Men of Dignity

The Men of Dignity (Arabic: رجال الكرامة, romanized: Rijāl al-Karāma) is a Druze militia operating primarily in the Suwayda Governorate of southern Syria, which was described in 2020 as a third way faction, neither opposed nor aligned with the Assad regime. Nonetheless, it previously allied with the Assad regime in fighting against the Al-Nusra Front. Though the group initially cooperated with the Syrian caretaker government and the Syrian transitional government after the fall of the Assad regime on 8 December 2024, the militia took up arms against it following the July 2025 Southern Syria clashes.

Men of Dignity[1] Sheikhs of Dignity[2]
Rijal al-Karama
Founder	Wahid al-Balous
Leader	Wahid al-Balous (2013/2014-2015) †[3] Ra’fat al-Balous[4] (approx. November 2015[5]- February 2017) Yahya al-Hajjar (February 2017-present)[6]
Spokesman	Bassem Abu Fakhr[7]
Dates of operation	2013[8] or 2014[9]-present
Country	Syria
Headquarters	Suwayda
Active regions	Suwayda Governorate[10] Quneitra Governorate[11]
Status	Active
Part of	Southern Operations Room[12]
Allies	Ba'athist Syria[3] Syrian Opposition (2024)[citation needed] Syrian Salvation Government (2024)[citation needed] Syria (2024–2025)[citation needed] Al-Jabal Brigade Eagles of the Whirlwind[13]
Opponents	State opponents: Ba'athist Syria (until 2024)[14] Syria (2025–present)[15] Non-state opponents: Islamic State[13] Al-Nusra Front[16] Raji Falhout group[17] Syrian Council of Tribes and Clans[citation needed]
Battles and wars	Syrian civil war Quneitra offensive (September 2016)[11] 2018 Southern Syria offensive[13] 2018 As-Suwayda attacks[13] 2024 Syrian opposition offensives[14] 2024 Southern Syria offensive[14] 2025 Jaramana clashes[18] Southern Syria clashes (April–May 2025)[19] Southern Syria clashes (July 2025–present)[15]
Flag

History

The name of the group was given following a battle in the village of Dama against the Al-Nusra Front,^[20] which saw the faction battle alongside the Assad regime, which took place in August 2014.^[3]

Wahid al-Balous, who was the founder of the organization, was assassinated by a car bomb in Suwayda in September 2015.^[5] Two months after his assassination, his brother Ra'fat assumed leadership, though he would cede the position to Yahya al-Hajjar as a result of injuries which he sustained in the assassination.^[5]

One of Wahid's sons, Laith al-Balous, was expelled from the Men of Dignity in 2015 after his father's death.^[6]

Laith's brother, Fahd al-Balous,^[21] and Laith are aligned with the Guest House of Dignity, with Laith serving as the leader.^[22]

Organization

The group has multiple subdivisions, including Bayraq al-Maqdad, Bayraq al-Sindyan and Bayraq al-Haq.^[23]

Other groups involved include: "Bayraq al-Izz, Bayraq al-Fahad, ... Bayraq al-Sheikh, Bayraq al-Nidal, Bayraq al-Basha [Pasha], Bayraq al-Fakhr, Bayraq Sayf Al-Jabal, ... Bayraq al-Nabi Dawoud, Bayraq al-Khidr" and "Bayraq al-Harm."^[24]

Activities

Its primary focus during the early years of the Syrian civil war was to avoid the conscription of Druze men into the Syrian Arab Army.^[25] The group continued to assist draft evaders, as of 2020.^[26] The militia has been described as a "third-way" faction, with researcher Thomas Pierret emphasizing that the group was "really about defending the province."^[27]

The Men of Dignity allied with Al-Jabal Brigade and the armed wing of the Syrian Socialist National Party, Eagles of the Whirlwind, in July 2018 while fighting against the Islamic State.^[13]

Following multiple kidnappings by the Military Intelligence Directorate-affiliated Raji Falhout group, led by Raji Falhout, the Men of Dignity and several other Druze militias clashed with the Raji Falhout group in July 2022 and took over their headquarters.^[17]

The Men of Dignity engaged in combat with the Assad-aligned military in the city of Suwayda during the 2024 Southern Syria offensive, resulting in at least two deaths and four wounded.^[14]

The group issued a joint statement with the Al-Jabal Brigade in January 2025 emphasizing that it was prepared to integrate into a new "military body", following the December 2024 fall of the Assad regime.^[28]

At least one member of the organization, Wajdi al-Hajj Ali, died in the April 2025 Rif Dimashq clashes.^[19]

The office of Suwayda governor Mustafa al-Bakour was stormed on 21 May 2025 by armed criminals who successfully released Raghib Qarqout, a convicted car thief. The Men of Dignity provided cover for al-Bakour's exit, while the Al-Jabal Brigade engaged with the criminals.^[29]

The group fought against the Syrian state in the July 2025 Southern Syria clashes and suffered at least 50 fatalities.^[15] A week later, the militia announced that it had sustained 46 additional deaths.^[30]