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Wahid al-Balous
Syrian leader (1965–2015) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Sheikh Wahid al-Balous (Arabic: الشيخ وحيد البلعوس; 1965[2] – 4 September 2015)[3] was a Syrian Druze leader and cleric who led the Men of Dignity, a Syrian Druze militia, until his assassination in 2015.
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Life
Al-Balous served as a policeman in the 1990s, though he left the position and became a religious figure.[4]
He was an opponent of Bashar al-Assad, Al-Nusra Front and the Islamic State (ISIS).[5] He fought alongside the regime against the Al-Nusra Front in August 2014 in Dama,[6] though he turned against it after the battle.[7] According to the Middle East Institute, the battle took place between Bedouins and Druze "popular committees."[8] A brother of al-Balous died in the attack.[9]
He and his supporters tore down an election tent, took away loudspeakers and took away a woman in the city of Suwayda in April 2014, at an event held by the governor's office which was promoting the 2014 Syrian presidential election; it seemed as though the woman, who had been dancing with a portrait of Assad, was mentally disabled and may have been "coerced". Officers at an Air Force Intelligence Directorate checkpoint attempted to detain a young man and insulted the people there, which led to al-Balous and his men removing the checkpoint "by force", after they refused to do so.[10]
He opposed the forced conscription of Druze into the Syrian army and allowed them to take refuge in his home.[6]
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Death
He was assassinated in Suwayda by a car bomb in September 2015. Many of the 25 other casualties were killed in a second blast,[11] which took place near a hospital.[3] The convoy of vehicles with which he was traveling was also targeted by gunmen, which resulted in the wounding of his two sons, Fahd, and Laith, as well as his brother, Ra’fat.[12] Members of the opposition blamed the Syrian Government for the blasts.[13] Eight government loyalists were killed the same night as his assassination, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, following the storming of two local security branches in Suwayda by residents, some of whom were armed.[14]
Syrian state television reported that the killer was a Druze named Wafi Abu Trabi, who it alleged was a member of the Al-Nusra Front, but his confession was disregarded by a local activist named Tarek Abdul-Hai.[15] Abu Trabi, who was an aide of al-Balous, led anti-Assad demonstrations after al-Balous' death. He was ambushed by the Syrian military and Druze factions working with Assad and died in February 2016 in the custody of the Assad regime.[16]
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Family
He had two sons, one named Laith al-Balous and another named Fahd al-Balous, both of whom joined the Sheikh al-Karama Forces after the death of their father.[17] Laith has worked with the Syrian transitional government after the 2024 fall of the Assad regime, meeting with Syrian defense minister Murhaf Abu Qasra in April 2025.[18]
References
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