SUWAYDA, Syria - Armed Druze fighters in southwest Syria are resisting calls from the country's new leadership to lay down their arms, choosing instead to maintain their own defense force.
The fighters said they repelled a New Year’s Eve advance by forces loyal to de facto Syrian leader Ahmed al-Sharaa a few kilometers outside Suwayda, a Druze population centre near the border with Jordan.
"The forces came on New Year's Eve when people were at work or busy with festivities. They exploited the darkness of the night, bringing military equipment with them," said Marwan Alrizq, a Druze commander.
"We refuse anyone entering this way because that's not how it's done. There has to be coordination at the highest level. And the force must enter dressed as civilians," he said, adding that they are willing to cooperate with Damascus.
The Druze are a religious and ethnic group mainly found along the borderlines of Lebanon, Syria, and Israel.
Many Syrians and foreign powers are worried that Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), the force that spearheaded the ouster of Bashar al-Assad, may impose strict Islamic rule on the country and threaten minority groups such as Kurds, Druze, Christians, and Alawites.
Sharaa, more commonly known as Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, met with Lebanese Druze leader Walid Jumblatt in December.
"Being part of the Islamic environment does not mean the exclusion of other sects. On the contrary, it is our duty to protect them," Sharaa said during their meeting.
He has also called on all armed groups to disarm and join the national army, in order to bring all weapons under state control.
Chekib Azzam, the commander of nearly 7,000 fighters in Suwayda, said they are not ready to trust the government.
The Druze say that their reluctance does not mean they want to split from the country.
"It has been said about us on media and social media that we are a group of separatists and want a state. If we wanted to create a Druze state, we would have done so during the era of Sultan al-Atrash,” said activist Majid al-Chabah, referring to the influential Druze figure who was a Syrian nationalist and led the revolt against the French during World War I.
"It's an honor to have loyalty to Syria. Our authenticity is Syrian Arab. We are against this idea and all the rumors being spread about us as if we, the people of Suwayda, are separatists. Never," he added.
Takhrid al-Hajjari, another activist from the Druze community, agreed.
"We are hoping for the future government to be a civilian government that protects the rights of all citizens. We want our brothers from Suwayda and all other parts of Syria to join hands," she said.
"We, as people from Suwayda, cannot work without Qamishli, and Qamishli cannot work without Tadmur, Homs, or Aleppo. Therefore, we are Syrians, and national loyalty is our first and last priority," she added.
Ensuring the protection of minorities and religious groups was among the main topics of discussion when Germany's Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock and her French counterpart Jean-Noel Barrot met with Sharaa in Damascus on Friday.
“Ethnic and religious groups, involving men as well as women, must be included in the constitutional process and in a future Syrian government,” Baerbock said.
This was the first trip by top European officials to Syria since the fall of Bashar al-Assad last month.
Rekar Aziz contributed to this article.
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