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81-452: Hama has historically been a centre of opposition to the Assad regime, and it was the centre of an uprising in the late 1970s to the early 1980s that resulted in the 1982 Hama massacre . The city was one of several that saw anti-Assad protests in 2011, the violent suppression of which ultimately led to the outbreak of civil war. Despite this, for the most part the governorate has stayed under

162-687: A widescale crackdown in Aleppo , where the government responded with overwhelming military force, sending in tens of thousands of troops, supported by tanks and helicopters. In and around Aleppo, hundreds of demonstrators were killed, and eight thousand were arrested. By April, the uprising in the area had been crushed. Between 1979 and 1981, Brotherhood insurgents continued to target Ba'ath party officials, party offices, police stations, military vehicles, barracks, factories, and even Russian officials. Insurgents would form 'hit teams' to kill Ba'ath party members in their sleep, such as 'Abd al 'Aziz al 'Adi, who

243-405: A 'citizen militia'. By March and April, the cities of Jisr al-Shughur and Aleppo were brought into line with thousands of troops in garrison and tanks on the streets. Hundreds were rounded up in search-and-destroy operations. In another case, in retaliation to a failed terror attack on an Alawite village near Hama , the army executed about 400 of Hama's Sunni inhabitants, chosen randomly among

324-649: A January 2006 interview, the Brotherhood's leader, Ali Sadreddine Bayanouni , "said the Muslim Brotherhood wants a peaceful change of government in Damascus and the establishment of a 'civil, democratic state', not an Islamic republic." According to Bayanouni, the Syrian government admits having detained 30,000 people, giving a fair representation of the Brotherhood's strength. While the involvement of

405-633: A Jew becoming tsar in Russia—an unprecedented development shocking to the Sunni majority population which had monopolized power for so many centuries." According to historian Patrick Seale , the "economic boom following the October War had run out of steam, and new inequalities were created". Raphael Lefevre adds that the emergence of secular ideology had led to the "overturning of traditional structures of political and socioeconomic power". Additionally,

486-606: A decrease in Gulf countries ' economic support, the cost of Syria's military campaign in Lebanon , and the take-in of several refugees from the conflict all further exacerbated Syria's economic livelihood. Economic impact of state socialism adopted by the Ba'athist government as well as rising assertiveness of Alawites in the new socio-political system resulted in the alienation of the traditional elites, landowners , industrialists and

567-660: A fall in the number of armored divisions reported from the 2010 edition from eight to seven. The independent armored brigade had been replaced by an independent tank regiment. In 2009 and 2010, according to the International Institute for Strategic Studies in London, the Syrian army comprised 220,000 regular personnel, and the entire armed forces (including the navy, air force and air defenses) had 325,000 regular troops. Additionally, it had about 290,000 reservists. The vast majority of Syrian military equipment

648-633: A series of protests, assassinations, bombings, and armed revolts led by Sunni Islamists , mainly members of the Fighting Vanguard and, after 1979, the Muslim Brotherhood , from 1976 until 1982. The uprising aimed to establish an Islamic republic in Syria by overthrowing the Ba'athist government, in what has been described by Ba'ath Party as a "long campaign of terror". After 1980,

729-902: Is divided into five districts ( manatiq ). The districts are further divided into 22 sub-districts ( nawahi ): Agriculture dominates the labor force of Hama Governorate, with 48% of employment occurring within this sector. The remaining employment is spread between industry (22%) and trade and other services (30%). The main agricultural crops are wheat, barley, cotton, beetroot, onion, tobacco, and various vegetables. Fruit trees such as olive, pistachio, apple, pear, plum and peach are also commonly grown here. Animal breeding of sheep, goats, poultry and bees are prevalent in Hama. Between 1926 and 1949, Hama witnessed developments in its public sector with industry expanding on sugar plants, onion drying, oils manufacturing, cotton grinning factories, and cement production and processing. Other manufacturing industry that

