Pro-Government Militias
Harakat Hezbollah al-Nujaba (The Movement of God the Outstanding) (Syria)
Basic Group Information
| Name assigned by coder: | no |
| PGM ID Number: | 554 |
| Country: | Syria |
| Date formed: | Jan. 1, 2013 |
| Accuracy of date formed: | year |
| Details of Formation: | Harakat Hezbollah al-Nujaba was created as a front group by Kata’ib Hizballah and Asa’ib Ahl al-Haq. There is no evidence when exactly it was created. Its subgroups were formed at various points in time in 2013. In July 2013 the group made its first announcement, but the group existed before as one of its affiliated subdivisions, Liwa ibn Yasir, had already launched a Facebook page on 27 May 2013. |
| Date dissolved: | Unknown |
| Accuracy of date dissolved: | day |
| Details of Termination: | |
| Termination Type(s): | not terminated |
Former and Successor Group Information
| Predecessor group(s): | none |
| Successor group(s): | none |
| Private Military Company? | no |
| Former Group? | no |
| Former Armed Group? | no |
| Former Rebel Group? | no |
| Former Rebel Group UCDP ID: | none |
| PGM Becomes Rebel Group? | no |
| Successor Rebel Group UCDP ID: | none |
Government Relation, Support, and Training
| Government Relation: | informal (type 1) |
| Created by the Government?: | no | Main Creating Government Institution: | none |
| Government Link(s): | unclear |
| If link to party, name of party: | None |
| Training and Equipment: | no |
| Shared Information and Joint Operations: | no |
| Shared Personnel: | no |
| Type(s) of Material Support: | Foreign government; foreign support |
| State Sponsor(s): | Iran |
| Other Connection(s): | Asa’ib Ahl al-Haq, Kata’ib Hizballah, Lebanese Hizballah, Liwa’a Zulfiqar and the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC). . |
Group Characteristics
| Membership: | ethnic; religious; foreign nationals |
| Primary Membership: | noncivilian |
| Alternative Primary Membership: | religious |
| Location: | Aleppo (Liwa ibn Yasir), Rif Dimashq (Liwa' al-Imam al-Hasan al-Mujtaba) |
| Force Strength: | [unknown, unknown] |
| Target(s): | rebels, insurgents, or other armed group; ethnic group |
| Purpose(s): | protect state, national or religious institutions; fight insurgents |
Ethnic Characteristics
| Ethnic Target(s): | Sunni Arabs (Syria) |
| Quality of Information for Ethnic Targeting: | inferred |
| Ethnic Membership: | Shi'a Arabs (Iraq) |
| Quality of Information for Ethnic Membership: | given |
| Ethnic Purpose: | none |
| Quality of Information for Ethnic Purpose: | not applicable |
Other Information
| Other Information: | Harakat Hezbollah al-Nujaba is sometimes also referred to as Harakat al-Nujaba (the Hezbollah Movement of the Outstanding). It is an umbrella organization with three main subdivisions: Liwa' al-Imam al-Hasan al-Mujtaba, Liwa' al-Hamad and Liwa Ammar ibn Yasir. Liwa' al-Imam al-Hasan al-Mujtaba is further divided into The Abu Hamr Battalion, the Rapid Intervention Unit (or Kataib al-Ashtar) and The Martyr Ahmed Kayara Unit. |
New Variables from Meta-Analysis
Purpose
| Purpose: | Officially, the main goal of the group is to protect the Sayyida Zaynab Shrine near Damascus. In reality, their purpose seems to be to support Assad against insurgents anywhere in Syria. |
| Relative Benefit(s) of PGM Use | unknown |
Treatment of Civilians
| Treatment of Civilians: | |
| Type(s) of Violence against Civilians: | unknown |
Reasons for Membership
| PGM Members Coerced? | no information |
| PGM Members Paid? | no information |
| Reasons for Membership: | |
| PGM Members Killed? | rarely |
PGM Size
| Size: |
Weapons and Training
| Weapons and Training: | The Liwa’a al-Imam al-Hasan al-Mujtaba-Sariyya Shahid Ahmed Kayara (LIHM) subdivision claims to own mortar and rocket units. |
Organisation
| Organisation: | The PGM directly cooperates and backs the regime of Assad. The military commander and secretary general of Harakat al-Nujaba is Shaykh Akram al-Ka’abi (also known as Shaykh of the Mujahideen); he had previously been a guerilla leader in operations against Coalition forces in Iraq. |
Reference(s) for Meta-Analysis
Evidence
- Examine the evidence for this coding.