Security Committee

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.

Background

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]

Membership

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]

Activities

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]

Heads

Tenure of Security Committee heads

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]