Writing by Ali Eid; Translation by Rana Abdul
(Zaman Al Wasl)- Doctors, university graduates, retired officers, thieves and criminals, volunteers, seniors over sixty and most of them past forty form the bulk of the “al-Baath Brigades” in Homs.
Christians from the Homs countryside feature prominently in the brigade’s membership, but it is impossible to verify if they are present of their own free will or they were coerced into joining the militia. International organizations document this militia and other militia’s violations for its participants and supervisors to be made accountable and brought to justice.
Until the start of 2016, Homs’ branch of the al-Baath party managed to recruit 4281 persons to form an armed militia in parallel to the regime forces. The militia was formed from local members who are party members and the militia was named “al-Baath Brigade.”
1917 militants from Homs city, 2364 from Homs countryside. The members belong to 15 different party branches, with Tall Kalakh branch having the highest fighters 803, followed by al-Mukharram with 475 fighters, al-Medina with 362 fighters, and al-Qusayr with 349 fighters whereas Palmyra 135 and al-Sukhna 41.
Documents obtained by Zaman al-Wasl from a source in Homs revealed the numbers. The document goes back to the start of 2016 and does not cover the total number of militia members.
Some of the documents, principally those with excel sheets, demonstrate that the party branch owns 4466 weapons distributed over the party branch and militia members. It also reveals the training schedules that members undergo on how to use the weapons. Amongst the weapons requested for its members are sniper guns and night vision goggles as well as communication devices.
A memorandum released by the branch leadership issued by the office on youths headed by Iyad Thafor on the 24th of January 2016, numbered 97, indicated that there is coordination between the branch and the province. As the memorandum requests that the branch secretary Soubhi Harb must “do the necessary” to recruit around 120 persons. The memorandum indicates that the province is playing a logistical role to ensure salaries, equipment, and it is also adept at managing the work of militias that have killed and committed crimes alongside al-Assad’s forces.
-$66 for officers and fighters-
The document confirms the presence of party and military leadership for “al-Baath brigades,” and reveals that some of the retired officers are receiving financial compensations for salaries and contracts to organize the militia recruits.
The monetary data that we managed to acquire and which go back to the middle of 2014, reveals that the brigade members from officers and non-personal are paid no more than 10 thousand Syrian pound per month which is the equivalent of 66 dollars based on currency rates at that time. The militia members’ salaries are no higher than 20 dollars at this point in time with the rise in the value of the dollar against the Syrian Lira, where 1 dollar equals 500 Syrian pounds.
The documents show that those recruited receive training course in Chamsin training camp that is 22 kilometers south of Homs city. By analyzing the data concerning the recruits, it is revealed that those joining the brigade are employees in the public sector, persons in the private sector, and a large number of the recruits hold university degrees in different field and others are vocational school graduates. The documents also include a separate list for those suspended from the brigade based on accusations of theft, robbery, or disobeying orders.
One of the lists includes 1487 names of those who underwent training in Chamsin camp during the first 4 months of 2014. The data about the members revealed that a large number of those persons were above the age of 60, and it is noteworthy that many of them are past 40 years of age. The majority were above 40 and 50 years of age.
The lists reveal that other training course were organized in the 11th party’s headquarters and inside Homs city.
The age set data asserts the severe lack of human resources available to the regime forces which required them to recruit employees and civilians who are above 40 years of age. Other sources spoke about coercive operations to force civilians of different age groups to join to cover the deficit which explains how doctors, engineers, lawyers and other university degree holders mostly working for the state ended up in the militia.
-Christians at the center of the Brigade-
The members’ data set reveals the presence of hundreds of Christians as members of “al-Baath Brigade” as in a list of 1487 persons who underwent training in Chamsin camp, around 170 were Christian from villages in the countryside of Homs: Rabah, Sadad, Kafram, Outan, al-Qusayr, Rablet, al-Hafar, Tariz, Shin, Wadi al-Uyun, Qattinah, al-Furqlus, al-Mushrefa, Zaidal, and Fairuzah. In contrast to the countryside of Homs, the leaked documents reveal a distinct lack of inclusion of Homs city’s Christian population, with a few exceptions.
-Classification of al-Baath Brigades-
Souhbi Harb is considered at the top of the pyramid of al-Baath Brigades in the province, given his position as head of the Province Security Committee and the party secretary of a Baath party branch. He is known for his absolute allegiance to the regime, and has a history of misdeeds prior even to the start of the revolution in 2011.
Following the start of the revolution, Zaman al-Wasl documented what was written in the pro-regime press at the end of 2011, and in an article entitle, “A Baathi message to the President Comrade Bashar al-Assad” the article author confirmed that Soubhi Harb’s appointment as a party branch secretary in Homs goes against the laws and regulations of the Baath party.
His appointment came without a nomination or elections, and he was appointment despite his holding the position of head of election committee which would prevent him from running in the election. The letter points to suspicious party practices during the Homs crisis.
The militia “al-Baath Brigade” is considered one of the armors of the al-Assad regime. It is involved in various crimes committed against civilians through its members’ participation in battles in different areas.
Al-Baath Brigade in Homs is considered part of the organized militia that follows a pyramidal form whereby the party regional leadership heads management of the pyramid. The assistant secretary of the regional leadership, Hilal al-Hilal is a prominent authority for the militias from the party’s side, and regarding the militia’s activities with the intelligence apparatus and the military.
The militia in its operations and organizations reached a point is competed with the regime forces as what happened in Aleppo where international and American reports were released about the issue such as that issued by Carnegie World Peace in the start of 2014.