810-403: Is generally considered to have been crushed by the bloody Hama massacre of 1982, in which thousands of insurgents, soldiers and residents were killed, according to anti-Syrian Government claims "the vast majority innocent civilians". On 2 February 1982, the Brotherhood led a major insurrection in Hama , rapidly taking control of the city; the military responded by bombing Hama (whose population

891-718: The 11th Armored Division has stayed close to its bases in Homs and Hama. The European Council named Major General Wajih Mahmud as commander of the 18th Armored Division in the Official Journal of the European Union on 15 November 2011, sanctioning him for violence committed in Homs . Henry Boyd of the IISS noted that "in Homs , the 18th Armored Division was reinforced by Special Forces units and ... by elements of

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972-537: The 1954 Syrian coup d'etat . Further coups followed, each attended by a purge of the officer corps to remove supporters of the losers from the force. 'Discipline in the army broke down across the board as units and their commanders pledged their allegiance to different groups and parties. Indeed, by the late 1950s, the situation had become so bad that Syrian officers regularly disobeyed the orders of superiors who belonged to different ethnic or political groups. The 1963 Syrian coup d'état had as one of its key objectives

1053-559: The 1982 Hama massacre , during which the Syrian government killed over 40,000 civilians. [REDACTED] Member State of the Arab League [REDACTED] Asia portal [REDACTED] History portal In context, the insurgency traces its origins to multiple factors. Historical ideological friction is a result of the Ba'ath Party's ultra-secularist foundation versus the Muslim Brotherhood's religious foundation. Muslim Brotherhood believed that Islamic religion had

1134-558: The 1982 Lebanon War . In 1984, Major General Ali Haidar 's Special Forces were instrumental in blocking an abortive attempt by Rifaat Assad and his Defense Companies to seize the capital. Fayadh's 3rd Armoured Division moved into the capital to join Haidar's forces in the confrontation with the Defense Companies. The 3rd Armoured Division, it seems, had historically been based at al-Qutayfah , near Damascus. Bennett dates

1215-644: The Gulf War , but saw little action. From 1976 to 2005 it was the major pillar of the Syrian occupation of Lebanon . Internally, it played a major part in suppressing the 1979–82 Islamist uprising in Syria , and since early 2011 has been heavily engaged in fighting the Syrian Civil War , the most violent and prolonged war the Syrian Army has taken part in since its establishment in the 1940s. In 1919,

1296-562: The Islamist uprising in Syria in 1979–1982. In March 1980 the 3rd Armored Division and detachments from the Defense Companies arrived in Aleppo. The division was under the command of General Shafiq Fayadh , Hafiz Assad 's first cousin. The troops sealed "off whole quarters and carr[ied] out house-to-house searches, often preceded by tank fire." Hundreds of suspects were rounded up. Only two conventional Army brigades deployed to Hama in 1982,

1377-684: The March 1949 Syrian coup d'état and the August 1949 coup by Colonel Sami al-Hinnawi , and one each in 1951, 1954 , 1963 , 1966 , and 1970 . It has fought four wars with Israel ( 1948 , the Six-Day War in 1967, the Yom Kippur War of 1973, and 1982 Lebanon War ) and one with Jordan ( Black September in Jordan , 1970). An armored division was also deployed to Saudi Arabia in 1990–91 during

1458-766: The Republican Guard and the 4th Armored Division , which are commanded by Bashar al-Assad's brother Maher , are exclusively Alawite. Most of Syria's 300,000 conscripts in 2011 were Sunni. Since 2022, the Minister of Defense and also Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Army and the Armed Forces Lieutenant General Ali Mahmoud Abbas , and Major General Mufid Hassan, Deputy Chief of the General Staff, are some of

1539-617: The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights estimated "tens of thousands" soldiers to have defected. By August 2012, 40 Brigadier generals from the Army had defected to the opposition army, out of a total of 1,200 generals. On June 14, 2013, 73 Syrian Army officers and their families, some 202 people in total, sought refuge in Turkey. Amongst their number were seven generals and 20 colonels. In 2013, Agence France Press wrote on 'Syria's diminished security forces.' Up until July 2012,

