BEIRUT: After fighting against Syrian President Bashar Assad for six years, rebel soldier Abu Mohammed laid down his arms as part of a peace deal in his home town of Moadamiya last year.
But he has now fled Syria into Turkey. His reason: the Syrian army told him to report for duty and he feared being sent to his death fighting his former allies or Daesh.
“We’re tired of war and bloodshed, we’ve had as much as we can take,” Abu Mohammed said in a phone interview from Turkey.
The 27-year-old, who declined to give his full name, said he had signed onto the peace deal in Moadamiya, a Damascus suburb that was a rebel stronghold until last year.
He said he had been told the Moadamiya agreement would exempt him from frontline duty. “We stayed in the town on that basis.”
But this spring, he heard that men from Moadamiya had been conscripted not to serve locally but to fight for the government against rebel soldiers.
“People began to get worried,” he said, adding that he left after the army gave him 48 hours to report for military service.
Reuters could not independently verify the account of other soldiers from Moadamiya being taken to fight on front lines, but it echoed that of a second former rebel from Moadamiya.
Declining to be named, he said defectors were being sent to the front lines in breach of agreements communicated to them verbally by what is officially termed a “reconciliation committee,” consisting of officials and local representatives of a defeated area.
The government minister responsible for local agreements, Ali Haidar, denied the state had broken any commitments in Moadamiya, saying accusations it had were being promoted by foreign states and rebels “annoyed” by the agreements.
He said many former rebels had joined the army, and hundreds had been “martyred in the front lines against terrorism.”
The rapid succession of agreements in former rebel strongholds near Damascus such as Daraya, Qudsaya and Al-Tal underline how far the scales have tipped in Assad’s favor in the war that spiralled out of protests against his rule in 2011.
It is part of a dramatic reversal of fortunes for Assad since 2015, aided militarily by Russia and Iran.
Fear of conscription has been a major sticking point in the local agreements, a diplomatic source said, helping to encourage residents to leave for rebel-held areas of northern Syria in what Assad’s opponents call a policy of forced displacement.
The government has given safe passage to thousands of rebels and civilians out of government-held territory under the deals.
Syrian officials say people are free to choose whether to go or stay put and that the deals are designed to secure peace and restore state services and authority to recaptured areas.
DEEP SCARS
After crushing centers of rebellion in the big cities of western Syria, the Syrian government has brokered agreements with many areas that were once in the hands of rebel fighters.
As part of these deals, rebels have the choice of taking safe passage to territory held by insurgents in northern Syria. They can also stay behind on condition that they hand over guns and sign a pledge to never take up arms against the state.
Syrian law states that all men must complete 20 months of military service once they turn 18, a term that can be extended in wartime. It does not apply to men who have no brothers.
The Syrian military has long been seen as overstretched in the war, leaving the government heavily dependent on Iran-backed Shiite militia allies from across the region in its fight against rebel areas in western Syria and Daesh militants to the east. The former rebels fear being sent as cannon fodder.
In the case of Moadamiya, where the deal was finalized in September, conscription was meant to be confined to local areas, according to diplomatic and humanitarian sources and local officials involved in the talks.
The psychological scars of Syria’s seven-year old conflict run particularly deep in Moadamiya. The area was one of several near Damascus targeted by chemical weapons in 2013. The West blamed the government for the attack which used sarin gas. Damascus denied any role.
The local agreement for the area resulted in hundreds of rebel fighters and their families being evacuated to Idlib. Others, like Abu Mohammed, decided to remain behind and turn in their weapons.
IN HIDING
As part of the agreement, the Syrian state flag was raised again over government buildings in Moadamiya. Restrictions on movement in and out of the area — which is still surrounded by the army — were eased.
There is no longer any armed presence inside the town, even from the government side, according to several residents and former opposition activists contacted by Reuters.
Yet the second former rebel contacted by Reuters by phone said he and around 100 others there had gone into hiding, fearing enlistment to a front line where he might be killed.
