Ba'ath Brigades

Ba'ath Brigades
كتائب البعث
Participant in the Syrian Civil War

Ba'ath Brigades SSI and Insignia


Ba'ath Brigades Flag
Active Summer 2012 – present[1]
Ideology Ba'athism
Secularism
Founder Hilal Hilal
Leaders
  • Mohammed Khaddour[2]
  • Col. Salama Mohammed †[3]
Headquarters Aleppo
Area of operations

Syria

Size 7,000 claimed (December 2013)[6]
Allies Syrian Armed Forces
National Defense Force
Opponents Free Syrian Army
Islamic Front
al-Nusra Front
Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant
Battles and wars

Syrian Civil War

The Ba'ath Brigades (Arabic: كتائب البعث‎, translit. Katā'ib al-Baʿth), also known as the Ba'ath Battalions, are a volunteer militia made up of Syrian Ba'ath Party members, almost entirely of Sunni Muslims from Syria and many Arab countries, loyal to the Syrian Government of Bashar al-Assad.[7] It was set up in Aleppo under the command of Hilal Hilal, the current Assistant Regional Secretary, after rebels took most of the eastern half of Aleppo in summer 2012. Initially, the Ba'ath Brigades were used to guard government buildings and other key installations in the city, but their role has expanded as their strength has grown from 5,000 members in November 2012 to 7,000 in December 2013.[1][8] Units have since also formed in Latakia and Tartus. At the end of 2013, the Brigades began deploying in Damascus, tasked with manning checkpoints and conducting "light logistical operations".[6] They spearheaded the assault on the Old City of Aleppo in early 2014.[7]

The Ba'ath Battalions participated in lifting the three-year siege at Kuweires military airbase alongside the elite Cheetah Forces, and National Defence Forces.[9]

On 27 February 2017, Col. Salama Mohammed, a high-ranking Ba'ath Brigades commander and leader of the group's Tartus Governorate branch, was reportedly killed in action while fighting in the area around Hama. Some claimed, however, that Mohammed had instead died of a heart attack.[3]

The Ba'ath Legion of the Syrian Army's 5th Corps was formed from Ba'ath Brigades volunteers.[10]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Aron Lund (13 January 2014). "The Baath Battalions Move Into Damascus". Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Retrieved 15 January 2014.
  2. ↑ "Veteran Baath members establish pro-Assad militia to fight opposition". ARA News. Retrieved 19 May 2015.
  3. 1 2 "Senior leader of al-Baath Party Killed in #Syria". El-Dorar Al-Shamia. 23 February 2017. Retrieved 17 March 2017.
  4. ↑ The New Druze Militia Factions of Suwayda Province
  5. ↑ Kurdish police attack Syrian gov’t forces in Hasakah City
  6. 1 2 كتائب البعث» إلى شوارع دمشق» (in Arabic). Al Akhbar. 30 December 2013. Retrieved 14 January 2014.
  7. 1 2 Edward Dark (14 March 2014). "Pro-regime Sunni fighters in Aleppo defy sectarian narrative". Al Monitor. Retrieved 20 March 2014.
  8. ↑ Edward Dark (20 November 2013). "Syrian Baath militia commander goes rags-to-riches". Al Monitor. Retrieved 7 January 2014.
  9. ↑ Leith Fadel (10 November 2015). "Cheetah Forces Lift the Three Year Long Siege of the Kuweires Military Airbase". Al-Masdar News. Retrieved 10 November 2015.
  10. ↑ "Syrian regime forms militia mostly from the ruling party". Zaman Alwasl. 16 March 2017. Retrieved 17 March 2017.
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