Bilal al-Masatafa al-Miqdad (; died 12 April 2025), also nicknamed Bilal al-Droubi () and Abu Yazan (), was a Syrian rebel commander who served as a member of the Youth of Sunna Forces, appointed head of border security by the Syrian Ministry of Defense in 2025 and whose killing by members of the Eighth Brigade led to the dissolution of that faction in April 2025.

Biography

Al-Droubi was born in Bosra al-Sham,

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

, into the large al-Mekdad clan, who are native to the city. On 16 August 2016, the brother and father of Youth of Sunna Forces member Mohammed Tohme (an ally of al-Droubi) were attacked in their home by members of the faction, with his father beaten and his brother shot, leaving his brother in "critical condition." Tohme's supporters forcibly took control of the group's headquarters in Bosra. Tohme briefly took control of the faction, with al-Droubi as his deputy, supported by the group's leadership council. His leadership position did not last, however, as

Ahmad al-Awda Ahmad al-Awda (), also spelled as Ahmad al-Oda, is a Syrian military officer and former rebel leader who leads the Southern Operations Room. A leader of the rebel Youth of Sunna Forces between 2014 and 2018, al-Awda reconciled with the Assad re ...

regained control of the group that same month with the support of the Yarmouk Army. In the Russian-brokered settlement agreements in July 2018 after the

Assad regime Ba'athist Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic (SAR), was the Syrian state between 1963 and 2024 under the one-party rule of the Syrian regional branch of the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party. From 1971 until its collapse in 2024, it was rule ...

recaptured Daraa governorate, al-Awda allowed al-Droubi to form a military group under the Eighth Brigade's authority in Bosra. After the Assad regime fell, al-Droubi intended to form a group separate from the Eighth Brigade, but al-Awda did not allow him to do so, which reignited tensions between the two. Al-Droubi became affiliated with the Syrian Ministry of Defense in 2025 and was appointed by the

Syrian government The government of Syria takes place in a presidential system and is currently in a transitionary period under and led by a transitional government. The seat of the government is located in Damascus, Syria. On 8 December 2024, after the succ ...

as head of border security. He attempted to recruit members of the Eighth Brigade into the ministry of defense. His decisions angered Eighth Brigade leadership, viewing it as an attempt to "split ranks" and "undermine stability" in Bosra, as well as a "blatant encroachment" on the Eighth Brigade's influence in the city. On 10 April 2025, while al-Droubi was driving with his wife and children, men affiliated with the Eighth Brigade confronted him on drug trafficking charges (which local sources said were false), detaining him and shooting him multiple times, seriously wounding him. Al-Droubi was hospitalised at Daraa National Hospital, and would die two days later, on the morning 12 April. In the wake of his death, pressure from the local public and Syrian authorities would lead to the dissolution of the Eighth Brigade a few days later in early April. His funeral was held on 14 April at the Abu Bakr al-Siddiq Mosque Square in Bosra, which was attended by Daraa governor Anwar al-Zoubi along with other notables and local residents.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:al-Droubi, Bilal 20th-century births Year of birth missing 2025 deaths Assassinated Syrian people Members of the Free Syrian Army People from Daraa Governorate