| National Defense Forces | |
|---|---|
| Quwāt ad-Difāʿ al-Watanī | |
| Dates of operation | 1 November 2012 – 8 December 2024 |
| Groups |
|
| Headquarters | Damascus |
| Active regions | Syria |
| Ideology | Neo-Ba'athism Assadism |
| Political position | Far-left[citation needed] |
| Allies | State allies Non-state allies |
| Opponents | State opponents Non-state opponents |
| Battles and wars | theSyrian civil war |
TheNational Defense Forces (NDF;Arabic:قوات الدفاع الوطنيQuwāt ad-Difāʿ al-Watanī) was a Syrianparamilitary volunteermilitia, that was formed on 1 November 2012[16] and organized byBa'athist Syria during theSyrian civil war as a part-time volunteer reserve component of theSyrian Arab Armed Forces.[17]
The NDF was made up of units across various Syrian provinces, each consisting of local volunteers willing to fight against rebels for various reasons.[5][18]
By the beginning of 2013, the Syrian government took steps to formalize and professionalize hundreds ofPopular Committee militias under a new group dubbed the National Defense Forces.[16][19][20]
The goal was to form an effective, locally based, highly motivated force out of pro-government militias. The NDF, in contrast with theShabiha forces, received salaries and military equipment from the government.[21][22] Since the formation of the NDF, Shabiha members have been incorporated into its structure.[23][24] TheNational Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces has definedShabiha as the Syrian National Defense Forces.[25]
Young and unemployed men join the NDF, which some view as more attractive than theSyrian Arab Army, considered by many of them to be infiltrated by rebels, overstretched and underfunded. A number of recruits say they joined the group because members of their families had been killed by rebel groups. In someAlawite villages almost every military-age male has joined the National Defense Force.[5]
In 2015, the Syrian government began arming some citizens of the eastern part ofAl-Suwayda Governorate against the Syrian Al-Qaeda groupAl-Nusra Front and theIslamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), who were harassing the local population with abductions, executions, and plundering, while using the region as a battlefield.[26] However, the Druze of Suwayda do not represent a significant contingent within the NDF, most of the Druze within the NDF being recruited by theGolan Regiment among the residents of the Golan Heights,Quneitra Governorate, following an agreement between rebels and pro-Assad local fighters in 2013.[27]
The creation of the NDF was personally overseen by IranianQuds Force commanderQasem Soleimani.[28] Syrian security officials stated that they received assistance fromIran andHezbollah, who both "played a key role in the formalization of the NDF along the model of the Iranian 'Basij' militia". The NDF recruits received training in urban guerilla warfare fromIslamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and Hezbollah instructors at facilities inside Syria, Lebanon, and Iran, with this partnership remaining in place as of April 2015.[23] Iran has contributed to gathering together existing neighborhood militias into a functioning hierarchy and provided them with better equipment and training.[16] TheUnited States government has also stated that Iran is helping build the group on the model of its ownBasij militia, and that some members are being sent for training in Iran.[29]
The force acts in an infantry role, directly fighting against rebels on the ground and runningcounter-insurgency operations in coordination with theSyrian Army, which provides them with logistical and artillery support.
The force was reported to be 60,000-strong as of June 2013 and grew to 100,000 by August.[5][18][30] The NDF is composed mainly of members of theAlawite andShia sects ofIslam and are loyal to the Syrian Government and the Syrian presidentBashar al-Assad.[5]
Units mostly operate in their local areas, although members can also choose to take part in army operations.[21][31] Others have claimed that the NDF does most of the fighting because NDF members, as locals, have a strong knowledge of the region.[31]
Struggling with reliability and issues with defections, officers of the Syrian Army increasingly prefer the part-time volunteer reserves of the NDF, who they regard as more motivated and loyal, over regular army conscripts to conduct infantry operations. An officer in Homs, who asked not to be identified, said the army was increasingly playing a logistical and directive role, while NDF fighters act as combatants on the ground.[3]
On 20 February 2018, NDF battalions volunteered to support theAfrin canton against theTurkish-led operation against Afrin. More recently the NDF has been criticized[by whom?] for escalation and aggressiveness with theYPG andSDF in the cities ofQamishli and across theANESAl-Hasakah, but mediation later ended the skirmishes.[32][better source needed]
An NDF militia fromMhardeh, led bySami Al-Wakil, has been accused ofwar crimes, for instance massacres inHalfaya in December 2012 andKfar Hod in March 2013, and inAl-Lataminah where it has been reported to be responsible for 200 civilian deaths in artillery fire from a hill it occupied, and of recruitingchild soldiers.[33]
According to a report, as of February 2015 the National Defense Forces are organized under provincial commanders, and loosely overseen by a national coordinator who is reported to be Brigadier-General Ghassan Nassour, although later sources report the name of Hawash Mohammed.[2] Local branches are deemed to act with autonomy and to be not cohesive on the provincial level, although there is little uniformity.[34]
Provincial branches seem to be commanded by a senior officer each.[35]
The period of training can vary from 2 weeks to a month depending on whether an individual is being trained for basic combat, sniping, or intelligence.[21]
According to a 2022 analysis byCarnegie Endowment for International Peace said "they are not experienced..., poorly equipped and have never excelled on the battlefield."[7]
Since January 2013, the NDF had a 500-strong women's wing called "Lionesses of National Defense", which operates checkpoints in the Homs area.[36] The women are trained to useKalashnikovs, heavy machine guns and grenades, and taught to storm and control checkpoints.[37] The largest female group belong to Homs NDF. In January 2024, Lionesses of the NDF have officially been disbanded. Female recruits will fight with regular units.
French far-right non-governmental organizationSOS Chrétiens d'Orient [fr] (SOSCO) has conducted fundraising for the NDF according to an investigation by theNewlines Magazine.[33][38]
