The Arab Nationalist Guard ( ar, الحرس القومي العربي) is a secular
volunteer
Volunteering is a voluntary act of an individual or group freely giving time and labor for community service. Many volunteers are specifically trained in the areas they work, such as medicine, education, or emergency rescue. Others serve ...
militia
A militia () is generally an army or some other fighting organization of non-professional soldiers, citizens of a country, or subjects of a state, who may perform military service during a time of need, as opposed to a professional force of r ...
force operating in Syria. The group espouses an
Arab nationalist ideology, gathering away from any
sectarian,
ethnic
An ethnic group or an ethnicity is a grouping of people who identify with each other on the basis of shared attributes that distinguish them from other groups. Those attributes can include common sets of traditions, ancestry, language, history, ...
, or
religious extremism
Religious fanaticism, or religious extremism, is a pejorative designation used to indicate uncritical zeal or obsessive enthusiasm which is related to one's own, or one's group's, devotion to a religion – a form of human fanaticism which cou ...
. The Arab Nationalist Guard's membership includes nationalists from a variety of
Arab countries
The Arab world ( ar, اَلْعَالَمُ الْعَرَبِيُّ '), formally the Arab homeland ( '), also known as the Arab nation ( '), the Arabsphere, or the Arab states, refers to a vast group of countries, mainly located in Western As ...
.
History
Formed in April 2013 by pan-Arab volunteers to fight against "all
Takfiri
''Takfiri'' ( ar, تَكْفِيرِيّ, ' lit. "excommunicational") is an Arabic and Islamic term denoting a Muslim who excommunicates one of his/her coreligionists, i.e. who accuses another Muslim of being an apostate. Since according to t ...
movements that aim to strike our unity and sow divisions between Arabs", the Arab Nationalist Guard bolstered the ranks of
Bashar al-Assad's government amid the
2012–13 escalation of the Syrian Civil War
1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...
. The group quickly started to closely cooperate with the Syrian
National Defence Forces
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 ...
militia network. From late 2013 to early 2014, the Arab Nationalist Guard primarily fought in the
Rif Dimashq Governorate
Rif Dimashq Governorate ( ar, محافظة ريف دمشق, ', literally, the "Governorate of the Countryside of Damascus", Damascus Suburb) is one of the fourteen governorates (provinces) of Syria. It is situated in the southwestern part of the ...
, though was also present at other conflict zones in
Aleppo Governorate
Aleppo Governorate ( ar, محافظة حلب / ALA-LC: ''Muḥāfaẓat Ḥalab'' / ) is one of the fourteen governorates of Syria. It is the most populous governorate in Syria with a population of more than 4,867,000 (2011 Est.), almost 23% of t ...
,
Deraa Governorate, and
Homs Governorate
Homs Governorate ( ar, مُحافظة حمص / ALA-LC: ''Muḥāfaẓat Ḥimṣ'') is one of the fourteen governorates (provinces) of Syria. It is situated in central Syria. Its area differs in various sources, from to . It is thus geographic ...
. It was prominently involved in government offensives in
Qalamoun at the time.
By 2017, the unit had taken up positions in Deraa city. It later fought in the
Siege of Eastern Ghouta
The siege of Eastern Ghouta was a siege that was laid by Syrian Government forces in April 2013, to the area in eastern Ghouta held by anti-government forces since November 2012, during the Syrian civil war. The cities and villages under siege ...
. In 2020, the Israeli
Shin Bet
The Israel Security Agency (ISA; he, שֵׁירוּת הַבִּיטָּחוֹן הַכְּלָלִי; ''Sherut ha-Bitaẖon haKlali''; "the General Security Service"; ar, جهاز الأمن العام), better known by the acronym Shabak ( he, ...
security service arrested members of a purported
Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine
The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine ( ar, الجبهة الشعبية لتحرير فلسطين, translit=al-Jabhah al-Sha`biyyah li-Taḥrīr Filasṭīn, PFLP) is a secular Palestinian Marxist–Leninist and revolutionary so ...
cell which had planned resistance attacks against Israeli targets and reportedly cooperated with the Arab Nationalist Guard and its civilian wing, the Arab Nationalist Youth.
It was still operating in Damascus by early 2021.
Ideology
The group's ideology falls in line with
Gamal Abdel Nasser's
pan-Arab ideals (
Nasserism
Nasserism ( ) is an Arab nationalist and Arab socialist political ideology based on the thinking of Gamal Abdel Nasser, one of the two principal leaders of the Egyptian Revolution of 1952, and Egypt's second President. Spanning the domestic an ...
), as well as with
anti-Zionism and
anti-imperialism. It claims to oppose "sectarian, ethnic, or religious extremism", and also supports an independent
State of Palestine.
