Syrian Druze gain non-belligerence commitment from rebels under joint US-Jordanian guarantee

DEBKAfile Exclusive Report June 20, 2015,

Leaders of the Jabal Druze and southern Syrian Druze community have reached a mutual non-belligerence understanding with heads of the Syrian rebel militias fighting in the region, including Al Qaeda’s arm, the Nusra Front. This is reported exclusively by DEBKAfile’s military and intelligence sources. The United States and the King of Jordan gave the Druze guarantees that the deal struck Friday, June 10 would be honored.

There and then, our sources add, Jordanian opened up a cross-border corridor to supply the half million dwellers of the Druze mountain villages with military assistance and essential supplies.
The understanding followed a visit to the Jordanian capital in the past week by the Lebanese Druze leader Walid Jumblatt and Marwan Hamad, leader of a new body calling itself the “Military Council of Syrian Druze” – effectively, chief of staff of Druze forces. Jumblatt insisted on seeing King Abdullah II with a demand for his personal guarantee for the Syrian community’s safety.

Jumblatt and Hamad then called on the joint US-Jordanian war room for Syria, Centcom’s Forward Command in Jordan, at its headquarters north of Amman. After a briefing by the American, Jordanian, Saudi and UAE officers in charge on how the understanding would work in the field, they gave their consent and it became active on the spot.

DEBKAfile has obtained the four main points of thes deal:

1. The Syrian Druze and anti-Assad rebel forces fighting under the Jordan-based joint command are committed to refrain from attacking the other party’s positions or places of habitation.
2. The Syrian rebel forces [battling Assad government forces] pledge not to enter or attack Druze villages on the Golan including Al Khader.

3. The Druze pledge not to permit Syrian government military and intelligence units based in their territory to operate their bases or use them for intelligence surveillance. The Druze village of Al Khader, for example, houses a Syrian air force surveillance base, which communicates directly with Syrian operational intelligence. The Druze will make sure to put it out of action.

4. The eight Druze militias loyal to Bashar Assad or tied to his regime and army will not be allowed to operate from southern Druze territory.

All day Friday, Arab sources reported Israeli Air Force activity taking place over Syrian and Lebanese air space. Shortly before midnight, air strikes were claimed to have been conducted against targets inside Syria with no details. These reports were not confirmed.