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Shabiha
''Shabiha'' (Levantine Arabic: ', ; also romanized ''Shabeeha'' or ''Shabbiha''; ) is a term for state sponsored militias of the Syrian government. However, in the Aleppo Governorate the term Shabiha is used frequently to refer to pro-Assad Sunni tribes such as al-Berri, al-Baggara, al-Hasasne and al-Zeido. In the city of Aleppo itself it was led by the powerful Sunni Arab al-Berri tribe. The word became common in the 90s, when it was being used to refer to "thugs" who work with the government and often drove Mercedes-Benz S-Class and gave their guards the same car; that specific car model was nicknamed Shabah (Ghost) in many Arabic countries which led to its drivers being called Shabeeh The Syrian opposition stated that the ''shabiha'' are a tool of the government for cracking down on dissent. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights has stated that some of the ''shabiha'' are mercenaries. Before the Syrian civil war According to defectors privately interviewed by ''The Star ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Al-Assad Family
The al-Assad family ( ar, عَائِلَة الْأَسَد '), also known as the Assad dynasty, has ruled Syria since General Hafez al-Assad became President of Syria in 1971 under the Ba'ath Party. After his death, in June 2000, he was succeeded by his son Bashar al-Assad. The Assads are originally from Qardaha, near Latakia, in north-west Syria. They are members of the minority Alawite sect and belong to the Kalbiyya tribe. The family name Assad goes back to 1927, when Ali Sulayman (1875–1963) changed his last name to al-Assad, Arabic for "the lion", possibly in connection with his social standing as a local mediator and his political activities. All members of the extended Assad family stem from Ali Sulayman and his second wife Naissa, who came from a village in the Syrian Coastal Mountains.Martin Stäheli: ''Die syrische Außenpolitik unter Hafiz Assad'', Franz Steiner Verlag, Stuttgart 2001, ; p. 40 Family connections continue to be important in Syrian politics. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lions Of Hussein
, native_name_lang = Arabic , war = the Syrian Civil War , image = Quwat Humat Souriya - Usud al-Hussein logo.png , caption = The logo of the militia. On the bottom the slogan "Homeland, Honour, Sincerity" is written. , active = 1980s – 2015 2015 – present , ideology = Ba'athismAnti-Wahhabism , allegiance = * Al-Bustan Association * Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps , leaders = Muhammad Tawfiq al-AssadHussein Tawfiq al-Assad , clans = , headquarters = Qardaha , area = Syria , size = 1,000 , partof = * Syrian Army's 4th Corps * Local Defence Forces , predecessor = , successor = , allies = Hezbollah ''Various other Syrian pro-government militias'' , opponents = Syrian opposition and allied mujahideen Army of Conquest , battles = Syrian Civil War * Al-Ghab offensive (July–August 2015) * Palmyra offensive (July– ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Battle Of Tremseh
The Battle of Tremseh ( ar, معركة التريمسة) was a military confrontation between the Syrian Army and the Free Syrian Army in Tremseh, Syria, in the late hours of 12 July 2012 during the Syrian Civil War leading to the reported death of dozens of rebels, and an unknown number of civilians. On 14 July 2012, the UN observer mission issued a statement, based on the investigation by its team that went to the town, that the Syrian military mainly targeted the homes of rebels and activists, in what the BBC said was a contradiction of the initial opposition claims of a civilian massacre. They said that the number of casualties was unclear and added that they intend to return to the town to continue their investigation. On 16 July 2012, the Free Syrian Army backtracked on their initial death toll of 200, saying it had been overblown because many of the wounded were counted as dead, and reduced the list of those confirmed killed to 68–103 names. But still, pro-rebel activ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
National Defense Force (Syria)