“The defectors are now stuck in Moadamiya, they won’t leave,” said the former rebel, who defected to the rebellion in 2012 during his military service and who refused to give his name for fear of discovery.
He said he was recently summoned to a meeting where defectors were threatened with arrest if they did not show up for duty. “Some of them joined up, others didn’t,” he said.
“I thought of leaving, but my financial situation is very bad,” he said, adding that he would need to pay people smugglers $2,600 to get out Syria.
“I can’t think of anything now. I have nothing to think about, I have no dreams or a future.”
Abu Mohammed said he was smuggled out to Turkey with the help of friends in rebel-held Idlib in northern Syria. He said he had sold his house in Moadamiya to finance his passage.
A 50-year-old man whose two eldest sons face conscription said in a separate telephone interview that they needed “psychological preparation” if they were to return to the army.
“For a young man who not that long ago was fighting the regime, after six years of war — if you now make him join the side he was fighting against, this is a problem,” said the man, who gave his name as Mahmoud.
Haidar, the minister for national reconciliation, said the terms of reconciliation deals grant former militants and men who abandoned military service six months before conscription once their “legal status is settled.”
Former fighters in many areas had expressed a desire to join local security units operating under government supervision to safeguard their areas as part of the reconciliation agreements, Haidar said in written answers to questions from Reuters.
The state had no objection to this, he said, without saying whether it had been offered to defectors as an alternative to frontline duty.
Former Syrian rebels flee, hide from army conscription
Former Syrian rebels flee, hide from army conscription
Qatari minister of state, IAEA chief discuss ‘serious threat’ of Israeli strikes on Iran’s nuclear sites
- Mohammed bin Abdulaziz Al-Khulaifi reiterates Qatar’s condemnation of attacks on Iranian territory
- He said targeting nuclear facilities threatens regional, international security
LONDON: The Qatari Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Mohammed bin Abdulaziz Al-Khulaifi on Tuesday discussed the conflict between Israel and Iran with Rafael Grossi, the director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency.
Al-Khulaifi discussed in a call the Israeli attacks on Iranian nuclear facilities that began on Friday, targeting the Natanz, Fordo, and Isfahan nuclear sites.
Al-Khulaifi stressed that targeting nuclear facilities was a serious threat to regional and international security. He reaffirmed Qatar’s commitment to dialogue to resolve conflicts and achieve peace in the region.
The officials discussed ways to improve the security of nuclear facilities and ensure they are safeguarded against threats, the Qatar News Agency reported.
Al-Khulaifi reiterated Qatar’s strong condemnation of the Israeli attacks on Iranian territory, deeming them blatant violations of Iran’s sovereignty and security, the QNA added.
The IAEA reported on Monday that the Israeli airstrike on Iran’s Natanz facility on Friday damaged the centrifuges of the underground uranium enrichment plant, raising concerns about potential radiological and chemical contamination in the area.
US pulls out of two more bases in Syria, worrying Kurdish forces
- The SDF did not respond to questions about the current number of troops and open US bases in northeastern Syria
AL-SHADADI BASE: US forces have pulled out of two more bases in northeastern Syria, visiting reporters found, accelerating a troop drawdown that the commander of US-backed Syrian Kurdish forces said was allowing a resurgence of Daesh.
The reporters who visited the two bases in the past week found them mostly deserted, both guarded by small contingents of the Syrian Democratic Forces — the Kurdish-led military group that Washington has backed in the fight against Daesh for a decade.
Cameras used on bases occupied by the US-led military coalition had been taken down, and razor wire on the outer perimeters had begun to sag.
A Kurdish politician who lives on one base said there were no longer US troops there. SDF guards at the second base said troops had left recently but refused to say when.
HIGHLIGHTS
• No US troops present at Al-Wazir and Tel Baydar bases.
• Daesh threat ‘has significantly increased’, SDF commander says.
