An Emirati outlet has promoted the creation of a new “parallel army” in Syria positioned as an alternative to the Syrian armed forces and the government of President Ahmed al-Sharaa, a claim Syrian officials dismissed as fiction.
Erem News said the force would be led by opposition activist Anas al-Sheikh (Abu Zuhair al-Shami), who has a modest following on X and frequently criticises Sharaa and recent unrest in Suweida. Al-Sheikh has also attacked Turkey and Qatar in past posts he later deleted.
Erem described the proposed body as a “quasi-federal army” with a Sunni majority but “all components” represented. Al-Sheikh asserted it would number more than 150,000 trained fighters, tasked with preventing Syria’s partition and intervening to halt any internal fighting—“even if that side is government forces loyal to the current authorities.”
He said the force would stand “above the constitution,” not take orders from the transitional authority, and instead “monitor” it to prevent overreach. He claimed “international, particularly American, approval” for an army that would be wholly domestic in mission, protect minorities and vulnerable groups, safeguard freedoms of belief and expression, ensure judicial independence, prevent demographic change, curb ideological dominance, and uphold international detention standards.
A source close to the Syrian government told Arabi21 the claims are “baseless and without grounding in reality,” saying nearly all armed groups have been integrated under the Ministry of Defence. The source added that the ministry has mutual defence pacts with several countries, including Turkey, and “enjoys strong relations and trust” with Arab and Western states, citing a declared Damascus–Washington counterterrorism understanding while denying any Western support for a new army.