The National Defence Forces (NDF) ( ar, قوات الدفاع الوطني ''Quwāt ad-Difāʿ al-Watanī'') is a pro-government militia, that was formed on 1 November 2012 and organized by the Syrian government during the Syrian Civil War as a part-time volunteer reserve component of the Syrian Armed Forces. The NDF is made of units across various Syrian provinces, each of them consists of local volunteers willing to fight against rebels for various reasons. Formation By the beginning of 2013, the Syrian government took steps to formalize and professionalize hundreds of Popular Committee militias under a new group dubbed the National Defence Forces.Will Fulton, Joseph Holliday, and Sam Wyer''Iranian Strategy in Syria'', Institute for the Study of War, May 2013 The goal was to form an effective, locally based, highly motivated force out of pro-government militias. The NDF, in contrast with the Shabiha forces, received salaries and military equipment from the government. Si ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Free Syrian Army
The Free Syrian Army (FSA) ( ar, الجيش السوري الحر, al-jaysh as-Sūrī al-ḥur) is a loose faction in the Syrian Civil War founded on 29 July 2011 by officers of the Syrian Armed Forces with the goal of bringing down the government of Bashar al-Assad. (Pages 6, 14–17.) Initially a formal organization at its founding, its structure gradually dissipated by late 2012, and the FSA identity has since been used by various opposition groups. In late 2011, the FSA was considered the main Syrian military defectors group. It had success against far better equipped government forces. From July 2012 onward, the group was weakened by decreasing discipline, growing Inter-rebel conflict during the Syrian Civil War, infighting, and a lack of funding, while Syrian opposition#Other groups affiliated with Syrian opposition, Islamist groups became dominant within the armed opposition. The Free Syrian Army aims to be "the military wing of the Syrian people's opposition to the regi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ahrar Al-Sham
Harakat Ahrar al-Sham al-Islamiyya ( ar-at, حركة أحرار الشام الإسلامية, Ḥarakat Aḥrāru š-Šām al-Islāmiyah, lit=Islamic Movement of the Freemen of the Levant), commonly referred to as Ahrar al-Sham, is a coalition of multiple Islamist and Salafist units that coalesced into a single brigade and later a division in order to fight against the Syrian Government led by Bashar al-Assad during the Syrian Civil War. Ahrar al-Sham was led by Hassan Aboud until his death in 2014. In July 2013, Ahrar al-Sham had 10,000 to 20,000 fighters, which at the time made it the second most powerful unit fighting against al-Assad, after the Free Syrian Army. It was the principal organization operating under the umbrella of the Syrian Islamic Front and was a major component of the Islamic Front. With an estimated 20,000 fighters in 2015, Ahrar al-Sham became the largest rebel group in Syria after the Free Syrian Army became less powerful. Ahrar al-Sham and Jaysh al- ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Al-Nusra Front
Al-Nusra Front or Jabhat al-Nusra ( ar, جبهة النصرة لأهل الشام, Jabhat an-Nuṣrah li-Ahl ish-Sham lit. ''Front of the Supporters of the People of Syria/the Levant''), known as Jabhat Fatah al-Sham ( ar, جبهة فتح الشام lit. ''Front for the Conquest of Syria/the Levant'') after July 2016, and also described as al-Qaeda in Syria or al-Qaeda in the Levant, was a Salafist jihadist terrorist organization fighting against Syrian government forces in the Syrian Civil War. Its aim was to establish an Islamic state in the country. The group has changed its name several times and merged with and separated from other groups. Formed in 2012, in November of that year '' The Washington Post'' described al-Nusra as "the most aggressive and successful" of the rebel forces. In December 2012, the United States Department of State designated it a foreign terrorist organization, and in April 2013, it became the official Syrian branch of al-Qaeda. In March 2015, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Maher Al-Assad
Maher al-Assad ( ar, مَاهِرُ ٱلْأَسَدِ, Māhir al-ʾAsad, born 8 December 1967) is a Syrian general and commander of the Republican Guard and the army's elite Fourth Armoured Division, which together with Syria's secret police form the core of the country's security forces. He is also a member of the Central Committee of the Ba'ath Party's Syrian Regional Branch. He is thought by some to be the second-most powerful man in Syria after his brother Bashar, the current President. Maher is described by analysts as preferring Iran (as opposed to Russia) to play the largest role as the Syrian Government's main ally during the Syrian Civil War and subsequent post-war reconstruction. This is in contrast to the position of Major General Suheil al-Hassan, commander of the Division 25 Special Mission Forces who has gained much influence as a result of his activities during the Syrian Civil War, who was reported as preferring Russia. Early life and education Mahe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Battle Of Aleppo (2012–2016)
