Wahhab announces launch of 'Army of Tawhid' following fighting in Sweida

Former minister Wiam Wahhab, head of the Tawhid party, announced Tuesday the creation of a new armed group called the "Army of Tawhid," calling for "armed resistance" after recent developments in Sweida, Syria.

His remarks came after a security escalation in the predominantly Druze city located in southern Syria, following clashes that began in the Bedouin neighborhood of al-Maqous and spread to other villages surrounding the city, before the intervention of forces from the Syrian Interior and Defense ministries, who confronted the armed Druze groups.

"After consultation with our people and our youth, I announce the launch of the Army of Tawhid. We call on everyone to join us and begin organizing an independent resistance," Wahhab wrote on X. "Everyone in Sweida and in the surrounding villages must expel the armed men from the city. Operations have begun, hold your positions, remain steadfast, and [these men] will be driven out."

Wahhab also called on Hezbollah to join this army. "I call on the Lebanese resistance to stand with the Druze who are being exterminated. We officially ask you to take a position, provide weapons, and share your expertise," he stated.

According to the latest figures from the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, the clashes have left 166 dead among the Druze, Bedouin and Syrian army forces.

After the fall of Bashar al-Assad, overthrown by a coalition of Sunni Islamist rebels, the violence against the Alawite community, which left more than 1,700 dead, then against the Druze, as well as an attack on a church in Damascus in June, has shaken confidence in the new government's ability to protect minorities.