A Separate Army Led by al-Hijri: Protecting Syria’s Druze or Israeli Occupation?

Since Israeli Occupation aggression stopped Syrian government forces from entering Sweida, the Druze-majority province in southern Syria, calls for separation led by Hikmat al-Hijri have continued.

The latest development came on August 23, 2025, when several armed separatist factions in Sweida announced their merger into a “Unified Army” and the creation of a so-called “National Guard,” headed by al-Hijri, who backs the Israeli Occupation. 

Two days later, al-Hijri called on the international community to support the Druze in declaring a “permanent separate region,” claiming it was needed for protection after what he described as an attempt to “wipe out the Druze.”

Separatist Intentions

Before his announcement, a series of events had already pointed to separatist intentions. Al-Hijri, who praised the Israeli Occupation and the United States for supporting his forces against Damascus, oversaw conferences declaring a full break from Syrian state authority. The Israeli Occupation announced plans to create a corridor into Sweida, aiming to make the province reliant on it for its “survival.”

On August 16, hundreds of Druze loyal to al-Hijri marched in central Sweida, chanting “Sweida is free, free, Golani out,” “Right to self-determination,” and “Israel into Sweida now,” while waving Israeli Occupation flags.

At the same time, the Israeli Occupation armed Druze forces and deployed them alongside its own troops in attacks that killed Sunnis in the field in July 2025, while detaining those who supported Damascus.

Clashes broke out in Sweida that month between Druze and Bedouins. The Israeli Occupation intervened with airstrikes against the Syrian army and police and declared its “protection” of the Druze.

On March 14, about 100 Syrian Druze clerics crossed the cease-fire line in the occupied Golan for the first such visit to the Israeli Occupation in decades. The trip, organized by al-Hijri and requested by Israeli Druze leader Muwaffaq Tarif, was later described as religious but carried clear political weight. The delegation declared its defiance of Damascus and appealed for Israeli Occupation protection.

The irony is that the Druze and al-Hijri’s militia declared their secession and the formation of an independent army while continuing to use their position as leverage in negotiations with the Israeli Occupation. This came as U.S.-mediated talks between “Israel” and Syria sought to settle the fate of Sweida, the borderline, and a return to the 1974 demarcation.

On August 24, Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa announced that the Syrian and Israeli delegations were making progress in talks to update the bilateral security agreement.

On August 25, Israel’s Channel 12 reported that the sides were nearing a deal by the end of September 2025, under the auspices of Washington and Gulf states, following an anticipated speech by al-Sharaa at the United Nations, though the Syrian Foreign Ministry denied this.

Al-Sharaa said the pending agreement would focus on returning to the separation line between Israeli Occupation and Syrian forces in the occupied Golan Heights established in 1974.

For the first time in decades, Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani met with Israeli Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer in Paris on August 20, with U.S. envoy Tom Barrack present, in an effort to de-escalate tensions, according to Agence France-Presse (AFP).

Poor Justifications

Hikmat al-Hijri defended his call for international backing to separate Sweida from Syria by invoking what he described as “a recent ordeal aimed at exterminating the Druze.”

In reality, the clashes he referred to were battles between his Druze forces and Sunni tribes in Sweida, in which more Sunnis than Druze were killed. The Israeli Occupation then bombed the Syrian army and police. Still, he leaned on a narrative of victimhood.

In a video shared on social media, he said, “We call on all free people of the world to stand with us and support us as an independent community in southern Syria. We seek a separate region that guarantees our security and future permanently.”

He expressed gratitude to the countries that stood “to protect” the Druze community, naming the Israeli Occupation and the United States at the forefront, according to his statement.

Syrian analysts argue al-Hijri’s problem is that he does not grasp how Washington and Europe currently oppose partition or the breakup of Syria. They describe him as thinking narrowly along sectarian lines when he calls for separation. Others counter that the U.S. position is fluid and often aligned with Israeli Occupation interests, as seen in Gaza and other parts of the world, driven by the extreme right-wing mindset that dominates both Washington and the Israeli Occupation. 

They do not rule out the possibility that Washington could support a Druze separation as long as it serves Israeli Occupation interests, or maintain the situation in a frozen state like “Southern Lebanon” and the “South Lebanon Army” (the Lahad Army led by General Antoine Lahad), without formally recognizing or engaging with it.

President Ahmed al-Sharaa addressed the issue directly in a dialogue session in Idlib on August 17, telling academics, politicians, and community leaders that those who call for dividing Syria are politically ignorant and dreamers. 

“I do not see Syria as at risk of division. Some people desire a process of dividing Syria and trying to establish cantons [..]. This matter is impossible,” he said.

“Those who advocate divisions in Syria are politically ignorant and dreamers. Syrian society does not lean toward partition and rejects the very idea.”

Al-Sharaa added that such dreams often end in suicide, a comment widely interpreted as a veiled warning that al-Hijri could meet a fate similar to that of Antoine Lahad.

Hikmat al-Hijri is one of three Druze religious authorities in Sweida. The most prominent, Sheikh Youssef Jarbou, backs integration with Syria and rejects separation. The third, Sheikh Hammoud al-Hanawi, attacked Damascus during the July 2025 attacks, accusing it of breaking agreements, yet still opposes secession.

Both Jarbou and al-Hanawi described the Syrian government as a de facto authority that enjoys international backing. They said it has responded positively to their demand that security and military positions in Sweida be filled by locals.

‘Second Lahdad Army’

The launch of the Druze “National Guard” in Sweida, or the “Second Lahad Army,” on August 23 drew attention with al-Hijri present. The founding statement declared the integration of approximately 34 Druze military factions into this force.