(Zaman Al Wasl)- Doctors, university graduates, retired officers, thieves and criminals, volunteers, seniors over sixty and most of them past forty form the bulk of the “al-Baath Brigades” in Homs.
Christians from the Homs countryside feature prominently in the brigade’s membership, but it is impossible to verify if they are present of their own free will or they were coerced into joining the militia. International organizations document this militia and other militia’s violations for its participants and supervisors to be made accountable and brought to justice.
Until the start of 2016, Homs’ branch of the al-Baath party managed to recruit 4281 persons to form an armed militia in parallel to the regime forces. The militia was formed from local members who are party members and the militia was named “al-Baath Brigade.”
1917 militants from Homs city, 2364 from Homs countryside. The members belong to 15 different party branches, with Tall Kalakh branch having the highest fighters 803, followed by al-Mukharram with 475 fighters, al-Medina with 362 fighters, and al-Qusayr with 349 fighters whereas Palmyra 135 and al-Sukhna 41.
Documents obtained by Zaman al-Wasl from a source in Homs revealed the numbers. The document goes back to the start of 2016 and does not cover the total number of militia members.
Some of the documents, principally those with excel sheets, demonstrate that the party branch owns 4466 weapons distributed over the party branch and militia members. It also reveals the training schedules that members undergo on how to use the weapons. Amongst the weapons requested for its members are sniper guns and night vision goggles as well as communication devices.
A memorandum released by the branch leadership issued by the office on youths headed by Iyad Thafor on the 24th of January 2016, numbered 97, indicated that there is coordination between the branch and the province. As the memorandum requests that the branch secretary Soubhi Harb must “do the necessary” to recruit around 120 persons. The memorandum indicates that the province is playing a logistical role to ensure salaries, equipment, and it is also adept at managing the work of militias that have killed and committed crimes alongside al-Assad’s forces.
-$66 for officers and fighters-
The document confirms the presence of party and military leadership for “al-Baath brigades,” and reveals that some of the retired officers are receiving financial compensations for salaries and contracts to organize the militia recruits.
The monetary data that we managed to acquire and which go back to the middle of 2014, reveals that the brigade members from officers and non-personal are paid no more than 10 thousand Syrian pound per month which is the equivalent of 66 dollars based on currency rates at that time. The militia members’ salaries are no higher than 20 dollars at this point in time with the rise in the value of the dollar against the Syrian Lira, where 1 dollar equals 500 Syrian pounds.
The documents show that those recruited receive training course in Chamsin training camp that is 22 kilometers south of Homs city. By analyzing the data concerning the recruits, it is revealed that those joining the brigade are employees in the public sector, persons in the private sector, and a large number of the recruits hold university degrees in different field and others are vocational school graduates. The documents also include a separate list for those suspended from the brigade based on accusations of theft, robbery, or disobeying orders.
One of the lists includes 1487 names of those who underwent training in Chamsin camp during the first 4 months of 2014. The data about the members revealed that a large number of those persons were above the age of 60, and it is noteworthy that many of them are past 40 years of age. The majority were above 40 and 50 years of age.
The lists reveal that other training course were organized in the 11th party’s headquarters and inside Homs city.
The age set data asserts the severe lack of human resources available to the regime forces which required them to recruit employees and civilians who are above 40 years of age. Other sources spoke about coercive operations to force civilians of different age groups to join to cover the deficit which explains how doctors, engineers, lawyers and other university degree holders mostly working for the state ended up in the militia.
-Christians at the center of the Brigade-
The members’ data set reveals the presence of hundreds of Christians as members of “al-Baath Brigade” as in a list of 1487 persons who underwent training in Chamsin camp, around 170 were Christian from villages in the countryside of Homs: Rabah, Sadad, Kafram, Outan, al-Qusayr, Rablet, al-Hafar, Tariz, Shin, Wadi al-Uyun, Qattinah, al-Furqlus, al-Mushrefa, Zaidal, and Fairuzah. In contrast to the countryside of Homs, the leaked documents reveal a distinct lack of inclusion of Homs city’s Christian population, with a few exceptions.
-Classification of al-Baath Brigades-
Souhbi Harb is considered at the top of the pyramid of al-Baath Brigades in the province, given his position as head of the Province Security Committee and the party secretary of a Baath party branch. He is known for his absolute allegiance to the regime, and has a history of misdeeds prior even to the start of the revolution in 2011.
Following the start of the revolution, Zaman al-Wasl documented what was written in the pro-regime press at the end of 2011, and in an article entitle, “A Baathi message to the President Comrade Bashar al-Assad” the article author confirmed that Soubhi Harb’s appointment as a party branch secretary in Homs goes against the laws and regulations of the Baath party.
His appointment came without a nomination or elections, and he was appointment despite his holding the position of head of election committee which would prevent him from running in the election. The letter points to suspicious party practices during the Homs crisis.
The militia “al-Baath Brigade” is considered one of the armors of the al-Assad regime. It is involved in various crimes committed against civilians through its members’ participation in battles in different areas.
Al-Baath Brigade in Homs is considered part of the organized militia that follows a pyramidal form whereby the party regional leadership heads management of the pyramid. The assistant secretary of the regional leadership, Hilal al-Hilal is a prominent authority for the militias from the party’s side, and regarding the militia’s activities with the intelligence apparatus and the military.
The militia in its operations and organizations reached a point is competed with the regime forces as what happened in Aleppo where international and American reports were released about the issue such as that issued by Carnegie World Peace in the start of 2014.
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