The 4th Armoured Division (Arabic: الفرقة الرابعة, romanized: al-Firqa ar-Rābiʿah) is an elite formation of the Syrian Army whose primary purpose is to defend the Syrian government from internal and external threats.
Command structure
- 4th Armoured Division (2023)[11]
- 40th Armoured Brigade
- 41st Armoured Brigade
- 42nd Armoured Brigade
- 138th Mechanised Brigade
- 154th Artillery Regiment
- 555th Special Forces (Airborne) Regiment[12]
- 666th Infantry Regiment (created in 2017)[12]
- 977th Infantry Battalion
- Al-Imam Hussein Brigade[13]
- Harakat Hezbollah al-Nujaba Syrian-wing[14]
Combat history
The division has its roots in the Defense Companies commanded by Rifaat al-Assad, younger brother of President Hafez al-Assad. After Rifaat was banished from Syria in 1984, the Defense Companies were reorganised into the 569th Armoured Division, and later into the 4th Armoured Division.[15]
The Division is regarded by some as the best trained and best equipped of the Syrian Army.[16] The 4th Armoured Division, the Republican Guard, and Syria's secret police form the heart of the country's security forces. As a result, the Division is drawn mostly from members of the same Alawite group as the Assad family.[17] About 80 percent of the division's soldiers and officers are Alawites and nearly 90 percent of them are career soldiers, in contrast to the conscripts who comprise most of the army's other units.[18]
The Division has a military base in the south of Damascus, covering about 91 square kilometres (35 sq mi) and including several mountain bunkers. Its main entrance gate is located next to the village of Al-Horjelah.
Syrian civil war
During the uprising phase of the Syrian civil war, the 4th Armoured Division played a key role in attempting to put down uprisings, being sent to quell protests in the southern city of Daraa, the coastal city of Baniyas, the central province of Homs and the northern province of Idlib. Alawite officers from the 4th Armoured Division have been sent to other formations within the Syrian army in an attempt by the government to keep a closer eye and firmer grip on many Sunni dominated formations,[19] with the officers sent from the division relying on the division's fearsome reputation to keep soldiers in line.
Both the division as a whole and its component parts have been accused of engaging in human rights abuses during the Syrian uprising, such as arbitrary arrests and beatings, and the shooting of unarmed protesters.[20] Their use by the Syrian regime in the uprising has led to many of the division's commanders being subject to EU sanctions and travel bans.
33°22′1.91″N 36°18′29.22″E / 33.3671972°N 36.3081167°E
A July 2013 report by a pro-government websites stated that Maher al-Assad had been commanding troops in the Aleppo and Homs theatre of operations.[21]
Later on, there were reports of their control over international border crossings, such as Nasib Border Crossing and other illegal border crossings between Lebanon and Syria, which are used as financial sources to cover their expenses.[22]
References
- ↑ "Syrian rebel leader to Haaretz: Assad's opposition will secure chemical weapons". Haaretz. 28 May 2012.
- ↑ "Kofi Annan's plan is destined to fail". CNN. 27 March 2012. Archived from the original on 1 February 2022. Retrieved 28 March 2012.
- ↑ "Syria's army holds the key to Assad regime's future". Channel 4 News. 13 June 2011.
- ↑ "Elite Syrian troops sent to embattled Homs". AlertNet. Archived from the original on 2 March 2012. Retrieved 2 March 2012.
- ↑ "مقتل شاب برصاص قوات النظام في درعا البلد ومطالبات أهلية بإفراغ المنطقة من أهلها وسكانها بعد تصعيد قوات النظام الأخير" (in Arabic). SOHR. 29 July 2021. Retrieved 29 July 2021.
- ↑ "Daraa | 4th Division officers inspect checkpoints in "Yarmouk Basin" area • The Syrian Observatory For Human Rights". 4 July 2020.
- ↑ "SAA's 42nd Brigade redeploys from Golan region to east Daraa". Al-Masdar. 18 June 2018. Archived from the original on 20 June 2018. Retrieved 19 June 2018.
- ↑ "Consolidated list of financial targets in the UK".
- 1 2 "Council Regulation concerning restrictive measures in view of the situation in Syria and repealing Regulation (EU) No 442/2011".
- ↑ Holliday, Joseph (February 2013). "The Syrian Army Doctrinal Order of Battle" (PDF). Institute for the Study of War.
- ↑ Syria - The Special Forces and the Elite Units
- 1 2 George Waters (18 July 2019). "The Lion and The Eagle: The Syrian Arab Army's Destruction and Rebirth". Middle East Institute. Retrieved 20 September 2022.
- ↑ Tal Beeri (27 July 2023). "The "Al-Imam Hussein Brigade"- The Assimilation of a Shiite Militia into The Syrian Army's 4th Division, As Well as its Attacks on Israeli and US forces". Israel Alma. Retrieved 17 November 2023.
- ↑ "Harakat al-Nujaba': Interview".
- ↑ Campbell, Kirk S. (31 January 2009). Civil-Military Relations and Political Liberalization: A Comparative Study of the Military's Corporateness and Political Values in Egypt, Syria, Turkey, and Pakistan (PDF) (Thesis). Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 March 2012. Retrieved 10 February 2012.
- ↑ "In unending turmoil, Syria's Assad turns to family". The Guardian. London. 23 January 2008.
- ↑ "'The enforcer' who heads Syria's dreaded army division". France 24. March 2012.
- ↑ "Syrian rebel leader to Haaretz: Assad's opposition will secure chemical weapons". Haaretz.com. 28 May 2012. Retrieved 5 November 2014.
- ↑ "Army defectors are operating clandestinely in Damascus". Al Jazeera English.
- ↑ "Appendix 1: Structure and Command of Armed Forces and Intelligence Agencies". Human Rights Watch. 15 December 2011.
- ↑ "Account Suspended". Archived from the original on 15 May 2015. Retrieved 5 November 2014.
- ↑ "Nassib Crossing: Disputes over control and search for illegal financial returns". enabbaladi.net. 4 April 2020.
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