The Pentagon refused to comment.
It is the first confirmation on the ground by reporters that the US has withdrawn from Al-Wazir and Tel Baydar bases in Hasaka province.
It brings to at least four the number of bases in Syria US troops have left since President Donald Trump took office.
Trump’s administration said this month it will scale down its military presence in Syria to one base from eight in parts of northeastern Syria that the SDF controls.
The New York Times reported in April that troops might be reduced from 2,000 to 500 in the drawdown.
The SDF did not respond to questions about the current number of troops and open US bases in northeastern Syria.
But SDF commander Mazloum Abdi, who spoke at another US base, Al-Shadadi, said the presence of a few hundred troops on one base would be “not enough” to contain the threat of Daesh.
“The threat of Daesh has significantly increased recently. But this is the US military’s plan. We’ve known about it for a long time ... and we’re working with them to make sure there are no gaps and we can maintain pressure on Daesh State,” he said.
Abdi spoke on Friday, hours after Israel launched its air war on Iran. He refused to comment on how the new Israel-Iran war would affect Syria, saying simply that he hoped it would not spill over there and that he felt safe on a US base.
Hours after the interview, three Iranian-made missiles targeted the Al-Shadadi base and were shot down by US defense systems, two SDF security sources said.
Daesh ruled vast swathes of Iraq and Syria from 2014 to 2017 during Syria’s civil war.
Regional war puts Palestinian disarmament in Lebanese camps on hold
- Dimashkieh affirmed that “the dialogue committee is fully committed to the joint statement issued by the Lebanese and Palestinian presidents”
- Palestinian sources told Arab News that significant resistance has emerged within Palestinian ranks over Abbas’s quick acceptance of disarmament deadlines
BEIRUT: A Palestinian official in Lebanon announced “the postponement of the scheduled collection of weapons from Palestinian refugee camps due to the current situation in the region.”
The announcement came just hours before the Lebanese government was set to begin disarming Palestinian refugee camps in Beirut and its suburbs this week.
Citing a Lebanese official familiar with Palestinian affairs in Lebanon, Palestinian news agency WAFA stated that “Palestine renewed its commitment to the joint statement issued on May 21 following the meeting held between Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and President Mahmoud Abbas in Beirut.”
He added that the statement emphasized “Lebanon’s sovereignty, the extension of state authority, and the exclusive right of the Lebanese state to bear arms, as well as the need to end any manifestations outside its authority.
“Palestinian security and military bodies will begin full cooperation with the Lebanese security forces as agreed upon when conditions permit and after the necessary preparations are completed,” the official said.
On the Lebanese side, the only statement issued in this regard was by Ramez Dimashkieh, head of the Lebanese-Palestinian Dialogue Committee, who said that “he received a call from Azzam Al-Ahmad, secretary-general of the Palestine Liberation Organization, during which they discussed the latest developments.”
Dimashkieh affirmed that “the dialogue committee is fully committed to the joint statement issued by the Lebanese and Palestinian presidents, which clearly emphasized respect for Lebanese sovereignty, the principle of exclusive state control over weapons, and the necessity of ending the visible presence of Palestinian arms, according to a specific timeline.”
Youssef Al-Zari’i, Fatah’s media representative in Sidon, confirmed that Palestinian factions, including Fatah and Islamic movements, all expressed willingness to hand over weapons and allow Lebanese authority throughout the country.
However, he argued that delays are “reasonable given the delicate regional situation,” with implementation tied to evolving Middle Eastern dynamics.
Palestinian sources told Arab News that significant resistance has emerged within Palestinian ranks over Abbas’s quick acceptance of disarmament deadlines. “Multiple Palestinian factions, particularly within Fatah, are uncomfortable with Abbas’s hasty agreement to weapon collection schedules,” one insider said.
Beyond regional timing issues, fundamental questions about execution mechanisms remain unresolved.