1620-429: The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights – are mainly Sunni without access to vital command and control, Nerguizian said, however the formed Syrian Minister of Defense General Dawoud Rajiha killed in the 18 July 2012 Damascus bombing was a Christian . The army in Syria is the power structure. The armed forces would fight to an end. It would be a bloodbath, literally, because the army would fight to protect not only

1701-640: The bourgeoisie . Their support shifted in favour of the Islamic opposition which positioned itself as ideological defenders of private property and free trade. 1976 marked the Syrian army's intervention in the Lebanese Civil War , initially against the Palestinian guerrillas (PLO) . This was received with surprise across the Arab world and contributed to pre-existing reasons for discontent with

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1782-652: The 12th in the north, holding the sector from the B'nat Ya'acov bridge to the slopes of Mount Hermon , the 35th in the south from the B'nat Ya'acov bridge to the Yarmuk River border with Jordan, and the 42nd in reserve, earmarked for a theater-level counterattack role. During the Six-Day War Israeli assault of the Golan heights, the Syrian army failed to counterattack the Israelis as the Israelis breached

1863-412: The 1st Armored Division had historically been at al-Kiswah . On 29 September 2004, Jane's Defence Weekly reported that Syria had begun to redeploy elements of one or more Syrian Army special forces regiments based in the coastal hills a few kilometres south of Beirut in Lebanon. A senior Lebanese Army officer told JDW that the 3,000 troops involved would return to Syria. Cordesman wrote that in 2006

1944-483: The 3rd Armored Division's 47th Armored and 21st Mechanized Brigades. Three quarters of the officers and one third of the soldiers in the two brigades were Alawites. Most of the repression was carried out by the Defense Companies and the Special Forces. Meanwhile, the Special Forces were isolating and combing through Hama , killing and capturing suspected government opponents. Syrian forces fought Israel during

2025-731: The 3rd Corps and 17th and 18th Armoured Divisions were established in 1986. The 9th Armoured Division served in the 1991 Persian Gulf War as the Arab Joint Forces Command North reserve and saw little action. In 1994, Haidar expressed objections to the Syrian president's decision to bring Bashar home from his studies in Britain and groom him for the succession after the death of Basil, the eldest Assad son. Soon afterwards, on 3 September 1994, Jane's Defence Weekly reported that then-President Hafez Assad had dismissed at least 16 senior military commanders. Among them

2106-421: The 4th Division under Maher's de facto command." Information from Holliday 2013 suggests that the reserve armored division is the 17th (rather than any other designation), which was responsible for eastern Syria. The division's 93rd Brigade left Idlib to secure Raqqa Governorate in early 2012. Following the reported capture of Raqqa on 3–6 March 2013 , elements of the 17th Division remained under siege to

2187-596: The Army more flexibility and to improve combat efficiency by decentralizing the command structure, absorbing at least some of the lessons learned during the Israeli invasion of the Lebanon in 1982." The organization and military doctrine of the army followed the Soviet model. Richard Bennett's estimate of the 2001 order of battle was: Bennett said the 1st Corps also [had] four independent special forces regiments, including two trained for heliborne commando operations against

2268-508: The Ba'athist military, bureaucracy and politics became visible after the Old Guard was overthrown by the neo-Ba'athist military wing of Alawite General Salah Jadid in the 1966 coup . The Syrian Muslim Brotherhood fractured over disputes of the best course of action. Much of the party leadership was afraid to directly oppose the Syrian government, fearing that a violent confrontation could cause more harm than good. In contrast, several of

2349-454: The Brotherhood in the mid-1990s. The Muslim Brotherhood would have no physical presence in Syria again. Although its leadership is in exile, the Brotherhood continues to enjoy considerable sympathy among Syrians. Riyad al-Turk , a secular opposition leader, considers it "the most credible" Syrian opposition group . The Brotherhood has continued to advocate a democratic political system; it has abandoned its calls for violent resistance and for

2430-472: The Druze population, who have clashed with regime security forces and broken Druze youths out of regime imprisonment to avoid them serving in the army. Increasingly, Assad's Alawite base of support refuse to send their sons to the military due to massive casualty rates among military age men in their community; according to pro oppositions sources a third of 250,000 Alawite men of fighting age have been killed in

