Druze leaders Sultan Pasha al-Atrash and Emir Majid Arslan - Suweida, 1943

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Image Source: Syrianhistory.com Archive

This photo was taken when Arslan was serving as Minister of Health and Defense in the cabinet of Prime Minister Riad al-Sulh. In November 1943, the French Mandate regime arrested Sulh and President Beshara al-Khoury, along with most members of the cabinet. Arslan fled to the town of Bshamoun, along with ministers Habib Abu Shahla and Sabri Hamada, establishing a government aimed at fighting the French. They were immediately supported by nationalists in Syria and Lebanon, headed by Sultan Pasha al-Atrash.