Ba'ath Brigades: The Sunni Militia That Fought for Assad

The Ba'ath Brigades were formed in the summer of 2012 in Aleppo directly after rebel forces captured large portions of eastern Aleppo in July and August 2012. Hilal Hilal, the former Assistant Regional Secretary of the Ba'ath Party, organized the initial force. The recruits were overwhelmingly Ba'ath Party members — and notably, the vast majority were Sunni Muslims, making this the only major pro-regime militia that was predominantly Sunni. This was possible because Ba'athism, as an Arab nationalist ideology, had always recruited across sectarian lines in its organizational base (as distinct from the security and intelligence apparatus, which Hafez al-Assad had packed with Alawites). Initial membership was reported at 5,000 in November 2012, growing to 7,000 by December 2013. The group's initial role was guarding government buildings and Ba'ath Party installations in Aleppo.