One of the largest challenges for the new government in Damascus is getting all the armed groups in Syria to either lay down their arms or join a new type of security infrastructure that is unified.
Syria suffered 13 years of civil war and one result of this was the fragmentation of the country.
Many rebel groups appeared and disappeared. The Syrian army, which was part of the Assad regime, melted away on December 8, leaving the new government with a huge vacuum in power in the country.
Abu Mohammed al-Julani (Ahmed al-Sharaa), the Syrian leader who came to power on December 8 after Bashar al-Assad fled the country, has been attempting to meet with various Syrian groups to begin the unification of Syria.
This includes seeking out minority groups, such as the Druze, as well as various armed groups linked to different factions from the civil war. For instance, he has met with members of the Syrian National Army, the Turkish-backed rebel groups in northern Syria.
He has also had several rounds of meetings with southern rebel groups that were once backed by Jordan, the UK, and the US. These groups reconciled with the Syrian regime in 2018 and then helped take Damascus on December 8.
Reports now indicate that several factions have agreed to unify with the new government’s plan for some kind of armed force that will result in a unified security infrastructure. It’s important to understand that many of the key ministers of Syria’s new government come from Ha’yat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), the rebel group that Julani led in Idlib.
Fall of Assad regime
According to Syria’s state media SANA, Julani met with “leaders of the revolutionary factions” on December 24 and the meeting resulted in an “agreement to dissolve all the factions and integrate them under the umbrella of the Ministry of Defense.”
Syria recently appointed Murhaf Abu Qasra as the new defense minister. Qasra was the top military commander of HTS and a key figure of the rebel group prior to his appointment. Julani’s meeting on December 24 followed a similar meeting on December 21.
In these meetings, around 24 men were present, many in fatigues or other outfits befitting their role as leaders of various armed groups. Julani has made a point of hosting meetings with factions from various parts of the country. For instance, on December 23 he met with some groups from eastern Syria but did not meet with the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces.
According to reports, Julani met with Issam al-Buwaydani, the commander of Jaysh al-Islam. This follows regional meetings in Latakia and in Dara’a aimed at increasing security in these key areas. Julani has also met with members of the Syrian National Army, as well as, on December 17, members of the Suleiman Shah and Hamza factions.
The overall picture is one in which Damascus is working quickly to iron out any disputes and rapidly integrate various groups into a new security formation. However, there are many questions that remain about how this will affect the US-backed SDF in eastern Syria as well as the Turkish-backed SNA in northern Syria.
There is also a US-backed group called the Syrian Free Army in Tanf.
On another note, Julani recently met with a Qatari delegation headed by Qatar’s minister of state at the Foreign Ministry, Mohammed bin Abdulaziz al-Khulaifi. In addition, he met with the Jordanians on December 23 and also hosted the Turkish foreign minister.
Jordan is important for security in southern Syria. Turkey is making a move to have close relations with Damascus, while the UAE’s Abdullah bin Zayed spoke with his new Syrian counterpart, Asaad Hassan al-Shibani, to discuss relations and the region.