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Syria faction leader killed by Eighth Brigade in Daraa security forces clash.
A military leader in Syria’s Daraa province, Bilal al-Droubi, died on Saturday, succumbing to wounds he sustained two days earlier after being shot by members formerly affiliated with the Eighth Brigade militia.
Al-Droubi, a native of Bosra al-Sham in eastern Daraa, was one of the most prominent leaders of local armed groups before the 2018 Russian-brokered reconciliation agreement with the Assad regime.
He had recently joined the Ministry of Defence in the new Syrian government, leading to animosity with members of the Eighth Brigade—led by Ahmad Al-Awda—who continue to oppose the rule of the government of Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa.
Al-Awda’s forces reportedly detained Al-Droubi after opening fire on him and wounding him with multiple gunshots while he was in his private car with his wife and children. This happened during clashes which happened when Syrian security forces were sent into Daraa to disarm members of the Eighth Brigade.
On Friday, following the clashes, the General Security Administration of Syria’s Ministry of Interior reached an agreement with the Eighth Brigade in Daraa to collect both heavy and light weapons from Bosra al-Sham, the brigade’s main stronghold in the eastern part of the province.
Sources told The New Arab’s sister site Al-Araby Al-Jadeed that security forces are now stationed in the towns surrounding Bosra al-Sham after they took control of the Masifira crossroad checkpoint, regarded as one of the most important checkpoints under the Eighth Brigade’s control.
The sources added that security forces carried out a series of arrests in the town of Al-Jiza, targeting Eighth Brigade members. Meanwhile, many militiamen in Saida and Al-Harak quickly surrendered themselves and their weapons to the General Security Forces, who had recently entered those towns
Media activist Abu Muhammad Al-Hourani told Al-Araby Al-Jadeed that the agreement also includes the handing over of individuals involved in the shooting of Al-Droubi, noting that General Security has already begun collecting weapons from former Eighth Brigade members throughout the province.
The implementation of the agreement has been accompanied by a widespread deployment of security patrols, especially within Bosra al-Sham, in an effort to prevent any violent incidents.
Ahmad Al-Awda, a commander of the Eighth Brigade— which was formerly part of the Russian-formed Fifth Corps during the era of the former regime—was previously considered the most powerful and dominant military figure in Daraa Province.
Al-Awda was originally a leading member of the Free Syrian Army (FSA), but was forced to surrender in 2018 when Russia guaranteed that he would be free from Assad regime retribution if he integrated his Eighth Brigade into the regime’s army.
However, following the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham-led rebel alliance’s overthrow of the Assad regime in December of last year, Al-Awda once again switched sides and was one of the first rebel leaders to reach Damascus after the regime’s fall.
He was among the first to congratulate the new leadership and had previously met with Sharaa, but has also been described as “Russia’s man in the south” and linked to regional powers like the UAE and Saudi Arabia, fuelling speculation that he could be used as a tool to undermine the new Syrian government.