Qalamoun Shield Forces
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The Qalamoun Shield Forces (, short: QSF) was a militia based in the
Qalamoun Mountains The Qalamoun Mountains () are the northeastern portion of the Anti-Lebanon Mountains, and they are northeast of the Syrian capital Damascus. They run from Barada River Valley in the southwest to the city of Hisyah in the northeast. Western Q ...
that fought for the Ba'athist Syrian government during the Syrian Civil War prior to the government's collapse. Originally a small auxiliary and
self-defense Self-defense (self-defence primarily in Commonwealth English) is a countermeasure that involves defending the health and well-being of oneself from harm. The use of the right of self-defense as a legal justification for the use of Force (law), ...
group, QSF grew into relatively large and well-equipped
paramilitary A paramilitary is a military that is not a part of a country's official or legitimate armed forces. The Oxford English Dictionary traces the use of the term "paramilitary" as far back as 1934. Overview Though a paramilitary is, by definiti ...
force that operated nationwide. Led by Firas Jaz'ah, the Qalamoun Shield Forces were closely affiliated with the 3rd Armoured Division.


History


Early history as Republican Guard auxiliaries

The origins of the Qalamoun Shield Forces lie in a small militia of the same name that was set up in
al-Nabek An-Nabek or Al-Nabek () is a Syrian city administratively belonging to Rif Dimashq and the capital of the Qalamoun. It is located north of Damascus and south of Homs and has an altitude of . According to the Syria Central Bureau of Statistics ...
after its capture from rebels during the Battle of Qalamoun (2013). Formed by "notables, retired officers and other locals" on 9 January 2014, this unit was designated as
auxiliaries Auxiliaries are combat support, support personnel that assist the military or police but are organised differently from regular army, regular forces. Auxiliary may be military volunteers undertaking support functions or performing certain duties ...
to the
Republican Guard A republican guard, sometimes called a national guard, is a state organization of a country (often a republic, hence the name ''Republican'') which typically serves to protect the head of state and the government, and thus is often synonymous wit ...
and was supposed to secure areas retaken from rebel groups. A
Damascus Damascus ( , ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in the Levant region by population, largest city of Syria. It is the oldest capital in the world and, according to some, the fourth Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. Kno ...
native named Adel Ibrahim Dellah eventually became commander of the group. In course of 2015, the nascent QSF had significantly grown in numbers (claiming hundreds of members) and expanded its operations: Fighting at the side of the Republican Guard, the militia not only took part in further offensive operations in the western Qalamoun mountains, but also fought in the wider Rif Dimashq Governorate such as at
Harasta Harasta (, ), also known as ''Harasta al-Basal'' or ''Hirista'', is a town and northeastern suburb of Damascus, Rif Dimashq, Syria. Harasta has an altitude of 702 meters. It has a population of 34,184 , making it the 43rd largest city per geograp ...
, where they played a prominent role in retaking territory from insurgent groups. Later into the year, the Qalamoun Shield Forces even sent fighters to take part in the Battle of Aleppo and the
Homs offensive (November–December 2015) The Homs offensive was conducted by Syrian government forces during the Syrian Civil War from November to December 2015. The objective of the operation was to recapture territory lost to ISIL, in the eastern part of the Homs Governorate Homs ...
against
ISIL The Islamic State (IS), also known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and Daesh, is a transnational Salafi jihadist organization and unrecognized quasi-state. IS occupied signif ...
. During these operations, the group began to closely cooperate with the 3rd Armoured Division, leading to the Qalamoun Shield Forces' loyalties shifting away from the Republican Guard. The Qalamoun Shield Forces also dispatched some troops to fight alongside the Republican Guard in the
Siege of Deir ez-Zor (2014–17) A siege () . is a military blockade of a city, or fortress, with the intent of conquering by attrition, or by well-prepared assault. Siege warfare (also called siegecrafts or poliorcetics) is a form of constant, low-intensity conflict characte ...
. These forces were eventually fully incorporated into the Republican Guard's 104th Brigade. In the first half of 2016, the militia became especially active in the
Syrian steppe The Syrian Desert ( ''Bādiyat Ash-Shām''), also known as the North Arabian Desert, the Jordanian steppe, or the Badiya, is a region of desert, semi-desert, and steppe, covering about of West Asia, including parts of northern Saudi Arabia, ea ...
and
Syrian Desert The Syrian Desert ( ''Bādiyat Ash-Shām''), also known as the North Arabian Desert, the Jordanian steppe, or the Badiya, is a region of desert, semi-desert, and steppe, covering about of West Asia, including parts of northern Saudi Arabia, ea ...
, fighting in the
Palmyra offensive (March 2016) The Palmyra offensive (March 2016) was a military operation of the Syrian Arab Army, supported by Russian airstrikes, to recapture from the Islamic State the city of Tadmur (near the ruins of the ancient city of Palmyra), which was strategic ...
, the Battle of al-Qaryatayn (March–April 2016) and the
Al-Dumayr offensive (April 2016) The al-Dumayr offensive was a military offensive launched in April 2016 by the Islamic State near the town of al-Dumayr, east of Damascus, Syria. The attack is notable for the abduction of hundreds of cement plant workers by ISIL. The off ...
. Around this time,
Syrian Army The Syrian Army is the land force branch of the Syrian Armed Forces. Up until the fall of the Assad regime, the Syrian Arab Army existed as a land force branch of the Syrian Arab Armed Forces, which dominanted the military service of the fo ...
lieutenant colonel Firas Jaz'ah became the "general supervisor" of the militia, though Adel Ibrahim Dellah continued to serve as military commander of QSF.


