Gregory Waters

Administration, Security & Justice - the three pillars of state building With so much focus on Damascus it's easy to miss the complex evolution of these institutions at the local level across #Syria & what lessons they hold for the future of the country. carnegieendowment.org/research/2025/…

#Syrie une scène qui reflète la complexité du terrain, des membres des clans sunnites empêchent des voleurs de partir avec des biens de Soueïda

Large group of armed tribal fighters gathering in Damascus Umayyad Square this morning. Video from one hour ago.

Damascus doesn't understand these are c-insurgency, not military, operations, that rest on 'hearts & minds' MoD's refusal to discipline its troops & prevent constant violations just reinforces Alawite, now Druze, opposition to Damascus, undermining all political efforts.

Lots of videos past hour showing tribal fighters seizing villages. Druze factions got Israel to expel the government, then embarked on their own ethnic cleansing campaign. What is the endgame here? Hijri & Israel made it clear Damascus can't enter, so who will stop this cycle?

Claims have been circulating, alleging that elderly Sheikh Marhej Shahin was killed by armed men affiliated with the Syrian army. However, this claim is fabricated. The rumor originated from a social media account allegedly belonging to Shahin’s granddaughter, which initially…

الادعاء الذي انتشر خلال اليومين الماضيين، ويزعم مقتل الشيخ المسن مرهج شاهين بعد تعرّضه لاعتداء من قبل مسلحين تابعين للجيش السوري، هو ادعاء ملفّق. إذ إن الحساب الذي نشر نبأ مقتل الرجل، وزُعم أنه يعود لحفيدته، عاد ونشر قبل ساعات قليلة تأكيدًا بأن الشيخ لا يزال على قيد الحياة.

Accountability for the coastal massacres is complex for a variety of reasons that aren’t applicable in Suwayda. All these units were ordered here, have clear chains of command, & accountability mechanisms were built past 3 months. No excuses to not see arrests & prosecution now

Important proactive deployment of a key accountability mechanism Damascus had formed in early March.

Finished another 2 weeks in Syria conducting research in Homs, Hama, Idlib, Tartous & Latakia. Wrote a short piece with my general impressions on key issues around security & local governance reforms, insurgent threats, and IDP returns. More to come. syriarevisited.com/p/syria-at-a-c…

An old Russian and Desert Hawks position high in the Tartous mountains

Fun Qadmus fact, two General Security members have joined the local volleyball team and many others attend the games. Officials here have done a great job of working with local society to foster a good environment.

And the difference now is that the MoD has significantly unified its forces & added many hardened positions across the coast these past 2 months, while the insurgents have lost their popular base due to failure to follow through on grand promises on March 6.

There is clearly a criminal group operating in the mountains outside Ain Al-Koroum. A month ago an Alawite man was killed & car stolen Last week a Bedouin family was killed Now another Alawite family killed Authorities have been investigating for +month but found nothing yet.