2511-674: The French formed the Troupes spéciales du Levant as part of the Army of the Levant in the French Mandate for Syria and the Lebanon . The former with 8,000 men later grew into both the Syrian and Lebanese armies. This force was used primarily as auxiliaries in support of French troops, and senior officer posts were held by Frenchmen, although Syrians were allowed to hold commissions below

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2592-889: The Jordanian Army at al-Ramtha on 21 September, after fierce air attacks on 22 September, the Syrians stopped the attack and began to retreat.The retreat was caused by Jordan's appeal for international aid : "The report said that Hussein “not only appealed for the moral and diplomatic support of the United Kingdom and the United States, coupled with the threat of international action, but had also asked for an air strike by Israel against Syrian troops.” (New York Post) After 1970 further Syrian engagements included: The Syrian armed forces have also been involved in suppressing dissident movements within Syria, for example

2673-536: The SAA had incurred at least 35,601 fatalities, which when combined with a reasonable ratio of 3 wounded personnel for every soldier killed and approximately 50,000 defections, suggests the SAA presently commands roughly 125,000 personnel. This loss of manpower is exacerbated by Syria's longentrenched problem of having to selectively deploy forces based on their perceived trustworthiness." The International Institute for Strategic Studies in London calculated that by August 2013

2754-593: The Sunni Muslims in the positions of power. Some volunteer brigades, such as Arab Nationalist Guard , are made up of Sunni Syrians and other Sunnis from the Middle Eastern region that adhere to pan-Arab ideals. Before 2011, it was difficult to access reliable information about the SAA because of the Damascus government's sensitivity to potential espionage, particularly by Israel. Richard Bennett wrote in 2001 that "..corps [were] formed in 1985 to give

2835-653: The Syrian Army had "organized two corps that reported to the Land Forces General Staff and the Commander of the Land Force." As of 2010, the army's formations included three army corps (the 1st , 2nd, and 3rd), eight armored divisions (with one independent armored brigade), three mechanized divisions, one armored-special forces division and ten independent airborne-special forces brigades. The army had 11 divisional formations reported in 2011, with

2916-573: The Syrian Civil War, leading to major tensions between the sect and the Syrian government. As of mid-2018, then-Israeli Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman said that the Syrian Arab Army had regained its pre-2011 strength levels, recovering from manpower shortages earlier in the Syrian Civil War. The 3rd Armored Division has deployed elements of three brigades from its bases around Qutayfah to Deraa, Zabadani, and Hama, while

2997-605: The Syrian Government's control, with exceptions of parts of the north-west in the early years of the conflict. The eastern desert regions of the governorate fell under the control of Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant by 2016, but by September 2017 the Syrian Army had managed to oust them. The western regions of the governorate are part of the Syrian Coastal Mountain Range (Nusayriyah Mountains), running north to south. Roughly parallel with

3078-493: The Syrian army. These troops were mostly grouped into three infantry brigades and an armored force of about battalion size," writes Pollack. Between 1949 and 1966, a series of military coups destroyed the stability of the government and any remaining professionalism within the army. In March 1949, the chief of staff, General Husni al-Za'im , installed himself as president. Two more military dictators followed by December 1949. General Adib Shishakli then held power until deposed in

3159-549: The Syrian government "was not proved" in these killings, it "was widely suspected." Syrian Arab Army The Syrian Army, officially the Syrian Arab Army ( SyAA or SAA ) ( Arabic : الجيش العربي السوري , romanized :  al-Jayš al-ʿArabī as-Sūrī ), is the land force branch of the Syrian Armed Forces . It is the dominant military service of the four uniformed services, controlling

3240-576: The Syrian government became involved in Black September in Jordan when it sent a reinforced armored brigade to aid the Palestine Liberation Organization . Syrian armored units crossed the border and overran Irbid with the help of local Palestinian forces. They encountered several Jordanian Army detachments, but rebuffed them without major difficulty. Two days later, the 5th Infantry Division, heavily reinforced,

