The Security Committee, also called the Daraa Military and Security Committee, was established in Southern Syria and functioned as a representative of the Assad regime in the area.
The Bashar al-Assad regime, following the recapture of Southern Syria after the 2018 Southern Syria offensive, allowed former rebel groups to reconcile with it and operate autonomously in the region. [1] This "soft power" approach was supported by Russia and limited Iranian influence in the area. [2] The committee, also known as the Daraa Military and Security Committee, [3] was a local arm of the regime and negotiated with the Central Committees. [4]
Russian forces in the region were initially perceived as neutral [5] and helped "broker" the reconciliation agreements in November 2021. [6]
Aside from Hossam Louka, who served as the head of the committee for a time, other members of the committee included Louay al-Ali, who was the head of the Military Intelligence Directorate in Daraa Governorate. [7]
The committee enforced a settlement for former opposition fighters in March 2020 in the city of Al-Sanamayn. [8]
The committee met with "dignitaries" from the Suwayda Governorate town of Al-Raha, where the Syrian Brigade Party is based, in August 2021, and threatened to bomb the headquarters of the Anti-Terrorism Force. [9]
The security committee reached settlement agreements in the city of Tafas in September 2021. [10]
Later that month, the security committee, including Louka and al-Ali, met with Russian officers, members of the former opposition and Central Committee members, in Nawa and worked towards a settlement agreement. [11]
| Name | Date began | Date ended | Refs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Zuhair Hamad | ? | 2012 | [12] |
| Wafiq Nasser | July 2012 | 2017 | [12] |
| Kifah Moulhem | July 2018 | ? | [13] |
| Qahtan Khalil | October 2019 | November 2019 | [14] [15] |
| Hossam Louka | Late 2019 | November 2021 | [3] [16] |
| Mufid Hassan | November 2021 | ? | [16] [17] |