Syria's Druze avoided the worst of the 14-year civil war — and want little to do with new rulers

It's been six months since longtime Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad was toppled pursuing a stunning rebel violative that saw absorption fighters prehend the state successful conscionable 11 days.

The months since person been hopeful and challenging successful adjacent measure. The caller Syrian government, nether the enactment of jihadist-turned-president Ahmed al-Sharaa, has scored immoderate successes, astir notably the removal of suffocating Western sanctions placed connected the state nether his predecessor.

There person besides been bouts of utmost violence, peculiarly toward the country's minorities. A pro-Assad uprising connected the Syrian seashore successful March was followed by revenge killings against the Alawite community, portion conscionable 2 weeks ago, an ISIS bombing against a religion successful Damascus killed dozens of Christians.

Amid this uncertainty, Syria's different minorities person recovered themselves thrust into a hard position, 1 that the region's different powers — ranging from Israel to Turkey to Iran — are seeking to exploit.

One assemblage successful peculiar finds itself successful a delicate situation: the Druze. 

Neither Muslim nor Christian, the Druze are an esoteric sect whose secretive beliefs see reincarnation. 

While conscionable a 90-minute thrust from the Syrian capital, Damascus, the Druze stronghold of Suwayda feels similar a satellite away. Alcohol is sold successful seemingly each 3rd shop; headscarves connected women are each but nonexistent. Also absent are information forces from the caller authorities — the lone equipped men contiguous are from the Druze's ain militias, which person frankincense acold refused to let adjacent a token beingness from Damascus.

Suwayda is unsocial among Syria's provinces successful that it managed to debar astir the entirety of the country's ruinous 14-year civilian war. The section Druze, who marque up 90 per cent of the region's population, mostly expelled the Assad authorities and its agents successful 2012, thereafter charting a people successful which they aided neither Assad's authorities nor the rebels opposing him.

"This was a warfare betwixt Sunnis and Alawites," said Amjad Tarif, a section java store owner, referring to the country's predominant Islamic sects. "We had thing to bash with it."

WATCH | How Syrian rebels took down the Assad regime:

'We tin lone trust connected ourselves'

Having sat retired the worst of the civilian war, the Druze privation small to bash with Syria's caller rulers, either.

"The lone mode we tin sphere our rights is done decentralization," said Bader Kmash, a Druze activist. "We cannot unrecorded nether the nonstop regularisation of a radical that has killed our radical before. No 1 present trusts them."

The sidesplitting Kmash refers to occurred connected June 10, 2015, erstwhile fighters affiliated with the al-Nusra Front — the radical headed by Syria's now-president, Sharaa — changeable dormant astatine slightest 20 Druze successful a colony successful the country's northwest. The incidental near a heavy people connected the community, and is mentioned aboriginal and often successful immoderate speech astir the caller government.

"The radical who committed this enactment are present successful complaint of Syria," said Muhsina al-Mahathawi, a Druze politician. "They person hardly adjacent apologized for it, fto unsocial made immoderate amends."

The 2015 killings weren't the lone calamity the Druze experienced implicit the past decade.

In July 2018, ISIS, besides known arsenic the Islamic State, launched a monolithic battle connected Suwayda. Waves of fighters emerged from the godforsaken successful the province's east, held disconnected lone by hastily organized Druze defenders. While the warring raged, IS termination bombers who had slipped into Suwayda's engaged marketplaces detonated themselves. More than 200 were killed successful a azygous day.

"The warring lasted for much than 14 hours, from dawn until dusk," said Mehdi Faraj, 33, who fought successful the conflict himself. "We had nary 1 to assistance us: not the [Assad] authorities oregon immoderate overseas country."

The brutal clash hardened section attitudes toward the necessity of maintaining their ain militias.

"This is wherefore we Druze tin ne'er laic down our weapons," Faraj said. "We person ever been armed, due to the fact that we tin lone trust connected ourselves."

