Hundreds of Syrian troops and Iran-linked forces have been deployed in Suweida in southern Syria, residents and dissidents said on Tuesday, raising fears of a crackdown on a months-long peaceful protest movement against President Bashar Al Assad in the mostly Druze province, The National has reported..
Many members of the sect, which is also present in Israel, Lebanon and Jordan, have turned away from the Assad regime after 13 years of civil war. The protests against Mr Al Assad began in September last year, with daily demonstrations in the central square of Suweida city, the provincial capital, and elsewhere in the area.
The province, on the border with Jordan, has bases for Iran-backed militias that Amman says are responsible, together with the Syrian Army for aiding drug smuggling into the Arabian Peninsula. Suweida also has a concentration of troops from Russia, an Assad ally, armed Druze militias and a balance of forces that make it difficult for the regime to put down civil disobedience.
Praetorian Republican Guards, members of the air force intelligence and military intelligence began arriving in Suweida and at the Khalkhala airbase north of the city on April 21, residents and dissidents in the area said.
About 500 more Republican Guards arrived four days later, along with 10 tanks and military vehicles, followed by 250 members of air force intelligence and 100 members of military intelligence from Damascus.
Suhail Theiban, a veteran dissident and a leader of the Suweida protest movement, said he feared that the Syrian and Iran-linked forces, working together through agents, could instigate incidents to provide an “excuse” to deploy troops in the streets on the pretext of maintaining order.
Mikati pressing to deport Syrians who entered Lebanon post-2015
Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati is pressing the relevant international parties to return the unregistered Syrians in Lebanon to their country, a media report said.
“In the meetings that Mikati held over the past days, it was revealed that the European Union has become responsive to the Lebanese proposal,” the Nidaa al-Watan newspaper reported on Tuesday.
“Mikati has told his associates that he is pressing the U.N. Refugee Agency to consider all the migrants who entered Lebanon after 2015 as being illegal residents, which necessitates their return either to the regime’s areas in Syria, to the opposition’s areas or to any other nation,” the daily added.
It also quoted Mikati as saying that “practical steps are currently being taken in the file of the displaced.”
Lebanese minister threats
In a relevant story, Lebanese caretaker Minister of the Displaced Issam Sharafeddine has called for the opening of Lebanon’s maritime borders to allow Syrian refugees to “safely” leave Lebanon for Europe, according to The New Arab.
His comments, which were made in a televised interview on Friday, came as Lebanon struggles to cope with the high number of refugees it hosts.
“We, as a ministry, have a deportation plan for refugees,” he said, adding that he would push for the opening maritime borders “widely to serve as a means of pressure to return Syrian refugees to their country”.
CPJ, MENA Rights Group file Urgent Action to UN on the disappearance of a Syrian journalist in Iraqi Kurdistan
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) and the MENA Rights Group (MRG), has filed an Urgent Action to the UN Committee on Enforced Disappearances, asking for the Iraqi Kurdish government to clarify the fate and whereabouts of Syrian journalist Sleman Ahmed, who was arrested in Iraqi Kurdistan on October 25, 2023.
Ahmed, who works with the PKK affiliated Iraqi Kurdish news outlet, RojNews, was arrested while entering the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, from Syria, after visiting his family. Since then, his whereabouts and the charges brought against him, if any, have not been disclosed by the authorities.
The PKK is recognized as a terrorist organization by the U.S. and its allies, including the Iraqi Kurdish government.
Ahmed is one of 3 journalists currently imprisoned in Iraqi Kurdistan, according to CPJ data.
Jordanian Army thwarts infiltration attempt from Syria
The Northern Military Zone thwarted an attempt yesterday on one of its fronts by four individuals who tried to infiltrate from Syrian territories into Jordan – a statement by the Jordanian Armed Forces (JAF) said on Tuesday.
Rules of engagement were applied, the individuals were apprehended, and they were handed over to the relevant security authorities – the statement added.
The JAF reiterated its commitment to deal firmly and decisively with any infiltration or smuggling attempt to protect the borders and prevent jeopardy to Jordan’s national security.
Biden is letting Assad off the hook, with dangerous consequences
Josh Rogin, a columnist for the Washington Post, voices serious concerns about the Biden administration’s approach to dealing with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Thirteen years after the Syrian revolution began, Assad remains a controversial figure, accused of committing numerous war crimes and crimes against humanity, including the torture, jailing, and bombing of civilians. Despite these allegations, there’s a growing trend of normalization as Assad is slowly welcomed back into international diplomatic circles, particularly by U.S. partners in the Persian Gulf, who are eager to engage in rebuilding projects in war-torn Syria.
