Government-backed National Defense evacuates headquarters in Syria’s Suwayda
SUWAYDA, Syria (North Press) – After six years of being stationed in the Federation Sports Building in Suwayda, south Syria, the Syrian government-backed National Defense group withdrew from it on Wednesday.
Groups of the National Defense seized several civil buildings of syndicates, craft unions, and homes of anti-government individuals and turned them into military headquarters, according to a local source.
The National Defense seized the administrative building of the Sport City in 2015, turning it into a center for military training and storage for their tanks and military vehicles, a player in the Arab Club of the Sports Federation in Suwayda Munir Hemmaidi (a pseudonym) told North Press.
National Defense groups have seized 25 government buildings, according a military source.
National Defense groups are the biggest government-backed military groups, founded in 2012 with Iranian support and under the military security protection in Suwayda.
The withdrawal took place after withdrawal demands by the Sports Federation in Suwayda because “it is an important sports center, where there are offices for athletes of Suwayda,” the military source told North Press.
Members of the group headed towards Suwayda’s eastern Badia with their military equipment, including their tanks and medium weapons, according to the source.