Syrian regime targets reconciled rebels in Daraa as protests spread

The Syrian regime is targeting rebels who were pardoned in Daraa, as protests and assassinations spread throughout the southern province.

Daraa province was the birthplace of the Syrian uprising in 2011 but has been under the control of the regime since 2018.

Since 2018, the regime has governed Daraa through "reconciliation" agreements, which promise autonomy and pardoning of former rebels, though fighting between the regime and rebels is common.

On 2 January, local media outlet Horan Free League (HFL) reported that the head of military intelligence in Daraa, Louay Ali, had requested the arrest of Abu Akram, the head of the Eighth Brigade in Daraa.

The Eighth Brigade is largely made up of former rebels who reconciled with the regime and has operated with some independence since the regime retook the province in the summer of 2018.

Abu Akram himself was a former rebel leader in the Free Syrian Army, who settled his status with the regime in 2018.

Though the regime did not give a reason for Akram's wanted status, local fighters and monitors said that it had to do with his targeting of Iranian militias.

"Abu Akram is a person with a lot of influence in eastern Daraa, and he hasn't allowed the [regime and Iran] to penetrate the areas under his control," Hamzeh, a member of the opposition Free Syrian Army (FSA) in Daraa al-Balad, told The New Arab under his first name for security reasons.

Forty-two people were killed in Daraa in December, including 10 reconciled rebels and 14 members of the regime's armed forces, according to HFL.

Assassination attempts increased throughout the month as civilian protests grew stronger, with demonstrators calling for the release of detainees in regime prisons and the overthrow of the regime.

In response, Louay Ali said the regime "will not release the detainees.

Regime checkpoints were targeted by unknown assailants throughout the month, with at least 5 regime soldiers killed by a roadside explosive device on 29 December.

Former and current opposition fighters were also targeted, mostly by unknown gunmen.

Hamzah blamed the increase in assassinations on renewed Islamic State (IS) activity in the region, which he accused the Assad-led regime and Iran of facilitating.

He added that opposition elements were also behind some of the assassinations, which he explained were attempts to target IS, the regime and Iran.

Caught in the crossfire of the regime and the opposition's fight is Daraa's civilian population.

On 2 January, an elderly bakery owner was shot and killed while he was on his way to work in the city of Hirak in Daraa.

"My father was someone who had no military or opposition affiliation. He was like any other old man, without any enemies. We have no idea who killed him," Mohammed, the son of the bakery owner, told TNA under his first name for security reasons.

"The situation [in Daraa] is getting worse. At first they were just going after the FSA gunmen or opposition. Now they are going after everyone. We don't know how the situation will get better," Mohammed said.

The regime has periodically tried to re-assert its control in Daraa post-reconciliation, but besides occasional periods of calm, the province has been consumed by unstable security conditions.