Spymaster Hussam Luka given mission to conquer eastern Syria

Syrian general intelligence chief Hussam Luka was barely back from representing Syria at the Arab Intelligence Forum in Cairo last month when President Bashar al-Assad sent him off on 25 November to Mayadeen in north-eastern Syria. He was given orders to deploy the same model he helped mastermind in southern Syria in 2017with the aim of getting insurgent fighters and even recalcitrant civilians to surrender to the regime.

Series of surrenders in eastern desert

Surrounded by the head of the Deir ez Zor security committee, Commander Jamal Younis, and Iranian militia fighters, whose presence has been on the increase in this eastern region, Luka inaugurated what the regime has dubbed a “reconciliation centre”, currently receiving around 100 men a day looking to register with the authorities in Damascus. More than a national reconciliation, the fighters in this desert region, like their compatriots in the south of the country, where Luka officiated until a few months ago, are forced to hand over their weapons and join the regime’s army, enabling Assad to try to reestablish a foothold in the remote area where the mostly tribal population’s alliance is shifting.

Influence struggles, which were already keen in the south between the Syrian president’s pro-Iranian brother Maher al-Assad’s 4th Armoured Division and the 5th Corps , which is close to Russia – continue to play out in eastern Syria where the Pasdaran is trying to grab control. The Pasdaran reinforced its positions around the Al Ashara oil field on 25 November and clashed with the National Defence Forces (FDN), which was founded in 2012 under the patronage of the Al Quds Force. Firas Al Iraqiya, the local commander of the pro-regime militia, composed of a majority of Alawites was banned from Mayadeen where he had wanted to meet Luka.

Kurdish zone in sights

From Mayadeen, the intelligence chief keeps a watchful eye on the other side of the Euphrates, which is still under the control of the majority Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces . On 29 November, Moscow announced the opening of yet another round of talks between the Kurdish and Syrian authorities, usually represented by the head of the National Security Bureau (NSB), Ali Mamlouk