image by Zoltan Horvath, 14 December 2014
Last modified: 2023-11-11 by ian macdonald
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image by Zoltan Horvath, 14 December 2014
"The National Defense Force (NDF; Arabic: قوات الدفاع الوطني
Quwat ad-Difāʿ al-Watanī) is a branch of Syrian Armed Forces, formed after summer
2012 as a part-time volunteer reserve component of the Syrian military,
organized by the Syrian government during the Syrian Civil War.
"In Syria, the ranks of pro-government paramilitary groups are growing,
signaling a further decentralization of state authority. The most prominent of
these is the National Defense Forces (NDF), an umbrella organization, under
which several pro-government local militias operate. There are similarities with
the Free Syrian Army, a brand that encompasses a wide array of opposition groups
ranging from seculars to global jihadists. The reformulation of the government’s
armed forces from a traditional military into militias could lead to a growth in
warlordism. These units may seek to establish their power in areas where the
state is absent, either due to pressure from the opposition or increasingly
strained resources.
The new commanders of these paramilitary groups may seek to provide services as
well as protection, which will add more players to an already complex mosaic of
militias, warlords, and local powerbrokers. Having drawn most of its fighters
from minority communities, the NDF are widely perceived as sectarian. As NDF
units gain power and take charge of more positions - replacing the regular
Syrian army.
The past year has seen a surge in the number of pro-government paramilitary
groups, growing from local protection units into an estimated force of 60,000
men4 under the banner of the National Defense Forces. Skilled in urban and
guerilla warfare, the increasing mobilization of these groups signals a shift in
the Syrian government’s military tactics, and the fact that they are comprised
mainly of religious minorities threatens to further deepen Syria’s sectarian
strife. Training (is) provided to these groups by
Iran and
Hezbollah.
Before the formalizing of paramilitary forces’ role in the Syrian
army, the groups were often used as “clean up” after government
shelling of a village or urban area. Despite a move to formalize the
engagement of paramilitary forces by creating, supplying, and training
the NDF, they are still, at their core, community-based militias whose
local interests may at times be at odds with national-level government
strategies. Many are clearly sectarian in nature and some,
particularly in the Alawite community, have tribal affiliations. As
the conflict has progressed, they have increasingly engaged in looting
and other crimes, and it is rumored that the Syrian military has had
to forcefully prevent some of these groups from committing further
atrocities."
Sources:
https://www.cartercenter.org/resources/pdfs/peace/conflict_resolution/syria-conflict/Pro-GovernmentParamilitaryForces.pdf
http://www.trackingterrorism.org/group/national-defense-force-ndf-syria
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Defence_Force_(Syria)
Esteban Rivera, 15 November 2014
Their flag is a black horizontal flag with the
logo in the middle as seen in
this picture
(picture on the right)
Source:
https://syria360.wordpress.com/2014/03/01/march-syrian-army-victories-statements-daily-updates/
The flag is seen in jpeg format:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Defence_Force_(Syria)#mediaviewer/File:Flag_of_the_National_Defense_Force.svg
Esteban Rivera, 15 November 2014
Zoltan presented us with a good drawing of the flag of the NDF. Currently,
thanks to some other photo, we can distinguish better the details, and we can
see that the logo is within a white disc, so there is a narrow white spacing
between the outer ring of the logo and the black of the cloth
Source:
http://brown-moses.blogspot.com.es/2013_11_01_archive.html
Jaume Ollé, 13 December 2014
#mediaviewer/File:National_Defence_Force_Syria_Logo.jpg){kind=link}
#mediaviewer/File:Flag_of_the_National_Defense_Force.svg){kind=link}