The statement emphasized that the merged “National Guard” constitutes the “official military institution representing the community” and named al-Hijri as its leader, describing him as “the legitimate representative authorized to speak for the Druze community in the mountains,” effectively creating a state within a state.

Even before the launch of the “National Guard,” signs grew that the Israeli Occupation was working to build a new Lahad Army from al-Hijri’s gangs in southern Syria, echoing the Lebanese militia once led by Antoine Lahad that collapsed and fled to “Israel.”

Lahad Army refers to the South Lebanon Army, a Lebanese militia initially founded by officer Saad Haddad in 1976 during the civil war, and later led by Antoine Lahad until its dissolution in 1984.

This army emerged in southern Lebanon during the civil war with direct support from “Israel” following its invasions in 1978 and 1982. It acted as a proxy force for the Israeli Occupation, first targeting the Palestinian resistance and later Hezbollah, while securing Israeli interests in the region.

Al-Hijri openly calls on the Israeli Occupation to protect his enclave and separatist force, a move analysts say risks ending the same way Lahad’s did, exile after the failure of his traitorous separatist project.

A previous report by Al-Estiklal noted that “Israel’s” occupation of southern Syria aims to establish a Druze “mini-state” to serve as a buffer between Syria and the Israeli Occupation and provide “mutual protection.”

“Israel” is working to fragment Syria along sectarian or ethnic lines in the south, west, and northeast, leveraging the Druze card in particular, while continuing to weaken the country militarily and impose an occupation in the south to facilitate Druze separatism.

Tel Aviv continues to engage with the Druze, offering aid and job opportunities in “Israel” in an effort to entice them, similar to tactics used in the occupied Golan.

However, Syrian analysts note that multiple actors influence the Druze community, with the strongest and most popular linked to Sheikh Wahid al-Balous, who was assassinated by the Syrian regime in 2015, and whose faction supports President Ahmed al-Sharaa.

This force is led by his son, Laith al-Balous, founder of the Men of Dignity Movement, one of Sweida’s main anti-occupation factions.

Following al-Hijri’s declaration of Sweida’s independence and the creation of a separate army, Laith al-Balous attacked him, saying the formation of the so-called “National Guard” was not a message of wisdom or responsibility but carried further destruction and ruin.

Al-Balous wrote on Facebook that “al-Hijri appeared surrounded by a group of faction leaders, some previously known for kidnapping, theft, looting, and extorting women.”

Laith al-Balaous told the U.S.-based Alhurra channel that the Druze support a united Syrian state, reject Israeli occupation, and coordinate with President al-Sharaa.

Some Druze believe the Israeli Occupation is helping them build a separate state and backing minorities in exchange for loyalty, but Israeli analysts say “Israel” uses them as human shields to protect border towns.

Emirati Influence

Since al-Hijri’s rise in politics, the United Arab Emirates has embraced him in coordination with Muwaffaq Tarif. Syrian sources claim that “al-Hijri does not act on his own but is driven by Israel and the UAE through Tarif.”

Rafik Abdessalem, former Tunisian foreign minister, expressed concern over UAE involvement, backing what he called “the traitorous and irrational Sheikh Hikmat al-Hijri,” paving the way for a separatist entity in southern Syria.

He added that “this mirrors what they have done in Sudan and elsewhere, and then Benjamin Netanyahu steps in to reap the rewards, crowning the separatist path initiated by this pro-Israel cleric.”

A previous report by Al-Estiklal questioned whether the UAE was backing a Druze rebellion against Syria following visits by Druze leaders to Abu Dhabi and Tel Aviv.

Al-Hijri is known for opposing the Syrian revolution and maintains ties with Netanyahu. After UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed received Muwaffaq Tarif on December 7, 2024, questions arose about Abu Dhabi’s role in steering Syrian Druze toward the Israeli Occupation.

Soon after the visit, Druze factions escalated their opposition to the new Syrian leadership and sought protection from “Israel,” which they were offered as part of a plan to create a “Druze mini-state” to fragment Syria. Al-Hijri and Tarif organized a March 14, 2025, visit of 100 separatist Druze clerics to the occupied Golan and “Israel” to demonstrate loyalty to “their protectors.”

All of al-Hijri’s moves, speeches against the Syrian government, and requests for protection were widely covered and celebrated in UAE media, raising questions about the shared interests of Abu Dhabi, the Druze, and “Israel.”

Mohamad Shams, a media professor at the Lebanese University and editor-in-chief of the Alkhanadeq website, said on March 13, 2025, that the UAE played a role in coastal Syria when Alawites and Druze revolted against Damascus, killing security personnel and soldiers, and when the coup attempt ultimately failed.

Shams explained that UAE intelligence chief Tahnoun bin Zayed recruited Alawite officers to stage a military coup against the al-Sharaa government in coastal Syria to destabilize the region, prevent an Islamic-led government from consolidating in Damascus, and counter Turkish influence.

The UAE aimed to turn Syria’s coastal region into its sphere of influence, block Turkish access to oil and gas, and collaborate with the Israeli Occupation on a broader strategy to divide Syria into rival cantons and weaken the state.

UAE involvement extended beyond supporting the Druze and their separatist forces. An Emirati website promoted what it called a “parallel army” to the Syrian Armed Forces, led by a figure opposed to President al-Sharaa.

According to Erem News on August 20, 2025, a man named Anas al-Sheikh, nicknamed Abu Zuhair al-Shami, would command the new force, described as a “semi-federal army” with a Sunni majority of 150,000 fighters.

Analysts said the UAE’s move recalled similar scenarios in Libya and Sudan, where Abu Dhabi backed proxy armies to expand regional influence, raising concerns about replicating these models in Syria.