Who is Ahmad al-Awda, the man who can jeopardise stability in Syria?

He was one of the main figures in the capture of Damascus.

Ahmad al-Awda, commander of the South Opera Chamber, was the first rebel leader to enter the Syrian capital on December 8th, 2024, along with wood factions, while troops of the radical Islamist group HayCEat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) were still coming from Hama.

While co-ordination between different commanders led to the fall of former President Bashar Al-Assad, the Derina leader has so far refused to break up his faction to join the new Syrian army, preferring to maintain his specific integrity.

During the 25 December meeting between Murhaf Abou Qasra, current defence minister and leaders of the South Armed Forces, Ahmad al-Awda was absent.

A challenging gesture that revives uncertainty in Syria.

Especially after the commander organised a demonstration of force on January 4th in the form of a parade between the Bosra al-Sham raid on the Jordanian border, and the northernmost city of Izra.

What dangers do Ahmad al-Awda pose for Syria's future?

Abandoning revolution?

“Ahmad al-Awda served in Bashar al-Assad's army under the protection of Russia after abandoning the” revolution, accused HTS' medicine adviser Abu Yehya al-Sami, in his account at Telegram, after meeting between the leader of the ruling group in Syria, Abu Mohammad al-Joani, and the South Commander on December 11th.

Because of the strategic opportunism of Ahmad al-Awdas, some have considered him a traitor.

Under Moscow's defence, he managed to maintain his weapons and control over a section of the Doora after the province was recaptured by the regime, supported by the Russian fighter aircraft, in 2018.

“Ahmad al-Awda became known in recent years of the Syrian revolution because of changing his political position several times and because he turned his back on those who backed him”, explained Syrian newspaper Enab Baladi in 2020.

Born in the small agricultural town of Bosra al-Sham, southwest of Syria, the former teacher with a degree in English literature joined opposition ranks following the outbreak of the popular uprising against Bashar al-Assad, which started in his Derala region.

A year after the loss of his three brothers during the 2014 uprising, the man, whose conflict interrupted his career as an import-export entrepreneur in the Jordanian border market, became the leader of the Shabab al-Sunna group and fought alongside Front Al-Nusra, the Syrian branch of Al-Qaedas, and the Muslim Movement of Muthana, to expel regime forces from his city.

During the war, one of his sons was also killed by a regular army air strike.

In 2016, Ahmad el-Awda separated from Front Al-Nora and expelled his forces from Bosra to join the Southern Front with a group of rebel forces that controlled the Derina region and were allies with the Syrian Free Army.

This new alliance enabled him to manage the city's public services and create police services controlled by Shabab al-Sunna, with support from the United Arab Emirates and the Centre of Military Operations (MOC) run by several foreign states, including the United States, Jordan and several Gulf states.

In 2016, when tensions broke out within his group because of rivalries with Deputy Mayor Mohammad Tomhmed, his allies in South Front, Ahmad al-Awda, who had first fled Bosra, managed quickly to regain control over the city.

Two years later, as the rebels suffered successive defeats to the forces of the regime, supported by Russian warplanes and pro-Iranian militias and again took over al-Lajat and Buser al-Harir cities, al-Awda agreed to negotiate with the regime of Damascus.

Under Russian protection, the regime regained control over the Doora in exchange for “reconciliation agreements”.

As part of these agreements, Ahmad al-Awda agreed to hand over his troops' heavy weapons to the regime, and to join the fifth <x0-corpus” managed directly by the Russians, whom he was given command of a brigade (8th Brigade) while maintaining light weapons.

An agreement that enabled the rebel leader to retain power in the region.

Assigned Populations

There is no doubt that Ahmad al-Awda has no support from the base in Syria”, comments Natasa Hall, a researcher in the CSIS Middle East Programme.

“We cannot ignore his popularity with another part of Syrians in the region who remember that he allowed thousands of former rebels to remain in Hauraan and Derela recruiting them at the 8th Brigade”, explains observer Cédric Labrousse in his X account.

If the agreement reached with Damascus has allowed many rebels to stay in the Derina region while avoiding deportation to the country's north from the regime, Ahmad al-Awda has also maintained a specific autonomy for the regime.

The head of the 8th Division, which had sworn allegiance to Moscow more than to the government in Damascus, still led thousands of former rebels turned into soldiers who were not lined up with the regime.

On June 23, 2020, surrounded by his men, Ahmad al-Awda declared its goal to form a united army in the Hauraan region, 140km south of Damascus, with a command independent of the regime.

This decision came after the assassination, several days ago, the ten members of its fifth <x0-corpus on a bus travelling between Latakia and Derala, reanimating resentment at the regime.

While those responsible for the attack have never been identified, many have accused Hezbollah of staying behind the attack.

Taken from “L BAR Orient Le Jour”, adapted to Albanian Post