Ba'ath Brigades

{{Short description|Volunteer militia made up of Syrian Ba'ath Party members}}

{{infobox war faction

| name = Ba'ath Brigades
{{Nobold|{{lang|ar|كتائب البعث}}}}

| war = the Syrian Civil War

| image = 150px
Ba'ath Brigades SSI and Insignia
150px

Ba'ath Brigades Flag

| caption =

| active = Summer 2012 – September 2018

| leaders = * Jihad Barakat (Commander in Homs)

Ra’ed al-Ghadban (Commander in Deir ez-Zor)
Mohammed Khaddour (Commander in Al-Hasakah){{cite web|url=http://aranews.net/2014/10/veteran-baath-members-establish-pro-assad-militia-fight-opposition/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141006172813/http://aranews.net/2014/10/veteran-baath-members-establish-pro-assad-militia-fight-opposition/|url-status=dead|archive-date=October 6, 2014|title=Veteran Baath members establish pro-Assad militia to fight opposition|publisher=ARA News|access-date=19 May 2015}}
Col. Salama Mohammed{{KIA}} (Commander in Tartus){{cite news|url=http://en.eldorar.com/node/4876|title=Senior leader of al-Baath Party Killed in #Syria|work=El-Dorar Al-Shamia|date=23 February 2017|access-date=17 March 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190611075315/https://eldorar.com/en/node/4876|archive-date=11 June 2019|url-status=dead}}
Bassem Sudan (Commander in Latakia)
Isam Nabhan Subai (Commander in Hama)

| ideology = Neo-Ba'athism
Assadism

| position = far-left{{cn|date=May 2025}}

| founder = Hilal Hilal

| headquarters = Aleppo

| area = Syria

Aleppo Governorate
Homs Governorate
Damascus Governorate
Latakia Governorate
Tartus Governorate
As-Suwayda Governorate[http://www.joshualandis.com/blog/the-new-druze-militia-factions-of-suwayda-province/ The New Druze Militia Factions of Suwayda Province]
Hasakah Governorate[https://web.archive.org/web/20160725110834/https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/kurdish-police-attack-syrian-govt-forces-hasakah-city/ Kurdish police attack Syrian gov’t forces in Hasakah City]
Deir ez-Zor Governorate

| size = 7,000 claimed (December 2013)

| partof =

| predecessor =

| successor =

| allies = {{flagicon image|Flag of the Syrian Arab Armed Forces (1980–2024).svg}} Syrian Arab Armed Forces
{{flagicon image|InfoboxNDF.png}} National Defence Forces

| opponents = {{flagicon image|Flag of the Syrian revolution.svg}} Free Syrian Army
{{flagicon image|Flag of the Islamic Front (Syria).svg}} Islamic Front
{{Flagicon image|Flag of the Al-Nusra Front.svg}} al-Nusra Front
{{flagicon image|Flag of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant2.svg}} Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant

| battles = Syrian Civil War

Battle of Aleppo (2012–2016)
Operation Canopus Star
Operation Rainbow
Aleppo offensive (July 2015)
Kuweires offensive
Aleppo offensive (October–November 2015)
Siege of Northern Homs
Hama offensive (March–April 2017)
2018 Southern Syria offensive{{cite web|url=https://www.almodon.com/print/607ac4ab-1f1e-41e5-95e1-487ce7b405af/123f47f0-c9d5-4122-95fa-550c9a5caf22 |title=السويداء: "فاطميون" و"النمر" و"حزب الله" لقيادة معركة درعا |trans-title=As-Suwayda: Fatimion, Al-Nimr and Hezbollah to lead the battle of Daraa |work=Almodon |language=ar |date=26 June 2018 |access-date=11 August 2018}}

}}

The Ba'ath Brigades ({{langx|ar|كتائب البعث|Katā'ib al-Baʿth}}), also known as the Ba'ath Battalions, were a volunteer militia made up of Syrian Ba'ath Party members, almost entirely of Sunni Muslims from Syria and many Arab countries, loyal to the Syrian Government of Bashar al-Assad.{{cite news|title=Pro-regime Sunni fighters in Aleppo defy sectarian narrative|url=http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2014/03/syria-aleppo-sunni-quds-baath-brigades.html|author=Edward Dark|publisher=Al Monitor|date=14 March 2014|access-date=20 March 2014}}

