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Siege Of Baniyas
On 7 May 2011, during the civil uprising phase of the Syrian civil war, the Syrian military launched an operation in the Syrian city of Baniyas. The government said it was targeting terrorist groups, while the Syrian opposition called it a crackdown against pro-democracy protesters. The operation lasted until 14 May 2011. Prelude On 9 April 2011, unknown gunmen shot at a military bus traveling through Baniyas, killing nine soldiers. On 10 April, protests were held in Baniyas in which violent clashes erupted between security forces and protesters. Between three and six people were reportedly shot dead, while one police officer was reportedly killed by unknown gunmen. On 14 April, snipers killed a Syrian Army soldier in the city, according to state media. The operation On 7 May, preceded by the successful operation against protestors in Daraa days prior, Syrian Army units entered Baniyas from three directions. They advanced into Sunni districts of the multi-ethnic town. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Baniyas
Baniyas ( ar, بَانِيَاس ') is a Mediterranean coastal city in Tartous Governorate, northwestern Syria, located south of Latakia (ancient Laodicea) and north of Tartous (ancient Tortosa). It is known for its citrus fruit orchards and its export of wood. North of the city is an oil refinery, one of the largest in Syria, and a power station. The oil refinery is connected with Iraq with Kirkuk–Baniyas pipeline (now defunct). On a nearby hill stands the Crusader castle of Margat (Qalaat el-Marqab), a huge Knights Hospitaller fortress built with black basalt stone. History In Phoenician and Hellenistic times, it was an important seaport. Some have identified it with the Hellenistic city of Leucas (from colonists from the island Lefkada), in Greece, mentioned by Stephanus of Byzantium. It was a colony of Aradus,Strabo, ''Geographica'', 16.2.12Greek sourcean and was placed by Stephanus in the late Roman province of Phoenicia, though it belonged rather to the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It is a unitary republic that consists of 14 governorates (subdivisions), and is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east and southeast, Jordan to the south, and Israel and Lebanon to the southwest. Cyprus lies to the west across the Mediterranean Sea. A country of fertile plains, high mountains, and deserts, Syria is home to diverse ethnic and religious groups, including the majority Syrian Arabs, Kurds, Turkmens, Assyrians, Armenians, Circassians, Albanians, and Greeks. Religious groups include Muslims, Christians, Alawites, Druze, and Yazidis. The capital and largest city of Syria is Damascus. Arabs are the largest ethnic group, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Syrian Army
" (''Guardians of the Homeland'') , colors = * Service uniform: Khaki, Olive * Combat uniform: Green, Black, Khaki , anniversaries = August 1st , equipment = , equipment_label = , battles = 1948 Arab–Israeli War Six-Day War War of Attrition Black September Yom Kippur War Lebanese Civil War 1982 Lebanon War Islamist uprising in Syria Mountain War (Lebanon) Operation Desert Storm Syrian Civil War , decorations = , battle_honours = , battle_honours_label = , disbanded = , website = , commander1 = Marshal Bashar al-Assad , commander1_label =President of Syria , commander2 = Gen. Ali Mahmoud Abbas , commander2_label = Minister of Defense , commander3 = Gen. Abdul Karim Mahmoud Ibrahim , commander3_label = Chief of the General Staff , notable_commanders = , identification_symbol = , identification_symbol_label = , identification_symbol_2 = , identification_symbol_2_label = The Syrian Army, officially the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
15th Division (Syria)
The 15th Special Forces Division is a division of the Syrian Armed Forces specializing in light infantry operations, based in the As-Suwayda Governorate, and headed by Major General Ghassan Al Yasmina. Role Syrians use the term 'Special Forces' to describe the 14th, 15th divisions, as well as the independent 'special forces' regiments, but they more closely resemble conventional light infantry units, than Western Special Forces in both mission and composition. The term Special Forces has been applied ostensibly because of their specialized training in airborne and air assault operations, but they should be regarded as light infantry forces and elite only in relation to the conventional armored and mechanized brigades of the Syrian Army. History Holliday wrote in 2013 that "the 15th Special Forces Division is a relatively recent formation, established between the mid-1990s restructuring of Ali Haidar’s former Special Forces Command" and the beginning of the Syrian Civil War. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
4th Armoured Division (Syria)
The 4th Armoured Division ( ar, الفرقة الرابعة, al-Firqa ar-Rābiʿah) is an elite formation of the Syrian Army whose primary purpose is to defend the Syrian government from internal and external threats. History The division has its roots in the Defense Companies commanded by Rifaat al-Assad, younger brother of President Hafez al-Assad. After Rifaat was banished from Syria in 1984, the Defense Companies were reorganised into the 569th Armoured Division, and later into the 4th Armoured Division. The Division is regarded by some as the best trained and best equipped of the Syrian Army. The 4th Armoured Division, the Republican Guard, and Syria's secret police form the heart of the country's security forces. As a result, the Division is drawn mostly from members of the same Alawite group as the Assad family. About 80 percent of the division's soldiers and officers are Alawites and nearly 90 percent of them are career soldiers, in contrast to the conscripts who comprise ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Military Of Syria
