Two Druze rebel groups in Syria declared on Monday their willingness to join a national army after anti-regime fighters ousted Bashar Assad last month.
The new Syrian authorities face the mammoth challenge of rebuilding state institutions shaped by the Assad family's repressive five-decade rule, including the army and security apparatuses that have all but collapsed.
"We, the Men of Dignity movement and the Mountain Brigade, the two largest military factions in Sweida, announce our full readiness to merge into a military body... under the umbrella of a new national army whose goal is to protect Syria," the groups from south Syria's Sweida province said in a joint statement.
They added, however, that they would categorically reject "any factional or sectarian army used as a tool in the hands of the authorities to suppress the people, as was the case with Bashar Assad's army."
"We as military factions have no designs or roles in administrative or political affairs," they added, calling for "civil and political work in a participatory manner that places the human being at the center of priorities."
"It is our role to commit to protecting public facilities and ensure their stability until security is established in the country," they added.
Syria's new leader Ahmed al-Sharaa told Al Arabiya TV last month that "weapons must be in the hands of the state alone" and authorities would welcome "whoever is armed and qualified to join the defense ministry".
The Druze, who also live in Lebanon, Israel and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, make up about 3% of Syria's population, around 700,000 people.
Sweida is the heartland of Syria's Druze minority.
Beyond defending themselves from attacks in the areas where they live, Syria's Druze largely stayed on the sidelines of Syria's civil war that began in 2011. Many managed to avoid compulsory conscription.
Residents of Sweida have long complained of discrimination and the lack of basic services.
When Assad fell, the province had witnessed anti-regime demonstrations for more than a year.