“Fatah claims it holds limited heavy weapons in Lebanese camps compared to other groups, especially Hamas,” a source said.
Since Fatah’s weapons belong to the internationally recognized Palestinian Authority and operate under Lebanese oversight, unilateral disarmament could create dangerous imbalances.
“If Fatah surrenders its arsenal while Hamas and affiliated groups retain theirs, Fatah becomes vulnerable within camp dynamics,” the source warned.
Hamas continues defending its Lebanese weapons as legitimate resistance tools while deflecting surrender demands through broader political arguments. The group links disarmament to comprehensive refugee solutions, including return rights and enhanced social protections for displaced populations in Lebanon.
Palestinian camps across Lebanon emphasize that sustainable solutions must address living standards, legal rights including property ownership, while maintaining respect for Lebanese sovereignty and law.
The Lebanese and Palestinian presidents announced in a joint statement issued following their meeting a few weeks ago “the formation of joint committees to address the issue of Palestinian weapons in refugee camps and to monitor the situation in the Palestinian camps.”
They affirmed their commitment to the principle of placing all weapons under Lebanese state control.
According to a joint Lebanese-Palestinian census conducted in 2017, the number of Palestinian refugees in Lebanon is estimated at around 200,000. Many live in harsh conditions within camps overseen by Palestinian factions and forces, which consider the possession of arms as integral to both the right of return and the broader struggle for the liberation of Palestine.
Lebanon is home to 12 official Palestinian refugee camps, along with dozens of other communities dispersed across the country.
The presence of weapons in Palestinian camps in Lebanon dates back to the 1969 Cairo Agreement between the PLO and the Lebanese government.
The agreement stipulated that Palestinians were permitted to establish military bases in southern Lebanon and conduct political activities within the camps, effectively legitimizing armed Palestinian presence on Lebanese soil and in camps.
However, following a civil war in which Palestinian weapons played a dominant role, Lebanon officially annulled the agreement in 1987.
Weapons are distributed unevenly among the camps. Heavy weapons are found in the Ain Al-Hilweh camp, the most overcrowded camp and home to the various politically and militarily diverse factions, and in the Rashidieh camp in the Tyre region.
This is in contrast to the Nahr Al-Bared camp in the north, which is completely devoid of weapons. It has been under the control of the Lebanese Army since 2007, following violent battles that lasted for more than three months between the Lebanese Army and Fatah Al-Islam, which launched attacks against the military that killed dozens.
The disarmament process was scheduled to begin this week in the Shatila, Mar Elias, and Burj Al-Barajneh camps in Beirut and its southern suburbs.
“A committee was supposed to be formed to oversee implementation. There were discussions about assigning this role to the Lebanese-Palestinian Dialogue Committee, which was seen by some as the appropriate authority. However, others dismissed it as a political body unrelated to the issue. This raised further questions: Who would assume responsibility for internal Palestinian affairs once weapons were handed over? Who would manage security inside the camps? And who would handle the cases of wanted individuals and those who had taken refuge there?” a Palestinian source stated.
In recent months, the Lebanese Army has confiscated weapons from Palestinian military sites supported by the Syrian regime and located in the Bekaa Valley on the border with Syria. The most important of these was a base in Qusaya belonging to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, General Command and Fatah Al-Intifada, confiscating their equipment and ammunition.
Before the outbreak of the Nahr Al-Bared camp battles, Lebanese political leaders had agreed during national dialogue talks to disarm Palestinians outside the camps within six months.
This commitment was later echoed in the 2008 Doha Agreement, which outlined a national defense strategy that included addressing Palestinian arms both inside and outside the camps.
However, these decisions were never implemented. In the years that followed, Ain Al-Hilweh, the largest Palestinian refugee camp in Lebanon, repeatedly witnessed violent clashes among rival Palestinian factions.
