MENA Minorities

Westerners join Assyrians militia to fight ISIS by Isabel Coles, Reuters (...)The militia they joined is called Dwekh Nawsha - meaning self-sacrifice in the ancient Aramaic language spoken by Christ and still used by Assyrian Christians, who consider themselves the indigenous people of Iraq. A map on the wall in the office of the Assyrian political party affiliated with Dwekh Nawsha marks the Christian towns in northern Iraq, fanning out around the city of Mosul. The majority are now under control of ISIS, which overran Mosul last summer and issued am ultimatum to Christians: pay a tax, convert to Islam, or die by the sword. Most fled. Dwekh Nawsha operates alongside Kurdish peshmerga forces to protect Christian villages on the frontline in Nineveh province.(...)

The website of Al-Araby al-Jadeed, a Qatari owned media venture (which is btw "supervised" by former Arab-Israeli politician Amzi Bishara), reports about the latest developments around Druze sheikh Abu Fahd, who is allegedly facing troubles with the mashaykh al-ʿaql, the highest Druze insitution. The article is also giving some background on Abu Fahd, stating that he was instrumenal in the large scale counter kidnappings of Sunnis from Daraʿ a while ago. The piece is a bit vague and seems to be mainly based on a conversation with an anonymous associate of the sheikh but it nevertheless contains some interesting information: The 'neutral' Druze sheikh angering Syria's regime by Alexander Ayoub, Al-Araby al-Jadeed Edit: There is a short piece in the Daily Star as well Non-profit journalism organization SYRIA:direct featurs an interview with a pro-opposition activist, mainly about the issue of recruitment to the military: Druze activist: 'Fatigue, anger' i...

Phillip Smyth, who writes the blog Hizballah Cavalcade about Shiite militias in Syria, Iraq and elsewhere, has an extensive policy paper (more a monograph) on Shiite militias in Syria out via the Washington Institute. I haven't read it yet, but after browsing through the notes my expectations were raised. The Shiite Jihad in Syria and Its Regional Effects by Phillip Smyth, The Washington Institute for Near East Policy Btw there is also an interesting posting from last month on Hizballah Cavalcade about a new Shabak militia in Iraq .

Over the last year sheikh Abu Fahd Wahid Bal ʿ us has emerged as a new leader among the Syrian Druze. While  so far  the mashaykh al- ʿ aql  have hesitated to  openly   criticize the regime, Abu Fahd made a name for himself as a firm defender of Druze interests (I have discussed his role  here before).  Abu Fahd's  first appearance in a wider public was as a leader of the clergy-led protests in Suwaida ʾ  last April but in the meanwhile he became also somewhat of a militia leader. Last week a video was shared on social media in which he is is challenging openly Assad and the regime. Noteworthy is also the presence of sheikh Hammud al-Hinnawi, the leader of the three mashaykh  al- ʿ aql . His presence could be  interpreted as support for Abu Fahd.  Watch the video or read the article below from The Daily Star , this is a major development implying crucial Druze-regime tensions in the near f...