Jaysh al-Sha'bi

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Al-Jaysh al-Sha'bi
(الجيش الشعبي)
Participant in Syrian civil war
Active 2012 - present
Area of operations Syria
Strength 100,000 (September 2012)[1][2]
Allies Syria Syrian Armed Forces
Syrian Resistance
Opponents Syria Free Syrian Army
Al-Nusra Front

Al-Jaysh al-Sha'bi (Arabic: الجيش الشعبي‎‎ al-Jaysh ash-Sha'bī, People's Army) is a militia in Syria that supports the government of President Bashar al-Assad in the Syrian civil war.[3] According to the United States, it operates under the control of the Syrian government.[3] It is made up mostly of civilian volunteers and was created out of the various government loyalist militias in Syria. The vast majority of its members are Alawis and Shias.[4][5]

The force has also been referred to as the "Popular Army",[3] "People's Army",[3] "National Defense Force" (NDF)[5] and "National Defense Army" (NDA).[6] However, it is unclear whether al-Jaysh al-Sha'bi and the NDF/NDA is the same organization.

History

The Syrian Ba'ath Party has used paramilitary forces since taking power in 1963, its institutional paramilitaries was named "Jaysh al-Sha‘bi" by the mid-1980s, and included an estimated 100,000 members as of 2011.[2]

According to the US, al-Jaysh al-Sha'bi was created and is maintained by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards(IRGC)-Quds Force and the Shia Islamic militant group Hezbollah, who provide it with money, weapons, equipment and training.[3][7] In September 2012 IRGC commander Major General Mohammad Ali Jafari said it the militia has 50,000 members,[2][4][4] was modeled after the Iranian Basij militia[3] and a Hezbollah fighter from Beirut said that Hezbollah was helping it with strategy.[4][5] adding that although Iran and Hezbollah's main goal is to support the Syrian government, they plan to use al-Jaysh al-Sha'bi to "preserve their interests" if the government falls.[4] In December 2012, the U.S. Department of the Treasury sanctioned al-Jaysh al-Sha'bi pursuant to Executive Order 13582, which blocks the property of the Syrian government.[2][3][8]

Al-Jaysh al-Sha'bi has conducted operations against the rebels, both alone and with the Syrian Army and security forces.[3][7] It is especially active in Damascus, Aleppo,[3] Homs and Hama.[5]

On 21 January 2013, a rebel car bomb exploded outside a building used by al-Jaysh al-Sha'bi in Al-Salamiyah. A Syrian opposition group claimed that 30 militiamen and a number of civilians were killed.[9]

See also

References

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  1. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Iranian Strategy in Syria, Institute for the Study of War, Executive Summary + Full report, May 2013
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 3.8 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.  This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 "Iran and Hezbollah build militia networks in Syria, officials say". The Guardian, 12 February 2013.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 "Pro-Assad militia now key to Syrian government’s war strategy". Miami Herald, 19 February 2013.
  6. ↑ "Iran helps Syria build paramilitary force". The Australian, 22 January 2013. Retrieved 7 March 2013.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ "More than 30 Syrians killed in Hama suicide blast: Activists". The Daily Star (Lebanon), 21 January 2013.
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