clarity and any parenthetical insertions in square brackets are my own.
Q: What were the reasons for the training exercises?
Whereas Da‘esh [ISIS] would boast that it had never lost a battle, its myth collapsed and was destroyed at the walls of our city, and they were defeated in the worst way possible. So there is no fear of confrontation with them at all.
A: The training exercises were a normal matter for the purpose of preserving members’ physical strength and military knowledge.
Q: May I ask how you see the current situation in al-Suwayda’? Do you expect for example a military escalation and confrontation between the security forces and the protestors? On the regional level are you preparing for example for the possibility of a military confrontation with the Israeli enemy?
A: Liwa al-Jabal is not involved in any political agendas and is not affiliated with any party at all. The foundational mission and aims are protecting the unity and safety of the society in al-Suwayda’.
al-Suwayda’ has been left to its fate for a long time and the Syrian regime offers the bare minimum of basic services. The people live in a state of great anger. With regards to confronting the occupation state, this is the Syrian state’s obligation in the first instance. We are a civilian faction, not prepared to engage in clashes or confrontation with destructive killing machines.
Q: How do you assess the security situation in al-Suwayda’ in terms of criminal gangs and the Da‘esh [Islamic State] threat in the eastern badiya of al-Suwayda’ or the badiya in general? Do you fear the possibility of a Da‘esh attack on the province like what happened in 2018?
A: There is a lack of security on all levels and a complete absence and withdrawal from responsibilities in the state’s institutions, like regulation of justice, the local council and the provincial council. Their justifications for this shortcoming are the security circumstances and state of war that the country has been experiencing since 2011.
There is a lack of security on all levels and a complete absence and withdrawal from responsibilities in the state’s institutions, like regulation of justice, the local council and the provincial council.
Up to this moment, the successive governments have not dealt seriously with the deteriorating living situation under the same justifications of economic blockade and shortage in resources and societal chaos, which the security apparatuses have deliberately expanded by strengthening the role of gangs and turning a blind eye to their criminal conduct. For the person who is from the environment of al-Suwayda’, no matter how bad that person is, cannot dare to transgress civil law and customs and tribal traditions that are dominant our region without the support of the authority through its security apparatuses. Thus, drug dealing, theft of cars and attacks on private and public property have spread through the support of these apparatuses that in many cases try to turn people against each other and have resolution of problems be delegated to people who are wholly unsuitable for the job, solely so that the apparatuses can provide them cover and make them prominent as leaders in the community. This is what has caused great harm, and to make matters worse, it has contributed to deepening the chaos.
As for the fear of a Da‘esh attack, they had a bitter experience with the people of al-Suwayda’ in 2018, for whereas Da‘esh would boast that it had never lost a battle, its myth collapsed and was destroyed at the walls of our city, and they were defeated in the worst way possible. So there is no fear of confrontation with them at all. If it happens and they enter our land on foot, they will lose, bearing dead corpses.
Published originally under the title “Local Factions of al-Suwayda': Interview with Liwa Jabal al-Karama.”
