Armed militia supporting the Baath Arab and Socialist Party of Syria
Shabiha
شبيحة
Leaders
Maher al-Assad[1] Fawaz al-Assad[2] Mundhir al-Assad[2] Numeir al-Assad[3] Zaino Berri (Aleppo leader)[4] Ayman Jaber (Latakia leader) Mohammed al-Assad †(Qardaha leader)
Dates of operation
1980s – 2012[5]
Merged into
NDF[5]
Allegiance
Al-Assad family
Group(s)
Muhd. al-Assad's group
Berri clan militias[6]
Motives
Counter-insurgency
Ideology
Pro-Syrian government[7] Anti-Sunnism[8]
Size
5,000–10,000 (2011)[6]
Allies
Syria Russia Iran
Opponents
Free Syrian Army Ahrar al-Sham Al-Nusra Front ISIL
Battles and wars
Battle of Aleppo (2012–16) Battle of Tremseh[9] Siege of Homs
Shabiha (Levantine Arabic: شَبِّيحَةŠabbīḥa, pronounced[ʃabˈbiːħa]; also romanized Shabeeha or Shabbiha; lit.'ghosts') is a term for state sponsored militias of the Syrian government loyal to Assad family.
The mercenaries consist exclusively of Alawite men paid by the regime to eliminate figures of its domestic opposition and alleged fifth-columnists. Shabiha were established in the 1980s to smuggle weapons to the Syrian soldiers stationed in Lebanon during the Syrian occupation of Lebanon.[10]
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 [11] The Syrian opposition stated that the shabiha are a tool of the government for cracking down on dissent.[12] The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights has stated that some of the shabiha are mercenaries.[12] Fervently loyalist to Assad dynasty and anti-Sunni, shabiha militias are discreetly financed by pro-Assad figures, with the objective to disguise regime's involvement in its brutal tactics, ranging from massacres to organized rapes of female sympathisers of the opposition. Psychological warfare against Syria's Sunni population are also employed by the Shabiha, which includes demonising Sunni religious beliefs and usage of deriding slogans such as "There is no God but Bashar".[13]
^Cite error: The named reference alHendi was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ abCooper (2015), p. 20.
^Dougherty, Jill (9 August 2012). "Al-Assad's inner circle, mostly family, like 'mafia'". CNN. Retrieved 18 August 2012.
^"Executions Reported as Syria Civilian Crisis Looms". Wall Street Journal. 1 August 2012. Retrieved 26 May 2013.
^ ab"Insight: Battered by war, Syrian army creates its own replacement". Reuters. 21 April 2013. Retrieved 31 October 2015.
^ abCooper (2015), p. 21.
^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.
^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.
^"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.
^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.
^word origin
^ abCite error: The named reference Bloomberg was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^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.
Shabiha (Levantine Arabic: شَبِّيحَة Šabbīḥa, pronounced [ʃabˈbiːħa]; also romanized Shabeeha or Shabbiha; lit. 'ghosts') is a term for state sponsored...
sheltering a local Shabiha commander who was stealing property from the locals. The Leon Sedov Brigade proceeded to arrest the Shabiha commander when he...
Ba'athist government during the Syrian Civil War. The unit originates as Shabiha, a criminal organization that has operated in Latakia Governorate since...
the conflict and sanctions also led to lower wages for Shabiha members. In response, some Shabiha members began stealing civilian properties and engaging...
the army relied on loyal elite units and Alawite militias such as the Shabiha. Due to defections following the uprisings, by the end of 2013 the number...
more protesters across the country. The regime also deployed sectarian Shabiha death squads to attack the protestors. Protests and revolutionary activities...
contrast with the Shabiha forces, received salaries and military equipment from the government. Since the formation of the NDF, Shabiha members have been...
victims had been killed in "two bouts of summary executions" by pro-Assad Shabiha. U.S. State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland asserted on 29 May that...
Undercover operation Baltagiya Rubbish Collection Organization (Thailand) Shabiha (Syria) Colectivo (Venezuela) "Кто такие "титушки", и почему их так называют...
to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, on 24 November soldiers and Shabiha with armoured vehicles started operations in farmland west of Rastan in...
2012-09-12. Retrieved 2012-10-09. "BBC News — Syria unrest: Who are the shabiha?". Bbc.co.uk. 2012-05-29. Archived from the original on 2012-09-06. Retrieved...
involvement in the killing of Khashoggi. Human rights in Saudi Arabia Shabiha General Intelligence Presidency 2017–19 Saudi Arabian purge "Saudi operatives...
[citation needed] In this they were somewhat similar to the Basij of Iran or Shabiha militia of Syria. Much like other paramilitaries, the Fedayeen was volunteer...
controversial, as upon their release, Engel and his crew blamed a Shiite Shabiha group of Assad loyalists for the abduction. The narrative was, however...
violations of human rights on a massive scale" by the Syrian military and shabiha, "many of which amount to crimes against humanity and war crimes". These...
armed groups in the Syrian Civil War Zahra Bani Yaghoub Red Guards (China) Shabiha (Syria) Colectivo (Venezuela) KGB and NKVD (Soviet Union) SAVAK (pre-revolutionary...
Having escaped after five days in captivity, Engel said he believed that a Shabiha group loyal to al-Assad was behind the abduction, and that the crew was...
Having escaped after five days in captivity, Engel said he believed that a Shabiha group loyal to al-Assad was behind the abduction, and that the crew was...
Battalions Vostok and Zapad Arkan's Tigers Fakel (company) Redut (company) Shabiha, a similar Syrian militia loyal to the Al-Assad family KADYROV TAKES OVER...
pro-government Shabiha. In August 2012 UN investigators released a report which stated that it was likely that Syrian troops and Shabiha militia were responsible...
the stadium with weapons and then not intervening to stop the violence. Shabiha Titushky Colectivo (Venezuela) Pemuda Pancasila Jacinto, Leela (9 February...
Global Information
(Aleppo leader)[4]
NDF[5]
Syria
Russia
Iran
Free Syrian Army
Ahrar al-Sham
Al-Nusra Front
ISIL