Political opposition forces in Syria’s southern province of Suwayda launched a new political party July 7, calling it the Syrian al-Liwa Party.

According to a statement posted on Facebook, the party seeks to protect Suwayda from the security chaos and terrorism backed by the Syrian government. It also aims to politically represent the Druze community and restore the role of the Druze community after decades of intentional exclusion by the government from the political scene in Syria.

The party’s leader, Malek Abo Kheer, told Al-Monitor, “The Syrian al-Liwa Party is a secular, civilian political party that originates in the south but serves all Syrian provinces. As a political party, we do not call for any form of autonomy, federalism or self-rule. Rather, we will accept any proposal for governance in Syria, provided it is agreed upon in a national Syrian dialogue that brings together all Syrians. We second any consensus reached by Syrians as per national, inclusive conditions. The new party has national principles, namely the unity of the Syrian territories. It also aims to end the war in Syria and end political tyranny and the power of the intelligence services that wreaked havoc across the country. All Syrians are concerned with determining the fate of Syria and its political future in order to confront the regime and all its tyrannical apparatuses.”

He added, “The party’s creation is a response to the deteriorating situation in Suwayda city. Its control by the regime’s intelligence services over the past 10 years has undermined all security, social and economic aspects of life in the city. Intelligence services have been sponsoring criminal gangs and promoting corruption, kidnappings and drug trafficking. State agencies and institutions in the region, hit hard by corruption, have failed to carry out their tasks. Yet the main reason we launched this party is to prevent the regime from speaking on behalf of the minorities in Suwayda, while it is the one causing harm to them. … The regime systematically destroyed Suwayda, impoverished it, humiliated it and even prevented it from digging wells to water its agricultural lands.”