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Ahmed al-Awda: Eighth Brigade Commander Insists on Independent Daraa Administration
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Al-Awda's Changing Positions and Diverse Regional Relationships Reflect a Local Leadership Model Capable of Independently Managing Its Areas
Military commander Ahmed al-Awda, from Bosra al-Sham in Daraa Governorate, has carved his name in the Syrian landscape through a fluctuating journey spanning over a decade, distinguished by his complex relationships with regional powers and political maneuvering capabilities.
A source close to al-Awda revealed that the forty-something commander, an English literature graduate from Damascus University, completed his mandatory military service before leaving to the UAE with his family, returning a year after the Syrian revolution's outbreak to engage in armed resistance against Assad's regime, losing three brothers in battles.
Al-Awda's trajectory evolved from leading the "Sunni Youth Battalion" to becoming a leader in the Free Syrian Army's Southern Front in 2014, receiving generous support from the Jordanian and Emirati "Mouk" military operations room through his kinship with Syrian businessman Khaled al-Muhaimid, before transitioning to limited Russian funding.
By 2018, al-Awda became commander of the "Eighth Brigade" nominally affiliated with the Syrian Army, then joined the "Fifth Legion" in late 2020, maintaining his decision-making independence and leadership of thousands of fighters, notably participating in eliminating ISIS leader Abu al-Hassan al-Hashimi al-Qurashi in Jasim city.
Al-Awda's entry into Damascus on December 8th, before the arrival of "Military Operations Management" forces, was a notable event, though he withdrew after hours, with a close source explaining the withdrawal as "avoiding potential conflicts during the initial victory hours", adding that limited supplies compared to northern forces influenced this decision.
Analysts view al-Awda's current stance of refusing to dissolve his faction and maintaining southern influence as reflecting a vision aligned with regional Arab states "uncomfortable with Syria's developments", potentially facilitating or challenging the new administration's governance.
His strategic position near Israel, combined with dissatisfaction about new military formations that overlooked southern factions' leadership, makes his relationship with Damascus's new authority a challenging addition to multiple pending files.
Estimates suggest al-Awda might play a pivotal role in shaping southern Syria's future, given his robust regional relationships and local popular base, representing a potential model of local leadership capable of independently managing its region within a decentralized governance system.
Levant-Agencies