Split and service with the 3rd Division

In May 2016, QSF finally split due to the group's divided loyalties: One faction under the militia's old commander Adel Ibrahim Dellah cut all ties with the 3rd Division and formed a new group, the "' Homeland Protection Forces". The other faction, led by Firas Jaz'ah, remained with the 3rd Division and continued to function under the name "Qalamoun Shield Forces". This group significantly expanded its recruitment efforts in the wider Qalamoun area, and also began to enlist hundreds of former
Free Syrian Army The Free Syrian Army (FSA; ) is a Big tent, big-tent coalition of decentralized Syrian opposition (2011–2024), Syrian opposition rebel groups in the Syrian civil war founded on 29 July 2011 by Colonel Riad al-Asaad and six officers who defe ...
(FSA) rebels into its ranks as part of reconciliation agreements. Already by early 2017, some estimated that about 50% or more of QSF consisted of ex-insurgents; others however claimed that the numbers were closer to around 10%. Thus strengthened despite the Homeland Protection Forces' break-off, the Qalamoun Shield Forces further expanded their operations throughout Syria. In the Syrian Desert, QSF helped to defend the
Tiyas Military Airbase The Tiyas Air Base, also known as the T-4 Air base, is a former Syrian Air Force base located in the Homs Governorate, north of Tiyas, and west of the ancient city of Palmyra, Syria. Tiyas is the largest airbase in Syria. History During the ...
from ISIL during the
Palmyra offensive (December 2016) The Palmyra offensive in December 2016 was a military operation launched by the military of ISIL which led to the re-capture of the ancient city of Palmyra, and an unsuccessful ISIL attack on the Tiyas T-4 Airbase to the west of the city. I ...
, and then took part in numerous government (counter-)offensives which aimed at reclaiming all of central Syria from the
ISIL The Islamic State (IS), also known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and Daesh, is a transnational Salafi jihadist organization and unrecognized quasi-state. IS occupied signif ...
and various FSA groups: The
Eastern Homs offensive (2017) The Eastern Homs offensive in 2017 was a military operation of the Syrian Arab Army and its allies in Eastern part of Homs Governorate against Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant forces during the Syrian Civil War. Background The Syrian Arm ...
,
East Hama offensive (2017) The Eastern Hama offensive (2017) was a military operation conducted by the Syrian Army against Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) with the goal to secure the Ithriyah-Sheikh Hilal road, the government supply line towards Aleppo, and ...
, the
Syrian Desert campaign (May–July 2017) Syrians () are the majority inhabitants of Syria, indigenous to the Levant, most of whom have Arabic, especially its Levantine and Mesopotamian dialects, as a mother tongue. The cultural and linguistic heritage of the Syrian people is a blen ...
and the
Central Syria campaign (2017) The Central Syria campaign, known as "Operation Khuzam", or "Lavender", was a large-scale military operation of the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) against the Islamic State (IS) during the Syrian Civil War. Its goal was to capture the strategic oil t ...
. The Qalamoun Shield Forces also helped to stall and/or defeat major rebel offensives in northern
Hama Governorate Hama Governorate ( / ALA-LC: ''Muḥāfaẓat Ḥamā'') is one of the 14 Governorates of Syria, governorates of Syria. It is situated in western-central Syria, bordering Idlib Governorate, Idlib and Aleppo Governorates to the north, Raqqa Gove ...
in
2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...
and mid-2017, and took part in
government operations Government spending or expenditure includes all government consumption, investment, and transfer payments. In national income accounting, the acquisition by governments of goods and services for current use, to directly satisfy the individual or ...
against rebel and ISIL forces in the Hama-Idlib-Aleppo Governorates border region in late 2017. Meanwhile, QSF continued to be active in its core regions in southwestern Syria, where it aided the government conquest of the
Barada The Barada ( / ALA-LC: ''Baradā'') is the main river of Damascus, the capital city of Syria. Etymology The word "Barada" is thought to be derived from the word ''barid'', which means "cold" in Semitic languages. The ancient Greek name (), mean ...
river valley in early 2017, and closely cooperated with
Hezbollah Hezbollah ( ; , , ) is a Lebanese Shia Islamist political party and paramilitary group. Hezbollah's paramilitary wing is the Jihad Council, and its political wing is the Loyalty to the Resistance Bloc party in the Lebanese Parliament. I ...
to destroy the last holdouts of
Tahrir al-Sham Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) was a Sunni Islamist political organisation and paramilitary group involved in the Syrian civil war. It was formed on 28January 2017 as a merger between several armed groups: Jaysh al-Ahrar (an Ahrar al-Sham facti ...
, the
Syrian opposition Syrians () are the majority inhabitants of Syria, indigenous to the Levant, most of whom have Arabic, especially its Levantine and Mesopotamian dialects, as a mother tongue. The cultural and linguistic heritage of the Syrian people is a blend ...
, and ISIL at the
Lebanon–Syria border The Lebanon–Syria border is 394 km (245 miles) in length and runs from the Mediterranean coast in the north to the tripoint with Israel in the south. Description The border starts at confluence of the Nahr al-Kabir river with the Mediterra ...
. In course of these operations in the Qalamoun Mountains, QSF recruited more ex-rebels into its ranks, allegedly promising some of them that they would only have to serve in their own home areas. Despite this, pro-rebel media claimed that QSF later forced several of these ex-rebels (from al-Tall) to fight against ISIL in the eastern desert. On 30 December 2017, QSF also sent one of its battalions to take part in the Battle of Harasta. In course of this battle, one Qalamoun Shield contingent which consisted of ex-rebels reportedly defected back to local insurgents, resulting in a temporary crisis for the government troops. As result of this event, QSF commander Firas Jaz'ah was dismissed by the 3rd Division.


