Syria’s security challenge

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Since leading the overthrow of Bashar al-Assad in December, Syrian President Ahmed Al-Sharaa has received notable support from the US along with key regional players such as Saudi Arabia.

Israel's strikes on Damascus last week, and clashes in and around the southern city of Suwayda that left hundreds dead or missing, have exposed the immense challenge he still faces in stabilizing his war-ravaged country.

Tensions between the Druze minority that dominates Suywada and Bedouins are nothing new. The latter are Sunni Muslim, like Sharaa and the majority of Syrians, while the Druze are members of a religious sect that began as a 10th-century offshoot of Shiite Islam; they are concentrated in Israel and Lebanon as well as Syria.

Sectarianism and an urban-rural divide worsened much of the conflict in Syria between 2011 and 2024. It was mostly Sunni rebels from the countryside backed by city-dwelling elites who rose up against the minority-led Al-Assad regime.

Tribal and Bedouin fighters gather in Suwayda amid clashes with Druze gunmen on July 19. Photographer: Abdulaziz Ketaz/AFP/Getty Images

The real problem is that these festering animosities and vendettas are now being exploited by Sharaa's own forces. They are supposed to be government troops serving all Syrians, but instead continue to act like militias, fanning sectarian hostilities in order to subdue anyone opposed to the new post-Assad order.

So far the US, which helped broker the cessation of hostilities in Suwayda, is still betting Sharaa will be able to eventually bring all armed factions under his control.

But Israel, Washington's main ally in the region, doesn't see that as the best outcome given its deep mistrust of the former Al-Qaeda jihadist and his closeness to Turkey, a country it increasingly views as a military rival. Israel believes its national-security interests are best served by allying itself to the Druze and other minorities in Syria.

And that's another challenge for the Syrian president. — Sam Dagher

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman, US President Donald Trump and Sharaa. Source: The White House

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