History

They were set up in Aleppo under the command of Hilal Hilal, the current Assistant Regional Secretary, after rebels took most of the eastern half of the city in the summer of 2012. Initially, the Ba'ath Brigades were used to guard government buildings and other key installations in Aleppo, but their role expanded as their strength grew from 5,000 members in November 2012 to 7,000 in December 2013.{{cite news|title=The Baath Battalions Move Into Damascus|url=http://carnegieendowment.org/syriaincrisis/?fa=54167|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140116113142/http://carnegieendowment.org/syriaincrisis/?fa=54167|url-status=dead|archive-date=January 16, 2014|access-date=15 January 2014|publisher=Carnegie Endowment for International Peace|date=13 January 2014|author=Aron Lund}}{{cite news|title=Syrian Baath militia commander goes rags-to-riches|url=http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2013/11/baath-party-brigade-syria-war-aleppo.html|access-date=7 January 2014|newspaper=Al Monitor|date=20 November 2013|author=Edward Dark}} Units later formed in Latakia and Tartus. At the end of 2013, the Brigades began deploying in Damascus, tasked with manning checkpoints and conducting "light logistical operations".{{cite news|url=http://www.al-akhbar.com/node/197848|script-title=ar:كتائب البعث» إلى شوارع دمشق»|date=30 December 2013|publisher=Al Akhbar|access-date=14 January 2014|language=ar}} They spearheaded the assault on the Old City of Aleppo in early 2014.

The Ba'ath Battalions participated in lifting the three-year siege at Kuweires military airbase alongside the elite Cheetah Forces, and National Defence Forces.{{cite web|url=http://www.almasdarnews.com/article/cheetah-forces-lift-the-three-year-long-siege-of-the-kuweires-military-airbase/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151113055745/http://www.almasdarnews.com/article/cheetah-forces-lift-the-three-year-long-siege-of-the-kuweires-military-airbase/|url-status=dead|archive-date=November 13, 2015|title=Cheetah Forces Lift the Three Year Long Siege of the Kuweires Military Airbase|author=Leith Fadel|work=Al-Masdar News|date=10 November 2015|access-date=10 November 2015}}

The Ba'ath Brigades were previously led by Ra'ed bin 'Ali Ghadban—a high-ranking member of the Ba'ath Party's Deir ez-Zor branch. He resigned as the brigades' commander in 2017 to become a member of the central committee of the party, as well as a member of the Syrian government's delegation to the Sochi peace talks in the context of the Syrian peace process.{{Cite book|url=https://cadmus.eui.eu/bitstream/handle/1814/61827/MED_2019_05_EN.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y|title=The rebuilding of regime networks in Deir Ez-Zor: Identifying key local players|last=Awad|first=Ziad|publisher=European University Institute – Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies|year=2019|pages=13}}

On 27 February 2017, Col. Salama Mohammed, a high-ranking Ba'ath Brigades commander and leader of the group's Tartus Governorate branch, was reportedly killed in action while fighting in the area around Hama. Some claimed, however, that Mohammed had instead died of a heart attack.

The Ba'ath Legion of the Syrian Army's 5th Corps was formed from Ba'ath Brigades volunteers.{{cite news|url=https://en.zamanalwsl.net/news/24315.html|title=Syrian regime forms militia mostly from the ruling party|work=Zaman Alwasl|date=16 March 2017|access-date=17 March 2017}}

By mid-2018, the Syrian government began to disband the Ba'ath Brigades, as well as other pro-government militias, integrating parts of them into the Syrian Army.{{Cite web|url=https://www.alaraby.co.uk/politics/2018/6/10/النظام-السوري-يواصل-حل-المليشيات-وإزالة-الحواجز-العسكرية|title=النظام السوري يواصل حل المليشيات وإزالة الحواجز العسكرية|last=علي|first=عدنان|website=Al Araby|language=ar|access-date=2019-08-31}}{{Cite web|url=http://www.middleeasteye.net/opinion/troublesome-allies-how-syrian-regime-reintegrating-loyalist-militias|title=Troublesome allies: How the Syrian regime is reintegrating loyalist militias|website=Middle East Eye|language=en|access-date=2019-08-31}}{{Cite web|url=https://syrianobserver.com/EN/features/49024/russia-curbs-maher-al-assads-influence.html|title=Russia Curbs Maher al-Assad's Influence|date=2019-03-08|website=The Syrian Observer|access-date=2019-08-31}}

The Ba'ath Brigades were dissolved following the Idlib demilitarization agreement in September 2018. The group's then-leader, Jihad Barakat, announced on his Facebook page that "the military operations conducted by Baath forces have completely ended".{{Cite web|url=https://english.enabbaladi.net/archives/2018/09/source-the-tiger-cancels-the-contracts-of-6500-of-its-troops-throughout-syria/|title=Source: The "Tiger" Cancels the Contracts of 6500 of Its Troops throughout Syria|date=2018-09-20|website=Enab Baladi|language=en-US|access-date=2019-08-31}}

= Legacy =

Despite the Ba'ath Brigades' end, several of their former commanders continued to play a prominent role in Syria. Bassem Sudan and Isam Nabhan Subai, former commanders of the brigades in Latakia and Hama, respectively, successfully ran as candidates in the 2020 Syrian parliamentary election.{{Cite web|url=https://www.mei.edu/publications/inside-syrias-clapping-chamber-dynamics-2020-parliamentary-elections |title=Inside Syria's Clapping Chamber: Dynamics of the 2020 Parliamentary Elections |author1=Karam Shaar |author2=Samy Akil |publisher=Middle East Institute |date=28 January 2021 |access-date=29 April 2021 }}