Dissolution

From 2018, the Syrian government increasingly attempted to demobilize loyalist militias, fully integrate them into the regular armed forces, or reduce their quasi-autonomous powers in other ways. The Qalamoun Shield Forces were among the units affected by this development. In August 2018, the
Political Security Directorate The Political Security Directorate (PSD, ) was an intelligence service of Ba'athist Syria. It was divided into an Internal Security Department and an External Security Department. Intelligence division was affiliated to the Ministry of Interior. ...
reportedly removed the militia's armed presence from al-Tall, suspended its local commander Nasir Shamu, and sent its fighters to Deir ez-Zor, where they would fight ISIL. QSF garrisons in other villages of the Qalamoun Mountains were allegedly sent to
al-Qutayfah Al-Qutayfah () is a city in Syria, administratively belonging to the Rif Dimashq Governorate, capital of the al-Qutayfah District. It is located approximately east of Damascus. According to the Syria Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), al-Qutayf ...
, where they were integrated into the 3rd Division. By fall 2018, the Syrian government fully dissolved the group, along with the
Ba'ath Brigades The Ba'ath Brigades (), 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. ...
and other pro-government
paramilitary A paramilitary is a military that is not a part of a country's official or legitimate armed forces. The Oxford English Dictionary traces the use of the term "paramilitary" as far back as 1934. Overview Though a paramilitary is, by definiti ...
formations. The majority of its members entered into service with the regular 3rd Armoured Division. Despite this, the QSF maintained at least some cohesion as separate unit within the 3rd Division.


