Syrian regime threatens to bomb predominately Druze As-Suwayda Governorate if its forces are not given control over holdout neighborhoods

AS-SUWAYDA, Syria — The Syrian regime threatened to bomb the As-Suwayda headquarters of the Counter-Terrorism Force, the military wing of the Syrian Brigade Party formed last July.

A meeting took place between dignitaries from the town of Al-Raha — the location of the Syrian Brigade Party — and the Security Committee of the regime in As-Suwayda following a similar meeting with the Security Committee in Daramsuq (Damascus) in the presence of head of the Military Intelligence Division Kifah Melhem and several regime officers. The regime officers reportedly threatened the Counter-Terrorism Force, telling them to evacuate their headquarters from the town before 6:00 p.m. on Tuesday. The regime’s threat was published via Facebook by the Counter-Terrorism Force on Monday.

They threatened to bomb the headquarters with barrel bombs and warplanes after the deadline.

The threats come two days after the residents of Al-Raha in the eastern countryside of As-Suwayda refused a meeting with Sheikh al-Aql (Yousef Jarbou) who wanted to facilitate regime forces, including the National Defense Forces (NDF), control over the neighborhood.

In related news, Laith al-Balous accused the Syrian regime of assassinating his father in 2015. Laith is the son of Wahed al-Balous, founder of the Men of Dignity Movement in As-Suwayda, who was assassinated in mysterious circumstances.

In an interview, al-Balous accused the Syrian regime and Iranian militias of being behind many kidnappings and thefts, in addition to promoting and spreading drugs in As-Suwayda.