The Popular Committees (also called Lijan militias; ar, اللجان الشعبية ''al-Lijan al-Sha'biyah'', meaning "people's committees") were militias that emerged in

Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...

during the Syrian Civil War. They originated as neighborhood

vigilante Vigilantism () is the act of preventing, investigating and punishing perceived offenses and crimes without Right, legal authority. A vigilante (from Spanish, Italian and Portuguese “vigilante”, which means "sentinel" or "watcher") is a pers ...

groups in the

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

Druze The Druze (; ar, دَرْزِيٌّ, ' or ', , ') are an Arabic-speaking esoteric ethnoreligious group from Western Asia who adhere to the Druze faith, an Abrahamic, monotheistic, syncretic, and ethnic religion based on the teachings of ...

and Alawi and Shia Muslim quarters of Damascus and elsewhere to prevent the infiltration of

Sunni Sunni Islam () is the largest branch of Islam, followed by 85–90% of the world's Muslims. Its name comes from the word '' Sunnah'', referring to the tradition of Muhammad. The differences between Sunni and Shia Muslims arose from a disagr ...

-dominated

rebel groups Rebellion, uprising, or insurrection is a refusal of obedience or order. It refers to the open resistance against the orders of an established authority. A rebellion originates from a sentiment of indignation and disapproval of a situation and ...

. However, the Popular Committees included a significant number of pro-regime

Sunni Muslims Sunni Islam () is the largest branch of Islam, followed by 85–90% of the world's Muslims. Its name comes from the word '' Sunnah'', referring to the tradition of Muhammad. The differences between Sunni and Shia Muslims arose from a disagr ...

as well. The Popular Committees were armed by the Syrian government and manned checkpoints around their districts. They have been accused of carrying out extrajudicial executions and revenge killings. Reuters quoted a Druze resident of

Jaramana Jaramana ( ar, جرمانا) is a city in southern Syria, administratively part of the Rif Dimashq Governorate in the Ghouta plain. Its location, 3 kilometers southeast of the Syrian capital, makes it a bustling town in the greater Damascus metro ...

: "

he government He or HE may refer to: Language * He (pronoun), an English pronoun * He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ * He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets * He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' in ...

say the Lijans help us protect ourselves, but really they just wanted to light the sectarian fuse in Damascus". ''

StrategyPage James F. Dunnigan (born 8 August 1943) is an author, military-political analyst, Defense and State Department consultant, and wargame designer currently living in New York City. Career Dunnigan was born in Rockland County, New York. After high s ...

'' claimed that the Syrian Army offered weapons to minority communities in contested cities: "if the minorities will form self-defense militias and keep rebels out, the Army will not fire artillery at those neighborhoods"."The Bloody Long Shot"
''StrategyPage'', 14 September 2012. Tony Badran of ''Now Lebanon'' commented: "Assad seeks to assemble the minorities around him in order to present himself as the sole and unavoidable interlocutor on behalf of these segments of Syrian society, where he has cultivated loyal patches".Badran, Tony
"The minority strategy"
''Now Lebanon'', 8 September 2012.

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

has assisted in setting up and training Shia militias in Syria. In

Aleppo )), is an adjective which means "white-colored mixed with black". , motto = , image_map = , mapsize = , map_caption = , image_map1 = ...

, some residents claimed that the Syrian Army organized a Christian militia during fighting there in August 2012. In the

Jdeideh Jdeideh ( ar, جديدة المتن translit. al-Judaydat), also Jdayde, Jdaideh and Jdeidet el-Matn, is a coastal municipality and the administrative capital of the Matn District in the Mount Lebanon Governorate. Jdeideh has an area of approxim ...

quarter, the Christian militia was allegedly the first to fight against rebels. The day after a bombing killed four government officials, including the Greek Orthodox Christian Syrian Minister of Defence, General

Dawoud Rajiha Dawoud Abdallah Rajiha ( ar, داود راجحة‎; 1947 – 18 July 2012), forename sometimes transliterated Dawood or Daoud, surname sometimes transliterated Rajha, was the Syrian minister of defense from 2011 to July 2012 when he was assas ...

, it was reported by residents that at least 200

AK-47s The AK-47, officially known as the ''Avtomat Kalashnikova'' (; also known as the Kalashnikov or just AK), is a gas operated, gas-operated assault rifle that is chambered for the 7.62×39mm cartridge. Developed in the Soviet Union by Russian s ...

were handed out in a Christian neighborhood of Damascus. From around mid-2012, hundreds of Popular Committees and other irregular paramilitary groups were merged into what became the National Defence Force, bringing more organisation to the groups and subordinating them within the Syrian security structures.

References

{{Syrian civil war Pro-government factions of the Syrian civil war Axis of Resistance

See also

References