The South Damascus Campaign: Interview with Quwat al-Sa'iqa
07 May 2018By
Aymenn Jawad Al-Tamimi
After clearing out East Ghouta from insurgents, the Syrian government has
turned its attention to the last south Damascus suburbs outside of its
control. Two areas that have come to wider media attention during the current
south Damascus campaign are al-Hajar al-Aswad and the Yarmouk Camp, both of
which are primarily under Islamic State control. The Yarmouk Camp is
particularly notable for its Palestinian population.
As part of the south Damascus campaign, multiple Palestinian factions are
participating in the fight on the side of the Syrian government. Some of these
factions existed from before the civil war, while others were established
during it. Of the latter, the most prominent is arguably Liwa al-Quds, which
used to be part of the Iranian-backed Local Defence Forces network and is
currently affiliated with the military intelligence.
I have understood from both opposition supporters and supporters of the Syrian
government that, at the minimum, one can say that the majority of Palestinians
in Syria who have taken up arms in the war support the Syrian government. One
of the reasons given for this support is ideological: that is, because the
Syrian government is seen as the upholder of Arabism and the Palestinian
cause. In my view, pro-opposition spokesmen and media sometimes unfairly
classify Palestinians fighting on the side of the Syrian government as foreign
fighters, as though Palestinians in Syria do not belong to Syria.
Today's interviewee is Hamza Abu Ja'afar, who works as a war media activist
for Quwat al-Sa'iqa, one of the older Palestinian factions fighting on the
side of the Syrian government. Born in Damascus in 1980, Hamza has been a
member of the group for 13 years, and he set up the war media for Quwat al-Sa'iqa
in 2013. He is married with four children (three girls and one boy). Below is
a transcript of the interview, slightly edited for clarity. Explanatory
additions of my own within the transcript are in square brackets.
Q: Firstly can you tell me a little about Quwat al-Sa'iqa? When it was
established, the number of martyrs, the battles in which it has fought against
terrorism etc.
A: Its name is the Popular Vanguards of the Liberation War (Quwat al-Sa'iqa).
It is the military wing of the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party- Palestine
Organization. It was established since the establishment of the party. And it
has fought battles in all of the lands of Syria since the beginning of the
crisis. It has around 30 [martyrs], between full-time [members] and
volunteers.
Q: I see. Is Quwat al-Sa'iqa the biggest Palestinian faction in the campaign
to liberate south Damascus? What are the other Palestinian factions
participating in the campaign?
A: The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (General Command), Fatah
al-Intifada Movement, Popular Palestinian Struggle Front, Free Palestine
Movement, and of course the Palestine Liberation Army, fighting in all the
lands of Syria and having offered hundreds of martyrs.
Q: Yes of course: also Quwat al-Aouda [The Return Forces] affiliated with
Hezbollah are participating in the south Damascus liberation campaign?
A: Yes. And forces from Liwa al-Quds have arrived recently.
Q: Yes true. Can we say that most of the Palestinians in Syria support the
Syrian government?
A: Yes, militarily speaking, except the Palestinian Liberation Organization
[PLO] factions that are neutral.
Q: Yes. As for Hamas in Syria, many of its members joined the insurgents,
right?
A: Of course, and they have operated under the name of Aknaf Bayt al-Maqdis,
and we are fighting them here in the Yarmouk Camp.
Q: Yes. Have some of the Palestinians in the Yarmouk Camp joined the ranks of
Da'esh [Islamic State] and Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (Jabhat al-Nusra previously)?
A: [Yes], a few of them.
Q: I see. Of course most of the Syrian-Palestinian people support the
government because it represents Arabism?
A: Of course. And there is no difference among us in Syria- whether Syrian or
Palestinian- and we have all rights.
Q: Yes. How is the fighting going in south Damascus?
A: War of streets.
Q: Meaning the fighting is very difficult?
A: Yes.
Q: For Da'esh is using snipers and booby-trapping houses and these problems?
A: And more than that?
Q: Like what?
A: Everything is booby-trapped, and they cut off heads.
Q: True. Do you expect that the campaign to liberate south Damascus will take
a long time?
A: I don't think so. When the first lines and defences are assaulted, they
will collapse, and we are advancing daily, but the geography of the place is
very difficult.
Q: Yes because of the multitude of buildings for example.
A: The buildings are joined to one another, and the streets are narrow. You
can only do fighting by streets. Sometimes we are in one apartment, and the
clashes will be inside the one apartment.
Q: Why don't the Palestinian factions participating in the campaign unite
under one force?
A: They are working in one operations room.
Q: I mean why doesn't Quwat Dir' al-Aqsa [affiliated with the Free Palestine
Movement] for example merge within Quwat al-Sa'iqa?
A: This I cannot answer. Because every faction has its own aims. But in Syria,
and specifically in the camp, there is one operations room under the
supervision of the army.
Q: Yes I have understood the matter. What is Quwat al-Sa'iqa's stance on the
Mahmoud Abbas government and Hamas in Gaza?
A: We oppose both of them [emphasis of the interviewee himself]. We have
withdrawn from the PLO since the 1980s, and we are against any
Palestinian-Palestinian infighting.
Q: Can we say that the Abbas government and Hamas in Gaza are traitors to the
Palestinian cause?
A: Yes. And we are with any person who fights Zionism.
Q: Lastly, what do you say to the Palestinians outside Syria who accuse the
Syrian government of killing the Palestinian people?
A: They should come to Syria and see what is happening. In my view all who
oppose the Syrian government are traitors and collaborators with the Zionist
entity [Israel].
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