Deir ez-Zor is the largest city in eastern Syria and the seventh largest in the country. Located on the banks of the Euphrates River 450 km (280 mi) to the northeast of the capital Damascus, Deir ez-Zor is the capital of the Deir ez-Zor Governorate. In the 2018 census, it had a population of 271,800.
The National Progressive Front is a pro-government coalition of left-wing parties in Syria that supports the Arab nationalist and Arab socialist orientation of the government and accepts the "leading role" of the ruling Arab Socialist Ba’ath Party. The coalition was formed on the basis of the Popular Front model of Socialist Bloc, through which Syrian Ba'ath party governs the country by permitting nominal participation of smaller, satellite parties. The NPF is part of Ba'ath Party's efforts to expand its support base and neutralize prospects for any sustainable liberal or left-wing opposition, by instigating splits within independent leftist parties or repressing them.
The Arab Socialist Movement also known as Arab Socialist Party, was a political party in Syria that has split into several factions since the 1960s which continue to use the same name.
The Air Force Intelligence Directorate is an intelligence service of Syria, possibly the country's most powerful, owing its importance to Hafez al-Assad's role as the Air Force commander. Despite its name, it is mainly involved with issues other than air force intelligence, and took an active part in the suppression of the Muslim Brotherhood rebellion in the 1980s. Agents of this service have frequently been stationed in Syrian embassies or branch offices of the national airline.
The Military Intelligence Directorate is the military intelligence service of Syria. Although its roots go back to the French mandate period (1923–1946), its current organization was established in 1969. Its predecessor organisation was called the Deuxième Bureau. It is headquartered at the Defense Ministry in Damascus.
Protests against the Syrian government and violence had been ongoing in the Syrian city of Deir ez-Zor since March 2011, as part of the wider Syrian Civil War, but large-scale clashes started following a military operation in late July 2011 to secure the city of Deir ez-Zor. The rebels took over most of the province by late 2013, leaving only small pockets of government control around the city of Deir ez-Zor.
Jassem Alwan was a prominent Syrian Army colonel, particularly during the period of the United Arab Republic (UAR) (1958–1961) when he served as the Commander of the Qatana Base near Damascus. Alwan, a staunch supporter of UAR President Gamal Abdel Nasser, opposed Syria's secession from the union in 1961, leading two failed coup attempts to overthrow the secessionist government in 1962.
The Syrian Resistance, formerly known as the Popular Front for the Liberation of the Sanjak of Iskandarun, is a Marxist-Leninist pro-Syrian government militia operating in northwest Syria.
The Gozarto Protection Forces and Sootoro, united as one organisation, are a regional militia based in Qamishli, Al-Hasakah Governorate, Syria, composed of members of the local ethnic Assyrian and some Armenian communities, founded after the outbreak of the Syrian Civil War that began in 2011. Sootoro claims to be affiliated with the Civil Peace Committee for Syriac Orthodox. The Qamishli Sootoro is aligned with the Ba'athist government of Bashar Assad.
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 Assad.
The Deir ez-Zor Governorate campaign of the Syrian civil war consists of several battles and offensives fought across the governorate of Syria:
Harakat Hezbollah al-Nujaba, officially the 12th Brigade, is a radical Iraqi Shi'ite paramilitary group that is especially active in Syria and Iraq. It was established in 2013 by Akram al-Kaabi to support Bashar al-Assad in Syria against Islamist rebels. The group is supported by the IRGC's Quds Force, which provides the funding, weapons, and training of its members.
The Syria's Tomorrow Movement is a Syrian opposition party founded in March 2016 in Cairo by Ahmad Jarba, a Syrian National Council member. The party was backed by Egypt and the United Arab Emirates and cooperates with the National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces, although it is not part of the coalition. They also cooperate with the Syrian Democratic Council of the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria.
The Military Security Shield Forces, also called the Military Intelligence Shield Force or simply Military Shield, is a pro-government militia involved in the Syrian Civil War that is affiliated with the Military Intelligence Directorate.
The Guardians of Syria Forces - Lions of Hussein, formerly known as Lions of Hussein Brigade and often shortened to Lions of Hussein, are an Alawite militia which fights for the Ba'athist government during the Syrian Civil War. The unit originates as Shabiha, a criminal organization that has operated in Latakia Governorate since the 1980s, and only adopted its current name and appearance in 2015. Since then, the Lions of Hussein reportedly continued their "criminal activities on the side".
The siege of Deir ez-Zor was a large-scale siege imposed by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) against several districts in the city of Deir ez-Zor held by the Syrian Army, in an attempt to capture the city and secure full control of the Deir ez-Zor Governorate. The ISIL siege of the city lasted for almost 3 years and 2 months, after which the Syrian Army launched a successful offensive that fully recaptured the city nine weeks later.
The Forces of the Fighters of the Tribes, also known as the Tribal Army and the Tribal Fighters, is a multi-tribal militia affiliated with the Syrian Military Intelligence Directorate that takes part in the Syrian Civil War. Led by Turki al Buhamad, the Fighters of the Tribes played a vital role in the Assad government's efforts to retake central and eastern Syria. The militia is affiliated with the pro-Ba'athist branch of the Arab Socialist Movement, and is closely allied with Russia.
The Baqir Brigade, 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-Baggara tribe that 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 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.
The Free Palestine Movement is a Palestinian Syrian armed movement and community organization that is led by the businessman Yasser Qashlaq and supports the Ba'athist government of Syria. The organization opposes the existence of Israel, and was mostly known for political activism and social services in favor of Palestinians in Syria and the Gaza Strip before 2012. Upon the outbreak of the Syrian Civil War, however, the Free Palestine Movement formed its own militias and has since then openly fought for the Syrian government against various rebel groups.
The Deir ez-Zor offensive (2018) was launched by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant against government-held areas throughout the Deir ez-Zor Governorate of Eastern Syria. During the offensive, on 8 June, ISIL managed to penetrate the city of Abu Kamal, capturing several parts of it.