3321-418: The Syrian government. Historian Patrick Seale described this attack as "slaughtering Arabism's sacred cow". In the same year, Syria experienced sporadic terror attacks , mostly explosions and assassinations. The killings were largely aimed at prominent military officers, bureaucrats and government officials, including doctors and teachers. Most of the victims were Alawites , which led some to suggest "that

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3402-654: The Syrian positions. While Syrian units fought hard whenever the Israelis entered their fields of fire, no attempts appear to have been made to exploit Israeli disorientation and confusion during the initial assault. Judging from reports of 1967–1970, including the reporting of the 5th Infantry Division in 1970, the Army appears to have formed its first divisions during this period. The 1st and 3rd Armored Division , and 5th , 7th , and 9th Mechanized Infantry Divisions were all formed prior to 1973. Samuel M. Katz writes that after Hafez al-Assad gained power in November 1970,

3483-454: The Troupes du Levant, they were strengthened and became the main forces of the French apparatus. In 1927, the force was augmented by North African infantry ( tirailleurs ) and cavalry ( spahis ), French Foreign Legion , Troupes de marine infantry and artillery units (both French and Senegalese ). The whole force constituted the Army of the Levant . In August 1945, the Syrian Army

3564-599: The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights , however estimated that less than 1,000 soldiers had deserted the Syrian Army; at the same moment, an FSA battalion commander claimed that the FSA embraced 25,000 army deserters. Also in November 2011, the Free Syrian Army or the website of France 24 estimated the Syrian Army at 200,000 troops. According to General Mustafa al-Sheikh , one of

3645-481: The application of shari'a law. The Brotherhood also maintains that it condemns sectarianism against Alawites and is only against the Baathist dictatorship. Al-Turk and others in the secular opposition are inclined to take this evolution seriously, as a sign of the Brotherhood's greater political maturity, and believe that the Brotherhood would now be willing to participate in a democratic system of government. In

3726-532: The army did appear to have some strength. It had around 70,000 personnel, roughly 550 tanks and assault guns, 500 APCs, and nearly 300 artillery pieces. The army had sixteen brigades: twelve infantry, two armored (probably including the 70th Armored), and two mechanized. The Syrian government deployed twelve of the sixteen brigades to the Golan , including both armored brigades and one mechanized brigade. Three 'brigade groups', each comprising four brigades, were deployed:

3807-670: The army expanded to the five divisions listed above, plus ten independent brigades, an artillery rocket brigade (the 69th), and "a reinforced brigade variously termed the 70th Armored Brigade or the Assad Republican Guard. It is today known as the Armored Defense Force; as Assad's praetorian guard it is stationed in and around Damascus and subordinate to the Defense Companies under the command of Assad's brother Rifa'at ." On 18 September 1970,

3888-502: The assassins had targeted the community" but "no one could be sure who was behind" the killings. The Iraqi government of Saddam Hussein had supported the insurgents with a steady flow of arms and supplies. General Rifa'at al-Assad , younger brother of Hafez al-Assad, became a powerful figure in the Ba'ath party and Syrian politics, as a result of his activities in the Lebanese Civil War . Rifa'at's corruption as well as

3969-500: The central role in directing the laws of the state. On the other hand, secular Ba'athist ideology emphasized Arab nationalism and advocated the replacement of religion with socialism . This friction became heated following the 1963 Ba'ath Party coup which saw the Party claiming sole power in the country and subsequently outlawing all other organised opposition. In response, the Muslim Brotherhood encouraged general protests across

4050-488: The challenge of relying on units to carry out orders to brutalize the opposition." This has resulted in Bashar's following his father's precedent by attaching regular army units to more reliable forces (Special Forces, Republican Guard, or 4th Armored Division). When Hafez al-Assad directed the suppression of revolts in Hama in 1982, this technique was also used. In 2014, analyst Charles Lister wrote that "As of April 1, 2014,

