By Malin Muhammad
QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) – The dissolution of the Eighth Brigade, previously affiliated with the Russian-backed Fifth Corps, has become the most prominent military development in southern Syria since the fall of al-Assad.
The end of one of the region’s most influential armed factions raises questions about the future of local power dynamics and the transitional government’s consolidation efforts.
The Eighth Brigade, under Ahmad al-Awda’s leadership, is considered a continuation of the “Shabab al-Sunnah Forces,” which was established in 2012. After the 2018 reconciliation agreement brokered by Russia—formerly a key ally of the Syrian regime—the brigade joined the Russian-backed Fifth Corps.
On April 12, the Eighth Brigade issued a statement officially announcing the complete dissolution of the faction and the handover of all its military and personnel assets to the Syrian Ministry of Defense.
In a video recording, Colonel Muhammad al-Hourani, a senior figure in the Eighth Brigade, confirmed the decision, stating, “All military and human resources affiliated with the Brigade will be placed under the authority of the Ministry of Defense.”
The Eighth Brigade, like other southern military factions, had long attempted to negotiate or impose its conditions for integration into the new Syrian army.
Former Syrian politician and diplomat Bashar Ali al-Hajj Ali previously told North Press that one of the main demands was rejecting a subordinate-superior dynamic, insisting on integrating these factions into a national military structure—while allowing some factions to retain certain privileges under specific arrangements.
The dissolution followed the entry of the General Security forces into the city of Busra al-Sham—the Brigade’s primary stronghold—after security tensions flared due to the killing of Defense Ministry commander Bilal al-Droubi.
Al-Droubi, a former opposition commander who had recently joined the Ministry of Defense, died in a Damascus hospital from gunshot wounds sustained last week during his arrest by members of Ahmad al-Awda’s faction in Busra al-Sham.
Local media outlets reported conflicting reasons for al-Droubi’s arrest—some citing drug trafficking, while others claimed it was due to his defection from the Eighth Brigade and affiliation with the Ministry of Defense.
These rapid and unexpected developments—from the deployment of transitional government forces to Busra al-Sham to the official dissolution of the Brigade—have reshaped the region’s power dynamics.
Ismat al-Absi, former official of the Turkish-backed armed factions, aka the Syrian National Army (SNA), told al-Mashhad TV that the dissolution of the Brigade accelerated due to the recent events in Busra al-Sham. However, the decision to dissolve and merge it with the Ministry of Defense had been made from the outset, making the integration inevitable.
Al-Absi added that in reality, there was no firm decision from the Brigade’s leadership, and there was significant hesitation before the dissolution. This indecision led to the killing of a local commander in Busra al-Sham and stirred public resentment, prompting security forces to call for maintaining civil peace, he noted.
Al-Awda’s fate
Private sources told North Press that Ahmad al-Awda, leader of the now-disbanded Brigade, remains in his home in Busra al-Sham, and has not faced any harassment or made any public statements regarding the dissolution of his forces.
Several media reports suggest that al-Awda maintains good relations with Russia, as well as with Jordan and the United Arab Emirates.
During the battle leading to al-Assad’s fall, al-Awda’s forces were the first to reach the Syrian capital, Damascus. However, they withdrew upon the arrival of militants from Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), reportedly to avoid chaos or armed confrontation, according to a Brigade spokesperson at the time.
The spokesperson said, “We returned to the city of Daraa on the afternoon of December 8.”
Two days after al-Assad’s fall, al-Awda met with the Transitional President Ahmad al-Sharaa, but he did not participate in a later December meeting led by al-Sharaa, which gathered leaders of armed factions that agreed to join the Ministry of Defense.