Sirens blaring, a truckful of armed men trailing in its wake, the black sport utility vehicle that sliced sharklike through the Syrian town of Ashrafieh Sahnaya on Friday morning was impossible to miss.
Government forces had retaken control from the armed groups that turned the town into a sectarian battlefield for two days this week, killing dozens and exposing for all to see the new Syrian leaders’ shaky grip on security. Now, government representatives had arrived to pledge peace to a skeptical town.
In an airy, echoing religious meeting hall, two officials in suits sat shoulder to shoulder with white-bearded leaders of the Druse religious minority in traditional red-topped white hats, talking of unity.
“We’re all in one ship,” said Jameel Mudawwar, the area’s top official. “If it sinks, God forbid, we’ll all sink.”
The words were not new, but this time they came with action.
Syria’s main Druse militias, who control a strategic swath of southern Syria near Israel, have resisted a push by the new Islamist government to be folded into the national military, fearing that acceding would endanger their people.
But as the bloodshed mounted this week, local Druse leaders in Ashrafieh Sahnaya went the other way. In exchange for government concessions, including promises to investigate abuses committed during the clashes, they agreed to surrender their weapons and integrate some fighters into the government’s forces.