4131-419: The country. These protests were most acute in the city of Hama , long considered "a stronghold of landed conservatism". During the 1964 Hama uprising , Ba'ath Party responded violently, crushing the revolt with brutal force. Muslim Brotherhood was forced to continue its activities clandestinely . In the party, the ideological dispute began widening towards a sectarian one; as dominance of Alawite elites in

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4212-471: The dining hall. Once assembled, gunmen fired indiscriminately at the cadets with automatic weapons and grenades . The massacre was masterminded by 'Adnan 'Uqla , a Fighting Vanguard commander. 'Uqla committed the mass murder without the permission of the Fighting Vanguard's formal leader, Hisham Jumbaz, or its field commando in Aleppo. This massacre signalled a turn in the insurgency as it

4293-671: The establishment of corps in the Syrian Army to 1985. Writing forty years later, Tom Cooper says "..despite the establishment of.. corps.. most division commanders continued reporting directly to the President . Correspondingly, not only the Chief of Staff of the Syrian Armed Forces but also the Corps HQ exercised only a limited operational control over the Army's divisions." Declassified CIA documents from February 1987 say that

4374-442: The formation of other elite units, many of which receive direct assistance from Russia. In 2011, the majority of the Syrian military were Sunni , but most of the military leadership were Alawites . Alawites made up 12% of the pre-war Syrian population, but 70% of the career soldiers in the Syrian Army. A similar imbalance is seen in the officer corps, where some 80% of the officers are Alawites. The military's most elite divisions,

4455-447: The infamous Palmyra prison in helicopters and killed hundreds of prisoners who had been Brotherhood-affiliates. By 8 July, membership of the Muslim Brotherhood became a capital offence altogether, with a month-long grace period for those who wished to turn themselves in and avoid a death sentence. Some couple thousand individuals turned themselves in, hoping to escape the death penalty; mostly urban, educated, young men. The insurgency

4536-437: The institution of the army but the regime itself, because the army and the regime is one and the same. — Fawaz Gerges , Lebanese-American author Analyst Joseph Holliday wrote in 2013 that "the Assad government has from the beginning of the conflict been unable to mobilize all of its forces without risking largescale defections. The single greatest liability that the Assad regime has faced in employing its forces has been

4617-421: The male population of over the age of 14. On 27 June 1980, Hafez Al Assad himself narrowly escaped death after a failed assassination attempt. The assailant fired a burst of rounds and threw two grenades, the first being kicked away by Assad and the second being covered by his personal bodyguard, Khalid al-Husayn, who died instantly. In retaliation, the very next day, Rifaat Al Assad's defence company flew into

4698-476: The most radical members of the party split off to form the "Fighting Vanguard", led by Marwan Hadid . The Fighting Vanguard was willing to challenge the government by conducting assassinations and sabotage actions. On 13 November 1970, Hafez Al Assad launched a coup which saw him gain sole power. To cement his power, on 31 January 1973, Assad implemented a new constitution which led to a national crisis. Unlike previous constitutions, this one did not require that

4779-434: The most senior defectors, however, in January 2012 the Syrian forces were estimated at 280,000 including conscripts. By March 15, 2012, many more soldiers, unhappy with crackdowns on pro-democracy protesters, switched sides and a Turkish official said that 60,000 soldiers had deserted the Syrian army, including 20,000 since February 20. It was added that most of the deserters were junior officers and soldiers. By 5 July 2012,

4860-485: The most senior posts in the armed forces, and has the greatest manpower, approximately 80 percent of the combined services. The Syrian Army originated in local military forces formed by the French after World War I, after France obtained a mandate over the region. It officially came into being in 1945, before Syria obtained full independence the following year. Since 1946, it has played a major role in Syria's governance, mounting six military coups: two in 1949, including

4941-557: The mountains to the east is the Al-Ghab Plain , with the Orontes river flowing through it, Hama city lies on this river. The central and eastern regions of the governorate consist of flatter desert terrain. The provincial capital is Hama ; other major settlements include Akakir , Al-Hamraa , Al Qastal, Al-Saan , Aqarib as Safi, At Tammazah, Ithriya , Kafr Buhum , Karnaz , Mahardah , Masyaf , Murak , Qalaat al-Madiq , Qasr Ibn Wardan , Sabburah , Salamiyah , Shaykh Hilal , Shaytalun, Suran and Tayyibat at Turki. The governorate

