After SDF agreement, Syria's Sharaa meets Druze leaders seeking deal

Syrian interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa met with leaders from the predominantly Druze Suwayda province on Tuesday to discuss fair representation in the country. The sit-down occurred amid speculation of a deal to integrate the province into state institutions and followed an agreement between the transitional government and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces.

Sharaa received Suwayda Gov. Mustafa Al-Bakour and a number of activists from the province in Damascus. Syria's official news outlet, SANA, reported that the two sides discussed unspecified domestic and local issues. They stressed the importance of "justice, law and fair representation" for all Syrians, as well as the "plots being hatched against the unity of Syria, its land and people." 

While some Arabic media outlets said on Tuesday that a deal was reached to merge Druze factions from Suwayda into the Ministry of Defense and for the new authorities to appoint a police chief and two deputies in the province, with one deputy to be selected from the local Druze population, Al-Monitor could not confirm this. SANA and a statement from the Syrian presidency did not mention any agreement had been reached. 

Reports suggested the deal would guarantee the “immediate deployment” of 300 members of the General Security to Suwayda and the return to the police force of 600 former police members who hail from the local population, according to several reports, including from Al Jazeera and the Qatar-based Al-Araby TV network.