ISIS mercenaries.. Security personnel in Daraa, attackers in Sweida

Field reports have revealed that a number of former ISIS mercenaries are operating within the security apparatus in Daraa, sparking widespread fears of growing security threats in southern Syria, particularly with the intensifying attacks on Druze-majority Sweida.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that foreign fighters, including Uighurs and Uzbeks, participated in the recent assaults on Sweida, especially in the most violent attack that targeted the city center yesterday. The assault resulted in massacres against civilians, including acts of torture, killings, and humiliations.

Photos circulated by activists on social media showed the bodies of attackers, some bearing ISIS symbols and insignias, further supporting accusations that the transitional government forces and their allied militias are employing former ISIS mercenaries to carry out these attacks.

On July 13, dozens of residents in the town of Tsil in rural Daraa held protests denouncing the presence of former ISIS mercenaries within security institutions, warning of the grave threat they pose to the local community.

In recent days, Sweida province has witnessed wide-scale assaults on both rural areas and residential centers. In response, local groups from various segments of the region’s population have taken on the task of defending their towns against the attackers.

Druze civil society organizations, in statements released to the public, have urged the international community to take responsibility and put an end to the massacres and violations taking place in Sweida, amid official silence and growing neglect of the suffering population.

A-H 

ANHA