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5022-424: The north of the city in October 2013. The National Defense Force is under the control and supervision of the Syrian Army and acts in an infantry role, directly fighting against rebels on the ground and running counter-insurgency operations in co-ordination with the army which provides them logistical and artillery support. Struggling with reliability issues and defections, officers of the SAA increasingly prefer

5103-438: The official press. Among the victims were Soviet officials, experts, and their families serving with the United Nations as part of the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force . Losing control over the streets, the government decided on a policy of all-out-war on the insurgents after a Ba'ath party congress concluded in January 1980. The Party's first step was to arm Party loyalists and sympathizers, effectively creating

5184-454: The part-time volunteers of the NDF, who they regard as more motivated and loyal, over regular army conscripts to conduct infantry operations and act as support for advancing tanks. An officer in Homs, who asked not to be identified, said the army was increasingly playing a logistical and directive role, while NDF fighters act as combatants on the ground. The NDF continues to play a significant role in military operations across Syria despite

5265-524: The popular resistance to Ba'athist rule expanded, with a coalition of Islamist opposition groups coordinating nation-wide strikes, protests and revolts throughout Syria. During the violent events, resistance militias attacked Syrian Arab Army bases and carried out political assassinations of Ba'ath party cadres, army officials, Soviet military advisors , and bureaucrats linked to Assad family . Civilians were also killed in retaliatory strikes conducted by security forces. The uprising reached its climax in

5346-460: The president of Syria must be a Muslim, leading to fierce demonstrations in Hama , Homs and Aleppo organized by the Muslim Brotherhood and the ulama . They labelled Assad as the "enemy of Allah" and called for a jihad against his rule. Under pressure, Assad returned the requirement and convinced Lebanese cleric Musa al-Sadr to issue a fatwa proclaiming the Alawite minority to be part of Shia Islam. The 1973 constitution greatly increased

5427-418: The rank of major. The Syrian officer corps of the Troupes spéciales du Levant mainly consisted former officers of the Ottoman Army and members of Syria's ethnic and religious minorities. By 1927, more than 35% of Syrian soldiers came from the auxiliary troops; they were traditionally Kurdish , Druze or Circassian. After the repression of the Great Syrian Revolt by General Maurice Gamelin , commander of

5508-407: The scale of defections from the Syrian Army, though hard to quantify, was too small to make an impact on the strength of that army, according to Aram Nerguizian from the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies . Strategically important units of the Syrian armed forces are always controlled by Alawite officers; defecting soldiers – by July 2012 "tens of thousands" according to

5589-423: The sectarian excesses of his increasingly autonomous Alawite loyalist private militias provoked widespread resentment across the Syrian population. As a result, internal situation in Syria became further destabilized and protests spread further across the cities. 16 June 1979 marked the day of the Aleppo artillery school massacre. Member of school staff, Captain Ibrahim Yusuf, called cadets to an urgent meeting at

5670-419: The seizure of the Al-Kiswah military camp, home to the 70th Armored Brigade. In June 1963, Syria took part in the Iraqi military campaign against the Kurds by providing aircraft, armoured vehicles and a force of 6,000 soldiers. Syrian troops crossed the Iraqi border and moved into the Kurdish town of Zakho in pursuit of Barzani 's fighters . There was another 1966 Syrian coup d'etat . However, in 1967

5751-405: The strength of the Syrian army had, compared with 2010, roughly been cut in half, due to defections, desertions and casualties: it now counted 110,000 troops. The Syrian Arab Army suffers from serious recruitment issues as the Syrian Civil War drags on, with military age men across sectarian lines no longer willing to join or serve their conscription terms. These issues are especially notable among