{{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Battle of Aleppo{{lang, ar, مَعْرَكَةُ حَلَبَ , partof = the Syrian Civil War , image = , caption = Clockwise from top-left: A destroyed tank in Aleppo, the Saadallah al-Jabiri Square buildings after the October 2012 Aleppo bombings, residents of Aleppo wait in line for food, and a Free Syrian Army fighter walking among rubble in AleppoBottom: The situation in Aleppo on 20 August 2016, when both the rebels and Syrian Government forces besieged each other{{Collapsible list, title=Map Legend, titlestyle=font-weight:normal;background:transparent;text-align:left;, {{leftlegend, #EDC4BE, Syrian Arab Army control{{leftlegend, #CDEBC9, Opposition control (including al-Nusra Front){{leftlegend, #FFFF00, SDF control{{leftlegend, #B4B2AE, Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant control{{leftlegend, #F5B678, Joint SAA- SDF control{{leftlegend, olive, Confrontation or unclear situation , ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Syrian Observatory For Human Rights
, image = Syrian Observatory for Human Rights Logo.jpg , image_size = 200px , caption = The logo of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights , type = NGO , founded_date = , founder = Osama Suleiman (aka Rami Abdulrahman) , location = Coventry, United Kingdom , status = Non profit , language = Arabic, English , focus = Human rights activism , owner = Osama Suleiman (aka Rami Abdulrahman) , website = , staff = One person ("Rami Abdulrahman") The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (also known as SOHR; ar, المرصد السوري لحقوق الإنسان), founded in May 2006, is a United Kingdom-based information office whose stated aim is to document human rights abuses in Syria; since 2011 it has focused on the Syrian Civil War. It has been frequently quoted by major news outlets since the beginning of the war about daily num ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mercenary
A mercenary, sometimes also known as a soldier of fortune or hired gun, is a private individual, particularly a soldier, that joins a military conflict for personal profit, is otherwise an outsider to the conflict, and is not a member of any other official military. Mercenaries fight for money or other forms of payment rather than for political interests. Beginning in the 20th century, mercenaries have increasingly come to be seen as less entitled to protections by rules of war than non-mercenaries. The Geneva Conventions declare that mercenaries are not recognized as legitimate combatants and do not have to be granted the same legal protections as captured service personnel of the armed forces. In practice, whether or not a person is a mercenary may be a matter of degree, as financial and political interests may overlap. Modern mercenary organizations are generally referred to as private military companies or PMCs. Laws of war Protocol Additional GC 1977 (APGC77) is ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rifaat Al-Assad
Rifaat Ali al-Assad ( ar, رِفْعَتُ عَلِيِّ ٱلْأَسَدِ, Rifʿat al-ʾAsad; born 22 August 1937) is the younger brother of the late President of Syria, Hafez Assad, and Jamil al-Assad, and the uncle of the incumbent President Bashar al-Assad. He is alleged by some sources to be the commanding officer responsible for the Hama massacre of 1982. Later declassified material backs his claims that his brother Hafez al-Assad was responsible, as do a number of commentators. Despite accusations, Rifaat has always denied culpability. Rifaat lived in exile in France for 36 years and returned to Syria in October 2021 after being found guilty in France of acquiring millions of euros diverted from the Syrian state. In September 2022, France's highest court, the Cour de Cassation, confirmed the ruling. Early life and education Rifaat al-Assad was born in the village of Qardaha, near Lattakia in western Syria on 22 August 1937. He studied Political Science and Economics a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
