Building a Unified Army in a Fractured Syria

In this episode of MEnbar, Marc Owen Jones speaks with Haid Haid, non-resident senior fellow at the Middle East Council on Global Affairs, about efforts to unify Syria’s fragmented armed factions into a national defense force. Haid examines the realities of paramilitary groups such as HTS and the SDF, the deep-rooted mistrust and ideological divides that hinder unity, and the spoiling effects of external actors in preventing a unified defense force. Haid Haid ends by offering the detrimental effects of Syria’s future, if military fragmentation and a lack of legitimate governance remain or worsen.