Syria's Sayyida Zeinab Shia shrine left unharmed, Iraqi fighters say

The Sayyida Zeinab Shia shrine in south Damascus has been left untouched by Syrian rebels, who have not confronted Iraqi paramilitary groups, Iraqi fighters told Middle East Eye.

Iraqi Shia paramilitaries said they were not attacked by rebel forces in Syria and have been left to return to Iraq unhindered.

The rebels, who overran Damascus on Saturday and toppled the government of Bashar al-Assad, have also avoided any aggression around Sayyida Zeinab, an important religious site that Shia fighters from Iraq, Lebanon, Afghanistan and Iran have sought to protect during Syria’s civil war.

“What happened is unbelievable. They [the rebels] were passing by us and they didn’t even stop,” a commander in an Iraqi armed faction in Syria told MEE.

The rebel commanders “told us that no one would attack us or harm us as long as we were not armed”, he said, “and they also pledged not to attack the holy shrines, the Shia and the rest of the minorities”.

“What is happening is beyond belief. Our orders are to return to the border strip and monitor the situation until further notice,” he added.

Assad’s government was propped up by thousands of Iranian-backed Iraqi paramilitary fighters over the 14-year civil war.

However, since the rebels began a shock offensive last on 27 November, capturing a string of cities, the Iraqi armed factions have unanimously decided not to intervene to save Assad.

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A few hundred Iraqi fighters were already deployed in Syria, mostly in the far east, and were occasionally the target of Israeli air strikes.

Assad himself did not formally ask the Iraqi government to send military reinforcements. 

But he expressed the desire for assistance during a meeting with Iraqi paramilitary leader Falih al-Fayadh.

Two senior Iraqi officials told MEE that Fayadh was last week dispatched to Damascus and Ankara, which supports the Syrian opposition, “in an attempt to bring the two sides closer together”.

However, Fayadh’s mediation did not yield results “as Assad refused to make any concessions”, the officials said. The Syrian president’s request for military reinforcements was denied.

Assad’s whereabouts are unknown.

Sunni rebel groups, such as Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham, have promised to protect Syrian religious minorities and include them in the country’s political future.