Israel closes Al-Aqsa Mosque, Church of the Holy Sepulchre under ‘emergency’ measures
- Most shops in Jerusalem’s Old City have been closed, with only essential stores remaining open since Friday
- Palestinians in Jerusalem fear for their safety due to lack of proper shelters amid Israel-Iran conflict
LONDON: Israeli authorities in occupied East Jerusalem have imposed a closure for the fifth consecutive day on the Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre while barring non-resident visitors from entering the Old City.
Israel announced a state of emergency after beginning airstrikes against Iran on Friday. Tehran retaliated by launching ballistic missiles at Israeli coastal towns and cities. Israel’s emergency measures prevented Palestinians and worshipers from entering the Al-Aqsa Mosque and its courtyards, as well as the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.
The Palestinian Authority’s Jerusalem Governorate added on Tuesday that most shops in the Old City had been closed, with only essential stores remaining open since Friday, Wafa news agency reported.
Israeli authorities have permitted settlers to visit the area surrounding the Al-Aqsa compound and perform Jewish prayers and rituals, while forces have intensified daily raids on Palestinian towns and suburbs in Jerusalem, including the Mount of Olives, Silwan, Issawiya, Shufaat, Hizma, Eizariya, Bir Nabala and Al-Ram, Wafa added. East Jerusalem is surrounded by 84 checkpoints and barriers, including recently installed earth mounds and gates.
Although Jerusalem has been spared so far from the Israel-Iran conflict, Palestinians in the city fear for their safety due to a lack of proper shelters within their towns and neighborhoods, Wafa reported.
Israeli authorities in Jerusalem have announced the opening of schools to be used as shelters from Iranian missile attacks. However, some Palestinian experts warned that the facilities may not be large enough to accommodate a significant number of residents, and some are even unsuitable for receiving civilians.
WHO says Gaza health care at breaking point as fuel runs out
- “For over 100 days, no fuel has entered Gaza and attempts to retrieve stocks from evacuation zones have been denied,” said Peeperkorn
- Peeperkorn said only 17 of Gaza’s 36 hospitals were currently minimally to partially functional
GENEVA: The World Health Organization on Tuesday pleaded for fuel to be allowed into Gaza to keep its remaining hospitals running, warning the Palestinian territory’s health system was at “breaking point.”
“For over 100 days, no fuel has entered Gaza and attempts to retrieve stocks from evacuation zones have been denied,” said Rik Peeperkorn, the WHO’s representative in the Palestinian territories.
“Combined with critical supply shortages, this is pushing the health system closer to the brink of collapse.”
Peeperkorn said only 17 of Gaza’s 36 hospitals were currently minimally to partially functional. They have a total of around 1,500 beds — around 45 percent fewer than before the conflict began.
He said all hospitals and primary health centers in north Gaza were currently out of service.
In Rafah in southern Gaza, health services are provided through the Red Cross field hospital and two partially-functioning medical points.
Speaking from Jerusalem, he said the 17 partially functioning hospitals and seven field hospitals were barely running on a minimum amount of daily fuel and “will soon have none left.”
“Without fuel, all levels of care will cease, leading to more preventable deaths and suffering.”
Hospitals were already switching between generators and batteries to power ventilators, dialysis machines and incubators, he said, and without fuel, ambulances cannot run and supplies cannot be delivered to hospitals.
Furthermore, field hospitals are entirely reliant on generators, and without electricity, the cold chain for keeping vaccines would fail.
The war was triggered by an unprecedented Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, which resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, according to official Israeli figures.
The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said on Monday that 5,194 people have been killed since Israel resumed strikes on the territory on March 18 following a truce.
The overall death toll in Gaza since the war broke out on October 7, 2023 has reached 55,493 people, according to the health ministry.
“People often ask when Gaza is going to be out of fuel; Gaza is already out of fuel,” said WHO trauma surgeon and emergency officer Thanos Gargavanis, speaking from the Strip.
“We are walking already the fine line that separates disaster from saving lives. The shrinking humanitarian space makes every health activity way more difficult than the previous day.”