Rogin’s column highlights a stark contradiction in U.S. foreign policy. Officially, the United States opposes the normalization of Assad, maintaining this stance through a series of sanctions designed to pressurize Assad into ending his violent regime. However, behind closed doors, the Biden administration is reportedly softening this stance. This revelation comes from discussions with bipartisan lawmakers and feedback from Syrian American advocacy groups who express frustration with the administration’s quiet reduction of pressure on Assad.
One focal point of Rogin’s criticism is the Assad Regime Anti-Normalization Act, a piece of legislation co-sponsored by Representative Brendan Boyle (D-Pa.) and introduced by Representative Joe Wilson (R-S.C.). The bill, which passed the House of Representatives overwhelmingly, seeks to extend and expand sanctions targeting those who facilitate Assad’s return to the diplomatic stage, particularly focusing on Arab Gulf countries. However, the bill faced significant hurdles, including resistance from the White House when it came to including the bill in a larger supplemental aid package passed by Congress.
Senate efforts led by James E. Risch (R-Idaho), and the apparent lack of cooperation from the office of Senate Foreign Relations Committee chairman Ben Cardin (D-Md.), suggest a broader reluctance within parts of the Democratic establishment to push the bill forward. This reluctance is a source of significant frustration for Syrian Americans and lawmakers supportive of the bill, who see it as critical leverage to protect Syrian civilians and maintain international pressure on Assad.
Rogin underscores the potential consequences of allowing the normalization of Assad without ensuring accountability for his actions. He warns that easing pressure on Assad not only emboldens him and his regime but also sends a dangerous message to other authoritarian leaders worldwide. By observing Assad’s pathway to normalization, leaders from countries like Russia, China, Myanmar, and Sudan might conclude that international criticism and sanctions could eventually wane, leading to a similar easing of pressure.
The column closes with a broader reflection on the ethical implications of U.S. foreign policy decisions and the message they send globally. Rogin suggests that by failing to hold Assad accountable, the Biden administration may inadvertently contribute to a global environment where human rights abuses are more readily overlooked, and authoritarian regimes are empowered. This scenario, he argues, could lead to increased extremism and instability, not just in Syria but across the region and beyond.
Why Syria’s wars fell off the radar despite continued crisis and suffering
Arab News has published a long report explaining the diminishing global attention towards the Syrian conflict despite ongoing crises and suffering within the country. Despite the Syrian war beginning in March 2011 and resulting in millions of displaced and destitute Syrians, the international focus has shifted primarily to other crises, such as the war in Gaza and the situation in Ukraine. This shift has led to decreased media coverage and a reduction in international engagement with the Syrian issue.
Omar Al-Ghazzi, an associate professor at the London School of Economics, attributes this shift to the overwhelming media saturation with the Gaza conflict, which has inadvertently set a higher threshold for reporting on other humanitarian crises. This has resulted in less attention being given to ongoing conflicts in other regions like Syria and Sudan. Nanar Hawach from the International Crisis Group notes that the Syrian conflict has seen little change or progression since 2020, which contributes to its reduced visibility.
The conflict in Syria has evolved into a complex geopolitical issue, particularly with the involvement of regional and international powers. Media attention tends to focus on aspects of the Syrian conflict that intersect with larger geopolitical dynamics, such as Israeli strikes on Iranian interests in Syria. Additionally, some regional actors promote the narrative of Syria being safe for refugee resettlement, further reducing coverage of the ongoing violence within the country.
Despite these narratives, the situation in Syria remains dire. The country faces severe economic challenges, ongoing persecution by various armed factions, and the lingering impacts of significant natural disasters like the February 6, 2023 earthquakes. Furthermore, regions like Daraa and Idlib continue to experience violence and instability, with regular clashes and attacks affecting civilians.
Human rights organizations have documented numerous violations, including indiscriminate shelling and demographic changes driven by military factions, which further complicate the humanitarian situation. The Syrian Network for Human Rights and other organizations have highlighted these issues as ongoing concerns.
UN experts and international mediators like Geir Pedersen, the UN Special Envoy for Syria, have emphasized that a political solution involving all Syrian factions is the only sustainable way to resolve the conflict. However, the political process remains stalled, leading to a potential increase in international disengagement and making the Syrian conflict a potentially “forgotten” crisis. This scenario underscores the challenges in addressing long-standing conflicts and the importance of sustained international attention and engagement.
