Shabiha
Sign in to saveAlso known as šabbīḥa, فارسی, Shabeeha, Shabbiha
Shabiha (Levantine Arabic: ', ; also romanized Shabeeha or Shabbiha'''; ) is a colloquial and generally derogatory term for various loosely-organised Syrian militias loyal to the Ba'athist government and the Assad family prior to the regime's collapse in 2024, used particularly during the initial phase of the Syrian civil war. As the war evolved, many groups that had previously been considered shabiha were amalgamated into the National Defence Force (NDF) and other paramilitary groups.
Key facts
- War faction.name
- Shabiha
- War faction.native_name_lang
- ar
- War faction.war
- Syrian civil war June 2011 Jisr ash-Shughur clashes 2012 Homs offensive Hama Governorate clashes (2011–2012) Daraa Governorate clashes (2011–2013) Deir ez-Zor clashes (2011–2014) Battle of Rastan (January–February 2012) 2012 Aleppo Governorate clashes Idlib Governorate clashes (June 2012 – April 2013) Battle of Aleppo (2012–16) Rif Dimashq offensive (August–October 2012) Battle of Tremseh Siege of Homs
- War faction.image
- Flag of the United Arab Republic (1958–1971), Flag of Syria (1980–2024).svg
- War faction.caption
- Flag of Ba'athist Syria
- War faction.active
- 1980s – 2012 (independently) 2012 – 2024 (as part of the NDF)
- War faction.leaders
- Maher al-AssadFawaz al-AssadMundhir al-AssadNumeir al-AssadZaino Berri Ayman Jaber Mohammed al-Assad
- War faction.slogan
- Assad or We Burn the Country ()Assad or No One Else ()
- War faction.size
- 5,000–10,000 (2011)
- War faction.merged
- NDF
- War faction.allies
- Syrian Arab Armed Forces
- War faction.opponents
- Free Syrian Army Liwa al-Islam Ahrar al-Sham Al-Nusra Front
- War faction.motives
- State Terrorism
- War faction.allegiance
- Ba'athist SyriaAssad family
via Wikipedia infobox
~15 min read
Encyclopedic overview
10 sectionsContents
- Before the Syrian civil war
- Syrian Civil War
- Houla massacre
- Alleged role in Al-Qubair massacre
- Leadership
- Accusation of looting and outside analysis
- See also
- References
- Works cited
- External links
Shabiha (Levantine Arabic: ', ; also romanized Shabeeha or Shabbiha'''; ) is a colloquial and generally derogatory term for various loosely-organised Syrian militias loyal to the Ba'athist government and the Assad family prior to the regime's collapse in 2024, used particularly during the initial phase of the Syrian civil war. As the war evolved, many groups that had previously been considered shabiha were amalgamated into the National Defence Force (NDF) and other paramilitary groups.
The mercenaries consisted of mostly Alawite men paid by the regime to eliminate figures of its domestic opposition and alleged fifth-columnists. The Shabiha were established in the 1980s to smuggle weapons to the Syrian soldiers stationed in Lebanon during the Lebanese Civil War and Syrian occupation of Lebanon. While most Shabiha were members of the Alawite minority, the main common denominator of the groups was loyalty to the Assad family rather than religion, and in areas such as Aleppo they were primarily Sunni.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Shabiha” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.