In its imagery and textual output, the militia has emphasized Nasser, Venezuelan President
Hugo Chávez,
Hezbollah, Iraqi President
Saddam Hussein
Saddam Hussein ( ; ar, صدام حسين, Ṣaddām Ḥusayn; 28 April 1937 – 30 December 2006) was an Iraqi politician who served as the fifth president of Iraq from 16 July 1979 until 9 April 2003. A leading member of the revolutio ...
and
Bashar al-Assad as praiseworthy examples.
Organization
In its manifesto, the Arab Nationalist Guard stated that it included at least four units, namely the
Wadie Haddad
Wadie Haddad ( ar, وديع حداد; 1927 – 28 March 1978), also known as Abu Hani, was a Palestinian leader of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine's armed wing. He was responsible for organizing several civilian airplane ...
battalion,
Haydar al-Amali battalion,
Mohamed Brahmi
Mohamed Brahmi ( aeb, محمد براهمي; 15 May 1955 – 25 July 2013) was a Tunisian politician. Brahmi was the founder and former leader of the People's Movement, which, under his leadership, won two seats in the constituent election in ...
battalion, and
Jules Jammal battalion.
The units' names are inspired by Arab politicians and martyrs who have led
secularist
Secularism is the principle of seeking to conduct human affairs based on secular, naturalistic considerations.
Secularism is most commonly defined as the separation of religion from civil affairs and the state, and may be broadened to a sim ...
and Arab national movements in the Middle East and North Africa region or were killed by
Islamists
Islamism (also often called political Islam or Islamic fundamentalism) is a political ideology which posits that modern states and regions should be reconstituted in constitutional, economic and judicial terms, in accordance with what is c ...
.
It has set up a camp in
al-Malihah
Al-Malihah ( ar, المليحة, also spelled al-Mleha or Al Mulayhah) is a town in southern Syria, administratively part of the Rif Dimashq Governorate, located on the eastern outskirts of Damascus to the west of Jaramana, in the Ghouta area. Ne ...
.
The militia is linked to the "Arab Nationalist Youth".
The latter is active in Lebanon, the Gaza Strip, as well as Egypt, and has provided recruits from the Arab Nationalist Guard.
The militia has recruited fighters from Syria, Egypt,
Algeria
)
, image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg
, map_caption =
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, capital = Algiers
, coordinates =
, largest_city = capital
, relig ...
,
Libya
Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Suda ...
, Iraq,
Lebanon
Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to Lebanon–Syria border, the north and east and Israel to Blue ...
, Palestine,
Tunisia
)
, image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg
, map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa
, image_map2 =
, capital = Tunis
, largest_city = capital
, ...
, and
Yemen
Yemen (; ar, ٱلْيَمَن, al-Yaman), officially the Republic of Yemen,, ) is a country in Western Asia. It is situated on the southern end of the Arabian Peninsula, and borders Saudi Arabia to the Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, north and ...
.
It has also recruited
Syrian Palestinians.
Some of their militiamen had fought previously in the
Libyan Civil War
Demographics of Libya is the demography of Libya, specifically covering population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, and religious affiliations, as well as other aspects of the Libyan population. The ...
and the
Iraq War
{{Infobox military conflict
, conflict = Iraq War {{Nobold, {{lang, ar, حرب العراق (Arabic) {{Nobold, {{lang, ku, شەڕی عێراق ( Kurdish)
, partof = the Iraq conflict and the War on terror
, image ...
.
Despite the militia's Arab nationalist ideology, one member stated that it also includes non-Arab fighters such as
Kurds ug:كۇردلار
Kurds ( ku, کورد ,Kurd, italic=yes, rtl=yes) or Kurdish people are an Iranian ethnic group native to the mountainous region of Kurdistan in Western Asia, which spans southeastern Turkey, northwestern Iran, northern Ira ...
and
Berbers, regarding all of them as part of the
Ummah
' (; ar, أمة ) is an Arabic word meaning "community". It is distinguished from ' ( ), which means a nation with common ancestry or geography. Thus, it can be said to be a supra-national community with a common history.
It is a synonym for ' ...
.
The Arab Nationalist Guard is supported by Hezbollah trainers, and has good connections with the wing of
Hamas
Hamas (, ; , ; an acronym of , "Islamic Resistance Movement") is a Palestinian Sunni-Islamic fundamentalist, militant, and nationalist organization. It has a social service wing, Dawah, and a military wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam ...
that does not support the
Muslim Brotherhood.
See also
*
List of armed groups in the Syrian Civil War
A number of states and armed groups have involved themselves in the ongoing Syrian Civil War as belligerents.
Syrian Arab Republic and allies
A number of sources have emphasized that as of at least late-2015/early-2016 the Syrian Arab Republic ...
References
Works cited
*
Anti-Zionism in the Arab world
Anti-Zionism in the Middle East
Anti-Zionist organizations
Arab nationalism in Syria
Arab nationalist militant groups
Expatriate military units and formations
Left-wing militant groups
Military units and formations established in 2013
Pan-Arabist organizations
Pro-government factions of the Syrian civil war
Secularism in Syria
Axis of Resistance
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