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Shabiha

Shabiha
شبيحة
LeadersMaher al-Assad[1]
Fawaz al-Assad[2]
Mundhir al-Assad[2]
Numeir al-Assad[3]
Zaino Berri  Executed (Aleppo leader)[4]
Ayman Jaber (Latakia leader)
Mohammed al-Assad † (Qardaha leader)
Dates of operation1980s – 2012[5]
Merged into NDF[5]
AllegianceAl-Assad family
Group(s)
MotivesCounter-insurgency
IdeologyPro-Syrian government[7]
Anti-Sunnism[8]
SloganAl-Assad or We Burn the Country
Size5,000–10,000 (2011)[6]
Allies Syria
 Hezbollah
 Iran
OpponentsSyrian opposition Free Syrian Army
Ahrar al-Sham
Al-Nusra Front
ISIL
Battles and warsBattle of Aleppo (2012–16)
Battle of Tremseh[9]
Siege of Homs

Shabiha (Levantine Arabic: شَبِّيحَة Šabbīḥa, pronounced [ʃabˈbiːħa]; also romanized Shabeeha or Shabbiha; lit. 'ghosts') is a colloquial and generally derogatory term for various loosely-organised Syrian militias loyal to Assad family, used particularly during the initial phase of the Syrian Civil War. As the war has evolved, many groups which had previously been considered shabiha were amalgamated into the National Defence Force and other paramilitary groups.[10]

The mercenaries consisted of mostly Alawite men paid by the regime to eliminate figures of its domestic opposition and alleged fifth-columnists. The Shabiha were established in the 1980s to smuggle weapons to the Syrian soldiers stationed in Lebanon during the Syrian occupation of Lebanon.[11] While most Shabiha were members of the Alawi minority, the main common denominator of the groups was loyalty to the Assad family rather than religion, and in areas such as Aleppo they were primarily Sunni.[12]

The word became common in the 1990s, when it was being used to refer to "thugs" who work with the government and often drove Mercedes-Benz S-Class and gave their guards the same car; that specific car model was nicknamed Shabah (Ghost) in many Arabic countries which led to its drivers being called Shabeeh [13] The Syrian opposition stated that the shabiha are a tool of the government for cracking down on dissent.[14] The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights has stated that some of the shabiha are mercenaries.[14] Strongly loyal to the Assad dynasty and containing anti-Sunni factions, shabiha militias are discreetly financed by powerful Syrian businessmen, and have often been responsible for the more brutal actions against the opposition, including possible massacres. Psychological warfare against Syria's Sunni population is also known to have been employed by Alawi Shabiha, which includes demonising Sunni religious beliefs and usage of deriding slogans such as "There is no God but Bashar".[15]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference alHendi was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ a b Cooper (2015), p. 20.
  3. ^ Dougherty, Jill (9 August 2012). "Al-Assad's inner circle, mostly family, like 'mafia'". CNN. Archived from the original on August 10, 2012. Retrieved 18 August 2012.
  4. ^ "Executions Reported as Syria Civilian Crisis Looms". Wall Street Journal. 1 August 2012. Retrieved 26 May 2013.
  5. ^ a b "Insight: Battered by war, Syrian army creates its own replacement". Reuters. 21 April 2013. Retrieved 31 October 2015.
  6. ^ a b Cooper (2015), p. 21.
  7. ^ Phillips, Christopher (2015). "2: The Arab Spring Comes to Syria". The Battle for Syria: International Rivalry in the New Middle East. London, UK: Yale University Press. pp. 2, 53–54. ISBN 9780300217179.
  8. ^ Phillips, Christopher (2015). "2: The Arab Spring Comes to Syria". The Battle for Syria: International Rivalry in the New Middle East. London, UK: Yale University Press. pp. 2, 53–54. ISBN 9780300217179.
  9. ^ "Syrian Army Denies Using Heavy Artillery in Tremesh Assault". ABC News Radio. July 16, 2012. Archived from the original on November 26, 2012. Retrieved August 9, 2018.
  10. ^ https://www.reuters.com/article/world/battered-by-war-syrian-army-creates-its-own-replacement-idUSBRE93K02R/ [bare URL]
  11. ^ Kellier, Peter (31 May 2012). "Ghosts of Syria:diehard militias who kill in the name of Assad". Guardian. London. Archived from the original on 5 September 2013.
  12. ^ "Syrian MP killed publicly by FSA firing squad".
  13. ^ word origin
  14. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference Bloomberg was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  15. ^ Phillips, Christopher (2015). The Battle for Syria: International Rivalry in the New Middle East. London, UK: Yale University Press. pp. 2, 53–54, 66, 83–84, 86, 131, 199–200. ISBN 9780300217179.

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