Opposition to caller government

Mahathawi, the politician, has been astatine the centre of 1 play with the caller authorities. At the commencement of the year, she was nominated by the Druze assemblage to service arsenic politician of Suwayda, pending Damascus's approval. Sharaa demurred, dispatching alternatively an Islamist commandant to service arsenic his viceroy determination — a determination that astir ended successful bloodshed aft the caller appointee was concisely kidnapped astatine gunpoint by Druze militiamen.

While determination are fewer supporters of Sharaa and his allies successful Suwayda, immoderate spell further than others successful their opposition.

One of the starring figures against the caller authorities is Sheikh Hikmet al-Hijri, the spiritual person of the Druze. Sitting successful his compound successful the municipality of Qanawat, Hijri slammed Sharaa for "failing to include" the Druze successful decision-making for the country's future.

"We person been successful talks with [the caller government] since the 3rd time aft Assad's fall, but it is wide they bash not perceive to us," said Hijri. "There was not 1 Druze progressive successful drafting the caller constitution. The authorities says they volition enactment with us, but it's lone words — they bash not instrumentality immoderate steps towards this."

One facet that has alarmed Hijri and different Druze is the starring relation Turkey is taking successful the operation of the caller Syrian state. Historic persecution of Druze during the Ottoman Empire and the 2015 massacre person merged aged anxieties with caller ones.

"We tin intelligibly spot the manus of Turkey successful this role," Hijri said. "There are galore Salafist and extremist currents contiguous successful the caller administration, and Turkey has ever been blessed to enactment these groups. We tin besides spot what Turkey is doing to the Kurds — sidesplitting them, destroying their culture. So, of course, this is precise concerning for us."

Fear of Turkey's power has made immoderate Druze unfastened to the extortion of different determination power: Israel.

Since the autumn of Assad, Israel has emerged arsenic a caller powerfulness broker successful confederate Syria, moving troops crossed the longtime frontier to inhabit territory and raid villages. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his furniture person besides invoked "protection" of Syria's Druze assemblage arsenic a imaginable tripwire for greater involution successful Syria if the second is threatened.

Druze besides unrecorded successful Israel

Unlike astir of their chap Syrians, the Druze harbour small sick volition toward Israel, which hosts a important and well-integrated Druze colonisation of its own. Israel's Druze are 1 of the lone number communities to service successful the Israel Defence Forces (IDF), and household connections with the Druze successful Syria service arsenic some a backmost transmission and a root of genuine pro-Israel sentiment.

The Israel question took connected further value pursuing clashes successful the Damascus suburb of Jaramana — populated chiefly by Druze — successful February and April. Israel carried retired airstrikes connected Syrian government-affiliated forces who had clashed with Druze fighters pursuing the second incident.

The Syrian authorities denies engagement successful these clashes, blaming them connected rogue elements. Negotiations betwixt the caller authorities and Druze notables person taken spot regularly, preventing a caller descent into unit but failing to code deeper issues.

Analysts accidental the concern has calmed somewhat since the April fighting.

"Israel's attempts to exploit Druze concerns and instability look to person fizzled successful caller weeks," said Charles Lister, manager of the Syria Initiative astatine the Washington, D.C.-based Middle East Institute. 

This was partially owed to the initiation of "direct and indirect talks betwixt Damascus and Jerusalem," Lister said.

As the Druze effort to find their spot successful the caller Syria, their eventual presumption is inactive acold from certain. 

"Syria's modulation lone has legs if it tin show that it is successfully and meaningfully integrating and empowering its number communities and regions," Lister said. "It's decidedly not determination yet, but we person to support reminding ourselves: we're lone six months into this transition."

Israel's caller relation successful Syria — including airstrikes and raids connected borderline villages — remains controversial, but galore Druze are astatine slightest tacitly unfastened to Israel's backing if unit returns.

"We are not wholly unsocial here," says Faraj, the Druze fighter. "All Syrian Druze person household successful Israel. If we are attacked, we volition telephone our cousins there, and we volition woody with immoderate threats from Damascus."