Endeavors in Syria’s Suwayda for founding civil society
SUWAYDA, Syria (North Press) – Sheikh Laith al-Balous, son of the founder of the Men of Dignity Movement, Wahid al-Balous, said what had taken place in Suwayda in southern Syria is a forward step not a proper termination to the Shiite expansion.
In an exclusive statement to North Press, al-Balous indicated that the south [southern Syria] is right now a “disputed area. However, it was unclear what would happen. We hope that the south will be independent, free and stand together.”
The Men of Dignity is a self-defense militia established after the outbreak of the Syrian war to defend the Suwayda area. Described as a terror organization by Russia, it took an initial position against the Syrian government in the early days of the war but did not engage in any armed struggle with government forces.
On July 23, Suwayda witnessed a state of unrest that lasted for more than a week, amid continuous protests against violations by armed groups affiliated with the government’s Military Intelligence, which developed into armed clashes that led to the expulsion of the groups from the governorate.
Last week, armed groups affiliated with Syrian government forces in the governorate handed over weapons to Men of Dignity Movement after the latter gave them a deadline.
A relative of a victim of the latest events from Khaddaj family, which comes from the city of Shahba, told North Press that “Last year, Shahba sacrificed four martyrs to clear up the city of gangs.”
“This time, four others were sacrificed to shield our people and sons against gangs that adopted murder, abduction and spread drugs. We cannot tolerate those embrace such approach. We hold accountable the security branches that fostered such gangs,” he added.
The Media Office of the Movement told North Press that “We continue to eradicate the gangs that killed and abducted people and introduced drugs.”
It said that “The Movement discovered machines introducing drug pills … to be canned and pressed in the offices of the armed groups affiliated with the Military Security Branch.”
“Objects found apply to the ones caught by the Jordanian customs from smugglers of narcotics, and announced on state-run channels.”
In an exclusive statement to North Press, Suleiman al-Kefeiri, member of the National Initiative in Jabal al-Druze and board member of the Arab Organization for Human Rights (AOHR) said “What is being taking place in Suwayda is neither strange nor new, it has precursors.”
He added, “The struggle in Suwayda goes between the good-oriented parts that cater for the dignity of citizens and civil peace on one hand and between the corrupted ones that seek to spread immorality in the governorate, loot its riches and to encroach upon the dignity of people.”
Suleiman considered that eliminating Raji Falhout Gang is merely a victory attributed in essence to “the presence of a non-politicized force that caters for civil peace and preserves it. The local community in Suwayda tries to disseminate patriotic and moral values, and seeks to found a civil society ruled by law and served by justice.”