Syria is trying to deal with many ongoing challenges almost a year after the Assad regime collapsed. One issue is trying to unify the country, and that means bringing the Syrian Democratic Forces under the control of Damascus.
The SDF is backed by the US, which also backs Syrian unity and integration. At the same time, the US and Israel have both opposed attacks on the Druze in Syria.
In one high-profile example of US support, the Trump administration said: “The United States is providing humanitarian assistance to Suwayda [Sweida], where Druze, Christian, and Bedouin communities have faced violence, the destruction of their homes and have lost their livelihoods. This assistance will support life-saving needs of approximately 60,000 people through targeted provision of food, water, and hygiene items, as well as the rehabilitation of houses and water systems for when people can safely return home.”
Meanwhile, in eastern Syria, there are tens of thousands of detainees with links to ISIS. Iraq is said to have repatriated almost 20,000 of them recently.
This helps the SDF and Syria by removing the burden of the ISIS detainees from Damascus. The detainees are mostly held at Al-Hol camp in Syria. Displaced Syrians are also leaving the camp.
Damascus cracking down on Captagon smuggling
Syria continues to crack down on drug smuggling, according to another report. The Assad regime used the smuggling of Captagon to fuel its war. Now, Damascus is putting an end to the Iran-backed drug trade in Syria.
“The Syrian Interior Ministry said Monday that it had seized about 11 million Captagon stimulant pills that entered the country from neighboring Lebanon in one of the largest busts since the fall of former ruler Bashar Assad,” Saudi Arabia-based newspaper Arab News reported.
“The anti-narcotics branch in Homs province seized a vehicle coming from Lebanon containing approximately 11 million Captagon pills,” the report quoted the Syrian Interior Ministry as saying.
The authorities are continuing to “conduct the necessary investigations to uncover the identities of those involved and identify the criminal networks linked to the operation,” it said.
“Captagon, which is similar to amphetamines, became Syria’s largest export during the civil war that erupted in 2011, with its trade serving as a key funding source for the government of ousted president Assad,” Arab News reported.
Regarding the situation in Al-Hol, the BBC reported: “Wives and children of suspected Islamic State group fighters are detained in tented camps. In the complex mosaic of the new Syria, the old battle against the group calling itself Islamic State (IS) continues in the Kurdish-controlled northeast. It’s a conflict that has slipped from the headlines – with bigger wars elsewhere. Kurdish counterterrorism officials have told the BBC that IS cells in Syria are regrouping and increasing their attacks.”
The reports indicate how much of a hot-button issue Al-Hol has become. It needs to be wrapped up as a detainee center as the SDF considers integration into the Damascus-backed security forces.
Many hurdles remain, but the recent reports indicate some progress is being made.