Active Summer 2012 – present Leaders Mohammed Khaddour Founded 2012 | Ideology Ba'athism,
Secularism Founder Hilal Hilal Headquarters Aleppo | |
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Area of operations Syria
Aleppo Governorate
Damascus Governorate
Latakia Governorate
Tartus Governorate
As-Suwayda Governorate
Hasakah Governorate Strength 7,000 claimed (December 2013) Allies Syrian Armed Forces, National Defence Forces Areas of operations Syria, Aleppo Governorate Battles and wars Syrian civil war, Battle of Aleppo, Operation Canopus Star, Kuweires offensive, Aleppo offensive Opponents Free Syrian Army, Islamic Front, Al-Nusra Front, Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant | ||
The Ba'ath Brigades (Arabic: كتائب البعث Katā'ib al-Baʿth), also known as the Ba'ath Battalions, are a volunteer militia made up of Syrian Ba'ath Party members, almost entirely of Sunni Muslims from various Arab countries, loyal to the Syrian Government of Bashar al-Assad. It was set up in Aleppo under the command of Hilal Hilal, the current Assistant Regional Secretary, after rebels took most of the eastern half of Aleppo in summer 2012. Initially, the Ba'ath Brigades were used to guard government buildings and other key installations in the city, but their role has expanded as their strength has grown from 5,000 members in November 2012 to 7,000 in December 2013. Units have since also formed in Latakia and Tartus. At the end of 2013, the Brigades began deploying in Damascus, tasked with manning checkpoints and conducting "light logistical operations". They spearheaded the assault on the Old City of Aleppo in early 2014.
The Ba'ath Battalions participated in lifting the three-year siege at Kuweires military airbase alongside the elite Cheetah Forces, and National Defence Forces.
On February 27th, 2017, Commander of the Ba'ath Brigades Brigadier General Mohamed Salama, was killed in northwestern Hama.