| Baqir Brigade | |
|---|---|
|
Liwa al-Baqir Participant in the Syrian Civil War | |
|
Baqir Brigade logo.jpg Logo of the Baqir Brigade; the militia also uses the regular Syrian government flag[1] | |
| Active | 2012[lower-alpha 1]– present |
| Ideology | Anti-Zionism[1] |
| Leaders | Khalid al-Hassan[1] |
| Strength |
3,000 (self-claim, 2016),[1] 2,000 (Syrian opposition claim, 2016)[1] |
| Part of |
 Local Defence Forces |
| Allies |
 Iran Hezbollah Syrian Democratic Forces (since 2018)[3]Various Iraqi Shia militias |
| Opponents |
 Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant Tahrir al-Sham Turkey Free Syrian Army and allies |
| Battles/wars | |
The Baqir Brigade (Liwa al-Baqir, sometimes also Liwa al-Imam al-Baqir), named after Shia Imam Muhammad al-Baqir, is a Syrian loyalist militia originating in the Aleppo Governorate that fights in the Syrian Civil War. One of the most prominent and largest pro-government militias from the Aleppo area and part of the "Local Defence Forces" network, the Baqir Brigade mostly consists of tribesmen from the al-Bekara clan that has traditionally supported the rule of the al-Assad family despite being mostly Sunni Muslim. Though the militia's fighters thus come from a largely Sunni background, many of them appear to have converted to or are at least strongly influenced by Shia Islam. Indeed, the Baqir Brigade has been noted for its strong connections to the Lebanese Hezbollah, Iran, and various Iraqi Shia militias, and is thus generally considered to be a Shia or "Shi'ified" fighting force.[1][2][5][6]
History[]
There exist conflicting accounts on when and how the Baqir Brigade was founded. The unit itself and its supporters claim that it was set up in 2012, just after the start of the Battle of Aleppo. Its founders were the brothers Khalid al-Hassan (nom de guerre: "al-Hajj Khalid" or "al-Hajj Baqir") and Abu al-Abbas (nom de guerre: "al-Hajj Hamza") who had fought as volunteers with Hezbollah during the 2006 Lebanon War and started the Baqir Brigade after their father and older brother had been killed by rebels. Their unit initially had only 13 members, but allegedly soon managed to garner hundreds of recruits due to the charisma and military talents of the two brothers.[1] On the other side, the pro-opposition site alSouria.net argued that the Baqir Brigade was founded as part of the Local Defence Forces in 2015. With its fighters trained by Iraqi Shia militants and put under the protection of the Berri family (which is well known for its support of the al-Assad family), alSouria.net claimed that the militia was an attempt to create more native Shia pro-government units.[1][7] Regional expert Aymenn Jawad Al-Tamimi found evidence for the Baqir Brigade's existence as far back as 2014. He argues that some kind of militia led by Khalid and Abu al-Abbas indeed originated in 2012, but that this earlier formation was reorganized or consolidated into the present-day Baqir Brigade only as part of the Local Defence Forces with strong Iranian and Hezbollah support around 2014.[1]
Ideology[]
The Baqir Brigade protrays itself both as "the first auxiliary [/reserve]" of the Syrian Army,[1][7] and as part of the wider "Islamic Resistance" against Sunni Islamism and Zionism. It consequently often uses the portraits of the Axis of Resistance's leaders Bashar al-Assad, Hassan Nasrallah, and Ali Khamenei. The Baqir Brigade also uses imagery and language resembling that of Hezbollah.[1]
See also[]
Notes[]
- ↑ Though the militia claims to have been founded around 2012, while pro-Syrian opposition media argues that it was set up in 2015. The earliest evidence of the group's existence traces to 2014.[1][2]
References[]
- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 Aymenn Jawad Al-Tamimi (23 May 2016). "The Local Defence Forces: Regime Auxiliary Forces in Aleppo". http://www.aymennjawad.org/18859/the-local-defence-forces-regime-auxiliary-forces. Retrieved 20 February 2018.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Liwa al-Baqir". Jihad Intel. 16 February 2018. http://jihadintel.meforum.org/group/244/liwa-al-baqir. Retrieved 18 February 2018.
- ↑ http://m.haberturk.com/son-dakika-reuters-esad-rejimine-bagli-gucler-afrin-e-girmeye-basladi-1846245
- ↑ Amir Toumaj (14 June 2017). "Qassem Soleimani allegedly spotted in Syria near the Iraqi border". Long War Journal. http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2017/06/qassem-soleimani-spotted-in-syria-near-the-iraqi-border.php. Retrieved 15 June 2017.
- ↑ "Streitkräfte des Assad-Regimes, Februar 2017" (in German). Truppendienst.com (Austrian Armed Forces). 15 February 2017. https://www.truppendienst.com/fileadmin/user_upload/Einzelbeitraege/2016/Syrien/15_02_17_Update/Assad_Streitkraefte_Feb17_1.pdf. Retrieved 3 February 2018.
- ↑ Aymenn Jawad Al-Tamimi (15 May 2017). "Analysis: Why the War in Syria May Not Be About Demographic Change". Syrian deeply. https://www.newsdeeply.com/syria/articles/2017/03/15/analysis-why-the-war-in-syria-may-not-be-about-demographic-change. Retrieved 20 February 2018.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 "التهميش يدفع مقاتلين في نظام الأسد للاستقلال عن الميليشيات الأجنبية بحلب" (in Arabic). alSouria.net. 4 January 2016. https://www.alsouria.net/content/%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AA%D9%87%D9%85%D9%8A%D8%B4-%D9%8A%D8%AF%D9%81%D8%B9-%D9%85%D9%82%D8%A7%D8%AA%D9%84%D9%8A%D9%86-%D9%81%D9%8A-%D9%86%D8%B8%D8%A7%D9%85-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A3%D8%B3%D8%AF-%D9%84%D9%84%D8%A7%D8%B3%D8%AA%D9%82%D9%84%D8%A7%D9%84-%D8%B9%D9%86-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%85%D9%8A%D9%84%D9%8A%D8%B4%D9%8A%D8%A7%D8%AA-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A3%D8%AC%D9%86%D8%A8%D9%8A%D8%A9-%D8%A8%D8%AD%D9%84%D8%A8. Retrieved 24 February 2018.
The original article can be found at Baqir Brigade and the edit history here.