SUWAYDA, Syria (North Press) – Abductions of civilians among the internally displaced people (IDPs) of Syria’s southern cities of Druze-majority Suwayda and predominantly Sunni Daraa have increased in the last few months as the country’s civil war worsened the social conflict between the two cities, locals told North Press on Sunday.
After kidnappings and killings cases increased, Ahmad Abu Khaled, 40, returned to his town of Harak, east to city of Daraa, after being displaced for few months with his family to Suwayda for work in a carpentry workshop.
Since the beginning of the Syrian war, Suwayda and Daraa provinces have witnessed such incidents, but they became more dangerous than before, leading to the brink of regional conflict, as long as the region was far from such things even before the war.
"It's very bad when a gang from Daraa kidnaps a person from Suwayda and vice versa," Abu Khalid said.
Residents of Suwayda and Daraa have social and economic relations that have been affected by kidnapping and murder spreading and forming armed groups which led to violence.
Long-standing intimate social relations
"The social relations with most Daraa's families are very strong and they love and hope the best for Suwayda’s people," says Sheikh Jamal Henidi, a community leader in Suwayda countryside..
“Abductions and murder as a result of war, displacement, and the raise of gangs in both regions, attempted to increase the fissure between the plain and the mountain,” he said referring to the Druze-majority city as the mountain and the Sunni-majority city of Daraa as the pain, common cultural concepts among the Syrian community.
He further added, "The long-standing relations, including customs, traditions, tribal values, and intimate relations among neighbors between the two provinces play a significant role in decreasing the conflict caused by war.”
“Current problems are temporary and not last for long, and the bright history between the two neighboring provinces is the most powerful and strong," he said.
Commercial relations
A livestock trader from Daraa, living in the city of Suwayda, who asked not to be identified, told North Press, "Because of social relations between the two provinces, there have been long-standing commercial relations between them, but unfortunately, most of the ways connecting the plain [Daraa] and the mountain [Suwayda] were stuck since 2013 due to the spread of gangs that blackmail and steal livestock vehicles, the reason that trade and economic exchanges stopped.”
It's worth mentioning that traders of Suwayda played significant role in prospering the trade in Daraa, especially the fruit and vegetable trade. Traders of Daraa also played an important role in Suwayda markets which used to import large quantities of fruits, vegetables and grains from Daraa.
But after the breakout of the country’s civil war in 2011, most traders of Suwayda began heading to Damascus, instead of Daraa.
Crimes by economic motives
In light of the security tension, a community leader in charge of reconciliations between Daraa and Suwayda said, “Kidnappings, murders between the two provinces have increased in the past two years, since 2018."
He further explained, "Most abductions are carried out with economic motives, by requesting ransoms, each exceeds 50,000,000 Syrian pounds [about 25,000 USD].”
“The unemployment and severe poverty widespread throughout the south of Syria was accompanied by a wide spread of arm.”
He added that some abductions were carried out by tribal or social revenge. “I hope the people of the plain [Daraa] and the mountain [Suwayda] can defeat the disorder, and reunite very soon."
Constant concerns
Sheikh Jamal Henidi, a community leader in Suwayda countryside, said the situation in the region worsened since April 25, when an unknown armed group from Suwayda kidnapped two young residents from the town of Busra Asham of the eastern Daraa countryside, and took them to the village of Qariya to the south of the city of Suwayda.
He added, "Hours later, gunmen from Busra Asham attacked the town of Qariya in an attempt to kidnap people from there, as clashes erupted between the attackers and locals, killing ten people from Suwayda and wounding six others, and four of the attackers were killed as well."
In such a situation of constant tension, incidents of murder and kidnapping will never stop unless a third party, such as government delegation or tribal leaders and councils, intervene to settle the conflict.
Russian intervention
Imad Aqbani, coordinator of Russian-Syrian relations in Syria’s southern region, told North Press that a delegation of Russian officers was assigned to follow up the security situation in Suwayda and Daraa.
The Russian delegation visited a Druze community leader Louay Atrash to discuss the serious and growing developments of kidnapping and murder between the two provinces.
The meeting resulted in forming a joint reconciliation 12-member committee between the two provinces, six well-known community leaders from each province.
But the committee was not formed, according to Atrash.
Kidnappings and murder
About 54 kidnapping cases documented in Suwayda and Daraa last year, according to state-affiliated Daraa Martyrs Registration Office. This year, the number reached 27 kidnappings, including 15 in March and April.
Another statistic study by activists from the two provinces documented 389 cases of murder that increased in many forms, including explosions by explosive devices, land mines, booby-trapped mechanisms and shooting, which were carried out by armed cells.
The above-mentioned 389 cases included 51 civilians, 118 Syrian government forces and their affiliates, 41 Turkish-backed opposition militants who surrendered to the Syrian government forces, and 17 militants affiliated to the Iranian-backed Lebanese organization Hezbollah, and 6 militants of Russian-brokered military unit Fifth Legion.
During War
Before the breakout of the country’s civil war in 2011 stability and societal solidarity between the two provinces was prevalent, but then events developed towards militarization and security and stability retreated.
While protests in Daraa developed to holding up arms after the government forces used violence against civilians and protesters forming the Free Syrian Army group, Suwayda province did not witness any kind of holding up arms.
But later opposition groups were formed in Suwayda as well.
In Sept. 2015, Suwayda-based Men of Dignity opposition group said in a statement, “Jabal al-Arab [Suwayda region] is a liberated from the [government] security gangs and their affiliates.”
The statement also called for an autonomous administration in the country’s south ruled by an interim authority.
But none of the statement was implemented.
In April 2017, another autonomous administration was under discussion by several opposition groups under the name of Southern Syria Region to include the provinces of Daraa, Suwayda and Quneitra.
The proposed autonomous region of Southern Syria aimed at containing three levels of authority: the regional parliament, the regional government, and the High Council of Justice.
But many other opposition and government institutions and activists in the country considered it a project calling for separating southern Syria from the Syrian territories.
(Editing by Hisham Arafat)