Hezbollah Is Secretly Withdrawing From Syria: Monitoring Group

Hezbollah is secretly withdrawing many of its units from Syria away from any media coverage, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) reported on June 30, citing what it described as “creditable sources”.

• “Large units of Hezbollah forces were secretly withdrawn from different areas in the capital, Damascus, and in its countryside, as well as from the Syrian south,” the SOHR’s report reads.

The UK-based monitoring group noted that Hezbollah and Iranian forces are not participating in the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) ground operations in Greater Idlib. The group’s claims on this mater are in line with the information provided by pro-government and even opposition sources.

Hezbollah intervened in Syria in mid-2012 to support the SAA’s military operations around Damascus and in the central governorate of Homs. Later, the Lebanese group expanded its presence to the country’s southern region, the northern strategic city of Aleppo and participated in all major anti-ISIS operations in eastern Syria.

However, since 2017, Hezbollah participation in the Syrian war has declined. The group didn’t support the SAA’s large-scale operations in the Eastern Ghouta, nor the 2018 southern Syrian campaign.

While SOHR’s claims are yet to be confirmed, Hezbollah may have withdrawn some units from Syria as a defensive procedure due to the high-tension with Israel and the U.S.

Source: Hezbollah Is Secretly Withdrawing From Syria: Monitoring Group