The militia of lessons refuses to join the new Syrian army

The coach placed mountain pocket lands in southwestern Syria, screaming in dozens of new recruits while digging the notes between the barricades made of old car tires.

“You have to train as if it was real,” the coach shouted, Fadi Azzam. “Do you want me to start shooting at you instead to make it real?” He said, lifting his rifle and shooting at a few rounds of the group, while chanting fire on fire through the valley in a quick morning in late January.

“You are black, black!” Mr. Azzam shouted at the recruits, some of the tens of thousands of fighters from the religious minority in Syria, whose strong militia controls the province of Sweden, rough, southwest of the capital, Damascus. Sweida is the heart of The Druse – a strategy important area that borders Jordan and near Israel – and these fighters play a small but essential role in the future of Syria.

When the Islamic rebels who overthrew the dictator Bashar al -Assad in December, they established a new government, they are seeking to fold the different militias, including this one, which arose during the civil war in Syria almost, to one national force. The unified army is necessary to secure control of the entire country and establish stability, but this goal has proven out of reach.

Since January, many of the strongest tenses in talks with the government have been on their circumstances to join the new army. They were skeptical of the president’s temporary pledges to protect the rights of religious and ethnic minorities in Syria.

Those talks stopped last month after the outbreak of violence against another religious minority, which increased the fears of the Druze. Violence began with an attack by the remnants of the old regime on the new government security forces in an area dominated by the supreme community, which is individual from Shiite Islam. The family of Mr. Al -Assad are Alawits, and during the decades of the Syrian ruling family, they often give priority to the members of the sect in security and military jobs.

The government responded by mobilizing its security forces, which were joined by other armed groups and armed civilians, according to witnesses and rights groups. These fighters-some of them nominally under the control of the government and others from outside-killed hundreds of UL civilians, while rights groups said that they were attacks on sectarianism.

The militia leaders also accused the temporary president’s lessons, Ahmed Al -Sharra, of monopolizing power. Mr. Al -Sharra and many were in the face of an Islamic rebel group, controlled by members of the Syrian Sunni Muslim majority, which was once linked to al -Qaeda. They have initially shown a little preparation for power in their new government of minorities.

However, when Mr. Sharra A stand -alone government declared Late Saturday, his choices have somewhat approved pressure to form a comprehensive administration representing many various ethnic and religious groups in Syria. He appointed the Kurdish Minister of Education, a Christian minister, and a minister, among others. However, the decisive ministries of defense, foreign and internal affairs will be managed by the close president’s allies.

Another strong militia, a Kurdish -leading force, which governs many northeastern Syria and supported by the United States, agreed to an initial deal to join the national army but has not yet merged, expressing the fears similar to those that lessons made.

Unless he is able to persuade the Druze militias and other armed groups to integrate into a national army, Mr. Sharra will face a difficult choice. He must either agree to give up some authority and establish a somewhat decentralized government or judge the risk only part of the country-as Mr. ASAD did during the civil war.

Muhammad al -Abdullah, the Syrian political analyst, said that Mr. Al -Sharra “is in a political border with the Druze and Kurds and does not have much influence.”

Meanwhile, Druze militias strengthened their ranks, and the practice of power throughout the region to fill the security void left by the collapse of the Assad regime. The training of recruits in Sweida was part of the mountain brigade, one of the many Druze militias that appeared during the civil war. Their leaders say that the brigade’s ranks have been inflated from 2000 fighters to more than 7,000 fighters.

“We want to defend our people and defend our country,” said Rakan Cahul, 28, who participated with the militia in January. “The Swedish people must protect Sweden.”

New recruits such as Mr. Cahul and veteran fighters are working as police forces and security forces in the province of Sweden, and the employment of checkpoints and patrolling on the border with Jordan.

The leader of the mountain, Shiq Azzam, said in an interview that the leaders of the militia lessons wanted to give the interim government an opportunity to prove themselves. “If the new government is operating in the right way, we will join them,” said Mr. Azzam. “And if not, we will fight them.”

He has participated in discussions with the new authorities in Syria on joining the national army, which has reached a dead end in recent weeks.

“We want to be part of the state, to have an opinion on political decisions,” he said. But he added, “It is too early to give up our weapons.”

If the militias have concluded lessons with a deal with the new government, their fighters will be a key to maintaining security in the southwest in the face of threats from the Islamic State, the remnants of the Assad regime and criminal groups, as well as the Israeli incursion along the southern border. Any turmoil can sink Syria in another cycle of violence and factions.

Israel’s actions in response to the collapse of the Assad regime are to inject more uncertainty in the political scene in southwestern Syria. Israel wants to ensure that there are no hostile forces in parts of Syria near its borders, as they can easily launch attacks against Northern Israel as Hezbollah, a group backed by Iran, has been ease.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Israel will not tolerate the presence of the Sunni Islamic forces backed by Shara supported by Shara, south of Damascus. Israeli officials have referred to these forces as extremists.

Since the Assad regime declined, Israel has struck several hundred goals in Syria, as it came out of arms and other military assets from the former regime to prevent them from falling into the hands of anyone hostile to Israel, according to Israeli officials.

Israeli officials have also warned the Syrian authorities that they would enter a military to protect the Druze from any government campaign, an introduction that reflects the strong relationship that the Israeli state has with its minority. Lessons, who practice a religion is a branch of Shiite Islam, in Lebanon and Jordan.

Syrian militias rejected the show.

Although they have not yet agreed to join the National Army, the Militias and Religious Commanders have made informal arrangements with the new authorities that allow them to receive government aid while maintaining their military control over Sweden.

In January, Mr. Azzam said, he agreed to have an official from the former rebel group of Mr. Shari as a temporary ruler of Sweida, provided that government forces are not deployed in Sweida.

In the weeks that have passed since the arrival of the temporary ruler, Mustafa Yassin Baweer, hundreds of people were crowded in his office every day to request support. Residents say that electricity works for an hour only a day. Irregular water supply. Some want that the land stolen by the Assad government has returned to them. Others, who once relied on backed bread under the old rulers, beg for similar assistance.

“The infrastructure has been completely destroyed,” Mr. Baujger said in an interview. As negotiations with lessons continue, the transitional government must “intervene and try to stabilize the situation.”

Many residents share this feeling.

Another day afternoon, Janat Abu Al-Fadl, 55, was trapped along the narrow roads in Sweida Market with her daughter. While both of them were not sure of the new authorities in Syria, Mrs. Al -Fadl said that she was hoping for the future of Syria for the first time in decades.

“It will take time, and there will be a difficult period in the beginning, of course, but in the end I think things will improve,” she said. “Before the regime fell, we had no hope,” she added. “Now, at least, we have something.”