DARAA, Syria (North Press) – Syrian government forces supported by Russia and Iran have been controlling Daraa Governorate, southern Syria, for about five years, as Russia posed four settlement agreements on the civilians, through which light and medium weapons were handed to the government forces.
The government forces, Iranian-backed militias, and Russian Military Police (MP) are widely deployed in the area. However, they could not control the deteriorated security situation in Daraa.
Residents of the governorate hold the security services of the government forces accountable for the security chaos, as only their soldiers and allies have weapons in the area.
Other citizens hold the Iranian-backed militia responsible for the consistent killings. In addition, the residents do not deny the invisible hand of the Islamic State (ISIS) presence in the area, as its militants entered through military checkpoints of the government forces.
Since the government forces re-captured Daraa in line with the 2018 agreement, the governorate has been living in a state of security chaos, with one or two daily assassinations targeting soldiers and officers of the government forces, not to mention the spread of thefts.
In July 2018, the opposition armed faction and the government forces reached a ceasefire agreement mediated by Russia in the opposition-held areas in Daraa. Under the deal, the opposition armed factions agreed to hand over their heavy weapons in exchange for staying in Daraa, and those oppose the agreement would go to Idlib, which is under the control of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS).
North Press documented the killing of 28 people in different areas in Daraa in March, however the pace of killings accelerated during the first third of April.
Iran and chaos
The political analyst Mustafa al-Nu’aimi deems that Iran seeks to impose itself as an influential state in the outstanding Arab files, especially the Syrian file which is considered as a springboard for Iran to put pressure on the international system.
Iran seeks to invest in time and gradual positioning at the expense of workforce in government-held areas, and use the latter’s military sectors as shields to prevent Israeli airstrikes, however, they are still continuous, according to al-Nu’aimi.
ISIS looks for foothold
The Egyptian researcher on extremist groups affairs, Mustafa Amin, told North Press that Daraa has turned into a fragile area for ISIS after the killing of Abu al-Hassan al-Hashimi al-Qurashi, as the group is trying all the time to maintain its presence in the governorate.
Al-Qurashi is an ISIS leader and was killed by local gunmen in the town of Jassem, in the northern countryside of Daraa, in mid-November 2022.
The “security fragility” and the inability of the government to effectively control the situation are main reasons for ISIS spread in the governorate, the researcher believes.
He said that ISIS is responsible for “some operations” in Daraa even though they do not announce it on their official accounts.
Amin stressed that murders that occur in Daraa are a result of the conflict between “the Syrian regime,” people of influence, and controlling powers on the ground in Daraa.
Key responsible party
Abdullah al-Asaad, a researcher, told North Press that the party responsible for the security chaos in the southern region is “the Syrian regime and its security apparatus operating under foreign orders.”
Al-Asaad added that the beneficiary from this chaos in southern Syria is the security apparatus that takes orders from foreign parties. You cannot exclude that Israel is not the one giving orders to security branches in the south to keep the region unstable.
The analyst stressed that the support that the “Syrian regime’s security apparatus” is giving to narcotic and assassination groups contributes to establishing the unstable security and void in southern Syria.”