Druze groups in Syria ready to join the regular army

The two largest military groups in the southern Syrian province of Suweida, the "Men of Dignity Movement" and the "Mountain Brigade", declared in a joint statement on Monday their "full readiness to unite under the umbrella of a new national army to form a military unit whose goal is to protect Syria".

However, they added that they would "categorically reject any factional or sectarian army that is used as a tool in the hands of the authorities to oppress the people, as was the case with Bashar al-Assad's army". The groups see it as their task to "work to protect public institutions and ensure their stability until security is established in the country".

Last month, the Islamist leadership in Damascus presented a plan to disband the numerous armed groups operating in Syria and integrate them into the country's regular army. According to the new Syrian ruler Ahmed al-Sharaa, weapons "may only be in the hands of the state".

Around 700,000 Druze live in Syria. The religious minority, which also lives in Lebanon, Israel and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, makes up around three percent of the Syrian population. Most of them live in Suweida. The Druze have largely stayed out of the civil war that broke out in 2011.