The Syrian Arab Armed Forces ( ar, الْقُوَّاتُ الْمُسَلَّحَةُ الْعَرَبِيَّةُ السُّورِيَّةُ, al-Quwwāt al-Musallaḥah al-ʿArabīyah as-Sūrīyah) are the military forces of the Syrian Arab Republic. They consist of the Syrian Arab Army, Syrian Arab Air Force, Syrian Arab Navy, Syrian Arab Air Defense Force, and paramilitary forces, such as the National Defence Force. According to the Syrian constitution, the President of Syria is the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces. The military is a conscripted force; males serve in the military upon reaching the age of 18, but they are exempted from service if they do not have a brother who can take care of their parents. Since the Syrian Civil War, the enlisted members of the Syrian military have dropped by over half from a pre-civil war figure of 325,000 to 150,000 soldiers in the army in December 2014, due to casualties, desertions and draft dodging, reaching between 178,000 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Syrian Opposition
The Syrian opposition ( ar, المعارضة السورية ', ) is the political structure represented by the Syrian National Coalition and associated Syrian anti-Assad groups with certain territorial control as an alternative Syrian government. The Syrian opposition evolved since the beginning of the Syrian conflict from groups calling for the overthrow of the Assad government in Syria and who have opposed its Ba'athist government. Prior to the Syrian Civil War, the term "opposition" ( ar, المعارضة ) had been used to refer to traditional political actors, for example the National Coordination Committee for Democratic Change; that is, groups and individuals who have had a history of dissidence against the Syrian state. The first opposition structures to form in the Syrian uprising were local protest-organizing committees. These formed in April 2011, as protesters graduated from spontaneous protests to protests organized by meetings beforehand. The Syrian uprisi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Siege Of Daraa
The siege of Daraa occurred within the context of the 2011 Arab Spring protests in Syria, in which Daraa was the center of unrest. On 25 April 2011, the Syrian Army began a ten-day siege of the city, an operation that helped escalate the uprising into an armed rebellion and subsequent civil war. The Syrian Army's siege involved tanks, helicopters, and up to 6,000 troops. 1,000 people were arrested and up to 244 people were killed, many of them children; 81 Syrian soldiers were also killed. Background Several Arab Spring demonstrations occurred across Syria in the early months of 2011. On 6 March, in the city of Daraa, between 12 and 15 teenagers were arrested for making anti-regime graffiti, including the Arab Spring slogan '' Ash-shab yurid isqat an-nizam'' ("the people want to bring down the regime") on 22 February. The students were reportedly tortured in the Political Security cells, headed by Atef Najib, a first cousin of President Bashar al-Assad. On 18 March, pro ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sunni Islam
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 disagreement over the succession to Muhammad and subsequently acquired broader political significance, as well as theological and juridical dimensions. According to Sunni traditions, Muhammad left no successor and the participants of the Saqifah event appointed Abu Bakr as the next-in-line (the first caliph). This contrasts with the Shia view, which holds that Muhammad appointed his son-in-law and cousin Ali ibn Abi Talib as his successor. The adherents of Sunni Islam are referred to in Arabic as ("the people of the Sunnah and the community") or for short. In English, its doctrines and practices are sometimes called ''Sunnism'', while adherents are known as Sunni Muslims, Sunnis, Sunnites and Ahlus Sunnah. Sunni Islam is sometimes referr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Syrian Navy
The Syrian Navy, officially the Syrian Arab Navy ( ar, الْبَحْرِيَّةُ الْعَرَبِيَّةُ السُّورِيَّةُ, al-Baḥrīyah al-ʿArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is the navy branch of the Syrian Armed Forces. The main role of the Syrian Navy is to defend the country's coasts and ensure the security of the territorial waters of Syria. The Coastal Defense Forces and the Syrian Marines have been attached to the Navy since the late 20th century. The Syrian navy is a relatively small navy with only 4,000 sailors, in addition to 2,500 reservists and 1,500 marines. It is under the Syrian Army's Latakia regional command with its fleet based in the ports of Baniyas, Latakia, Minet el-Beida, and Tartus. It is the smallest part of the Syrian Armed Forces. History On 29 August 1950, the Syrian Navy was established following the procurement of a few naval vessels from France. The initial personnel consisted of army soldiers who had been sent to French naval academie ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