5832-496: The support for Hadid's Fighting Vanguard, and many Muslim Brotherhood members defected to his faction or at least began to support it. He subsequently reorganized his group to increase the number of attacks, hoping to provoke the Syrian government into a crackdown that would force the Muslim Brotherhood into open rebellion. Robert D. Kaplan has compared Assad's coming to power to "an untouchable becoming maharajah in India or

5913-599: Was Haidar, then commander of the Special Forces, and General Shafiq Fayadh , a cousin of the President who had commanded the "crack" 3rd Armored Division for nearly two decades. The 3rd Armored Division was "deployed around Damascus." JDW commented that "the Special Forces and the 3rd Armored Division, along with the 1st Armored Division are key elements in the security structure that protects Assad's government. Any command changes involving those formations have considerable political significance." Post-uprising reporting indicated

5994-406: Was Soviet manufactured. At October 1, 2011, according to high-ranking defected Syrian Colonel Riad Assaad, 10,000 soldiers, including high-ranking officers, had deserted the Syrian Army. Some of these defectors had formed the Free Syrian Army , engaging in combat with security forces and soldiers in what would turn into the Syrian Civil War . At 16 November 2011, Rami Abdel Rahman, the head of

6075-417: Was about 250,000) throughout the rest of the month, killing between 2,000 and 25,000 people. The Hama events marked the defeat of the Brotherhood, and the militant Islamic movement in general, as a political force in Syria. US Intelligence conducted an intelligence analysis with regards to possible outcomes of the conflict. Having suppressed all opposition, Hafez al-Assad released some imprisoned members of

6156-470: Was also sent into Jordan. Two armored brigades were attached to the division, bringing its tank strength up to over 300 T-55s and its manpower to over 16,000. The division entered Jordan at ar-Ramtha , destroyed a company of Jordanian Centurion tanks there, and continued directly towards Amman . Pollack says it is likely that they intended to overthrow the Jordanian monarchy itself. Despite defeating

6237-703: Was expanded include soda, ice cream, candy, textile, wool, cotton, rugs, carpets, gowns, and horse saddles . The region is also Syria's center of its chemical and manufacturing industry. As per the 2004 Syrian census the population was 1,385,000. A 2011 UNOCHA estimate put the population at 1,628,000, though this has likely changed since the start of the war. Sunni Muslims form the majority at 61%, followed by Alawites (19%), Ismailis (12%), Christian (7%) and Twelver (1%). Islamist uprising in Syria Syrian government victory [REDACTED]   Syria The Islamist uprising in Syria comprised

6318-495: Was formed mainly from Army of the Levant . As Syria gained independence in 1946, its leaders envisioned a division -sized army. On June 19, 1947, the Syrian Army took the survivors of Pan Am Flight 121 to the Presbyterian mission hospital at Deir ez-Zor . The 1st Brigade was ready by the time of the Syrian war against Israel on May 15, 1948. It consisted of two infantry battalions and one armored battalion. The 2nd Brigade

6399-534: Was murdered in front of his wife and children and had his body thrown into the street. On occasion, individuals who had denounced the killings were also targeted, including Sheikh al-Shami, Imam of the Suleymania mosque of Aleppo. Other instances of terrorism include attacks in August, September and November 1981, where the Brotherhood carried out three car-bomb attacks against government and military targets in Damascus, killing hundreds of people, according to

6480-493: Was now more than just a series of sporadic attacks, but a campaign of "large-scale urban warfare". By August, the Brotherhood had declared a jihad against the Syrian government, effectively claiming responsibility for the insurgency. In the days leading up to 8 March 1980 (the 17th anniversary of the 1963 Ba'athist coup), nearly all Syrian cities were paralysed by strikes and protests, which sometimes developed into pitched battles with security forces. The events escalated into

6561-461: Was organized during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War and also included two infantry battalions and one armored battalion. At the time of the 1948 Arab–Israeli War , the army was small, poorly armed, and poorly trained. "Paris had relied primarily on French regulars to keep the peace in Syria and had neglected indigenous forces. Consequently, training was lackadaisical, discipline lax, and staff work almost unheard of. ... there were about 12,000 men in

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