Organization, support and funding

The Qalamoun Shield Forces were led by Firas Jaz'ah, a lieutenant colonel who is closely affiliated with the 3rd Division, and were organized into several sub-units according to their places of origin. Accordingly, the group maintains numerous bases in the region, most notably at
al-Nabek An-Nabek or Al-Nabek () is a Syrian city administratively belonging to Rif Dimashq and the capital of the Qalamoun. It is located north of Damascus and south of Homs and has an altitude of . According to the Syria Central Bureau of Statistics ...
and
Yabroud Yabroud or Yabrud () is a city in Syria, located in the ''Rif Dimashq Governorate, Rif Dimashq'' (i.e. Damascus' countryside) Governorates of Syria, governorate about north of the capital Damascus. According to the Central Bureau of Statistics ...
. Though most of the militia's fighters were from the wider Qalamoun region, they were known to also have members from Damascus and the
Golan Heights The Golan Heights, or simply the Golan, is a basaltic plateau at the southwest corner of Syria. It is bordered by the Yarmouk River in the south, the Sea of Galilee and Hula Valley in the west, the Anti-Lebanon mountains with Mount Hermon in t ...
. In their core areas, QSF sometimes acts as police force, and also maintains posts along the border with Lebanon, most notably at Flitah. Though QSF was most closely connected to the 3rd Division, it never completely separated from the Republican Guard and also maintains links with the Air Force Intelligence and the Military Intelligence Directorates, as well as the Lebanese Hezbollah. The Military Intelligence Directorate and businessman George Haswani provided funding to the group. The
Russian International Affairs Council The Russian International Affairs Council (RIAC, ) is a non-profit academic and diplomatic think tank established by the presidential decree dated 2 February 2010. The founders of the RIAC are the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federa ...
claimed in 2017 that QSF had joined the Syrian Army's Fifth Corps. Other sources did not mention this, and it remains unclear whether the militia was actually part of the Fifth Corps at any point. The Qalamoun Shield Forces were relatively well equipped, using
technicals Technicals may refer to: * Technical (vehicle), an improvised fighting vehicle often used in civil conflict * TECHNICALS, a clothing brand owned by Blacks Leisure Group See also * Technical (disambiguation) Technical may refer to: * Technical ...
,
9M113 Konkurs The 9M113 ''Konkurs'' (; ; NATO reporting name AT-5 ''Spandrel'') is a Soviet SACLOS wire-guided anti-tank missile. A development of the 9K111 Fagot with greater firepower, the 9M113 Konkurs can use the same launchers and is very similar vis ...
anti-tank missile An anti-tank guided missile (ATGM), anti-tank missile, anti-tank guided weapon (ATGW) or anti-armor guided weapon is a missile guidance, guided missile primarily designed to hit and destroy armoured fighting vehicle, heavily armored military v ...
, and Syrian "Bourkan" (Vulcano) rockets. In early 2017, all fighters of QSF were trained and equipped by the
Russian Armed Forces The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, commonly referred to as the Russian Armed Forces, are the military of Russia. They are organized into three service branches—the Russian Ground Forces, Ground Forces, Russian Navy, Navy, and Russi ...
. In regard to its combat capabilities, the QSF has been characterized by pro-government media both as auxiliary force for the regular army and as
rapid reaction force A rapid reaction force / rapid response force (RRF), quick reaction force / quick response force (QRF), immediate reaction force (IRF), rapid deployment force (RDF), or quick maneuver force (QMF) is a military or law enforcement unit capable of ...
.


See also

*
List of armed groups in the Syrian Civil War A number of states and armed groups have involved themselves in the Syrian civil war (2011–present) as belligerents. The main groups were Ba'athist Syria and allies, Syrian opposition, the Syrian opposition and allies, Al-Qaeda and affiliate ...
*
Russian involvement in the Syrian Civil War Russia supported the Ba'athist administration of former president Bashar al-Assad of Syria from the onset of the Syrian conflict in 2011: politically, with military aid, and (from September 2015 to December 2024) with direct military inv ...


Notes


References

{{Syrian Civil War Anti-ISIL factions in Syria Pro-Assad factions of the Syrian civil war Military units and formations established in 2014 2014 establishments in Syria Military units and formations established in 2016 2016 establishments in Syria