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| Guardians of the Dawn | |
|---|---|
| حراس الفجر | |
 A promotional image for the Guardians of the Dawn, showcasing their insignia to the right. The constituent groups of the coalition also frequently use theChristian cross, theFlag of Syria and images ofBashar al-Assad as logos. | |
| Leaders | Fadi Abd al-Massih Khouri[1] |
| Dates of operation | 2015[1][2] – ? |
| Allegiance | Syrian Air Force Intelligence Directorate[1][2] till 2024 |
| Groups |
|
| Headquarters | Various Christian towns throughout Syria |
| Active regions | WesternSyria |
| Ideology | Christian solidarity Christian holy war Syrian nationalism |
| Allies |  Syrian Armed Forces SSNPSootoro    Various other pro-government militias |
| Opponents |  Free Syrian Army Army of Conquest Jaysh al-Islam Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant Jund al-Aqsa |
| Wars | theSyrian Civil War |
TheGuardians of the Dawn (Arabic:حراس الفجر,romanized: Ḥurrās al-Fajr) are a coalition of Christian pro-government militias which were involved in theSyrian Civil War and affiliated with theAir Force Intelligence Directorate. Although the Guardians of the Dawn, whose official motto is"A homeland that we do not protect is one we do not deserve to live in", promote themselves as aSyrian nationalist force, their fighters are primarily motivated by a concept ofholy war to defend the Christian areas of Syria from hostile rebels. The militiamen of Usud al-Cherubim, one of the coalition's constituent groups, even refer to themselves as "mujahideen of the cross".[1]
Following the outbreak of the Syrian Civil War in 2012, several Christian militias were formed to fight for the Syrian government against insurgents. These groups were generally organized as self-defense units, as Syrian rebels began to attack Christian religious sites and kidnap Christians for ransom soon after the insurgency gained momentum. The Syrian government was also interested in arming Christian militias, as these were generally loyal and relieved the hard-pressedSyrian Army. Christian units played a major role in the fighting for theQalamoun Mountains 2013–14, where several important Christian centers are located, such as the towns ofMaarounah andYabroud, as well as theCherubim Convent nearSaidnaya.[3]
According to their official leader, Fadi Abd al-Massih Khouri, the Guardians of the Dawn were established on 11 September 2015, when various Christian militias banded together to defend Maarounah from an attack byJaysh al-Islam; as this ad-hoc alliance proved highly successful, the coalition was promptly formalized under Khouri's leadership. The idea behind its foundation was that the different Christian militias should help each other when their villages come under assault.[1]
Initially, the new coalition was known as "Homeland Shield" ("Dir’ al-Watan"), and soon began to participate in various campaigns to defend or capture Christian localities in Syria: In late 2015 the member groups joined agovernment offensive in the westernHoms Governorate, during which they helped to retakeSadad andMahin from theIslamic State of Iraq and the Levant. For these operations they received the official gratitude ofSootoro. In March 2016 the alliance adopted its current name, and later that year sent fighters to the northernHama Governorate in order to defend a number of Christian villages from aJihadist-ledrebel offensive.[1] The Guardians also took part in the fighting forQamhana during theHama offensive (March–April 2017).[4][5]
Besides these campaigns, the Guardians of the Dawn are also very active throughout theRif Dimashq Governorate, taking part in various offensives against rebel-held easternGhouta and theSiege of Darayya and Muadamiyat; the latter operation was partly framed by Usud al-Cherubim as "liberating its [Darayya's] churches". Khouri also ran as parliamentary candidate in theelections of April 2016, though failed to win a seat.[1]
