Shabiha (also spelled Shabeeha or Shabbiha) (Arabic: الشبيحة‎) (from the root Arabic: شبح‎ "ghost", plural of "shabbih" Arabic: شبيح‎), is an Arabic word used mainly in Syria.^{[citation needed]} It roughly translates to "thugs".^[1] The word has gained international notoriety since the beginning of the 2011 Syrian uprising, due to its use to describe armed men in civilian clothing who assault protesters against the regime of Bashar Al-Assad. Opposition and human rights groups have argued that the shabiha are a tool of the regime for crackdown on dissent.^[1] Syria's National Organization for Human Rights has stated that some of the Shabiha are mercenaries.^[1]

They have been described as "a sectarian civilian militia that supports the regime of Bashar al-Assad",^[2] "a notorious Alawite paramilitary, who are accused of acting as unofficial enforcers for Assad's regime"^[3]; and "semi-criminal gangs comprised of thugs close to the regime."^[4] Some "shabiha" operating in Aleppo have been reported to be Sunni.^[5] According to the Arab Organization for Human Rights, those identified as Shabiha include not only local criminal gangs, but "members of the security forces in civilian clothes, informants or simply unemployed and impoverished youths.”^[1] The Shabiha have been active in efforts to repress the 2011 Syrian uprising and compared to ‘Baltagiya‘ thugs in Egypt and ‘Balatija‘ thugs in Yemen -- gangs to which regimes "outsourced" repression during the mass demonstrations of the Arab Spring.^[1]

History [link]

According to the Arab Organization for Human Rights, the Shabiha were originally concentrated in the Mediterranean region of Syria around Latakia, Banias and Tartous, where they benefited from smuggling through the ports in the area.^[1] They were known to smuggle drugs and hot money across the Lebanesse border in the the Latakia area of Syria and were known as Alawi ganglords.^[6] The Daily Telegraph wrote that the Shabiha "gained notoriety for the brutal way it enforced a protection racket in Latakia in the 1990s", but were apparently disbanded by Assad after he came to power in 2000.^[7] The popular uprising that began in March 2011, however, brought the Shabiha and the outside the law militia idea they represent back in favor with the Assad government.^[8]

2011 Syrian uprising [link]

Eyewitnesses and opposition groups accused Shabiha of attacking and killing protesters during the Syrian uprising. In March, Shabiha reportedly drove through Latakia firing at protesters in "cars armed with machine guns," later taking up "sniper positions on rooftops", killing up to 21 people.^[7] On 18 and 19 April, the Shabiha and security forces killed 21 protesters in Homs.^[9]

In May, Foreign Affairs reported that "Shabiba joined the Fourth Division and attacked civilians in the cities of Banias, Jableh, and Latakia."^[10]

In June, witnesses and refugees from the northwestern region said that the Shabiha have reemerged during the uprising and were being used by the Syrian government to carry out "a scorched earthed campaign [...] burning crops, ransacking houses and shooting randomly."^[11] The Washington Post reported a case in which four sisters were allegedly raped by Shabiha members.^[12]

Alleged role in Houla massacre [link]

On May 25, 2012, 108 people, including 49 children, were killed in two opposition-controlled villages in the Houla Region of Syria, a cluster of villages north of Homs.^[13] While a small proportion of the deaths appeared to have resulted from artillery and tank rounds used against the villages, the U.N. later announced that most of the massacre's victims had been "summarily executed in two separate incidents",^[14] and that the Shabiha were the most likely perpetrators.^[13] Townspeople described how Shabiha, from Shia/Alawite villages to the south and west of Houla (Kabu and Felleh were named repeatedly), entered the town after shelling of the ground for several hours. According to one eyewitness, the killers had written Shia slogans on their foreheads.^[15] The U.N. reported that "entire families were shot in their houses",^[16] and video emerged of children with their skulls split open.^[17] Others had been shot or knifed to death, some with their throats cut.^[18]

The fifteen nations of the United Nations Security Council unanimously condemned the massacre,^[19][20] with Syrian allies Russia and China agreeing to a resolution on the Syrian conflict for the first time.^[21] The U.S., U.K., and eleven other nations–the Netherlands, Australia, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Spain, Bulgaria, Canada and Turkey–jointly expelled Syrian ambassadors and diplomats.^[22][23]

Leadership [link]

In the coastal region, the group is reportedly led by Fawaz al-Assad and Munzer al-Assad, first cousins of President Assad.^[10] Another source, Mahmoud Merhi, head of the Arab Organization for Human Rights, has been quoted as saying that "most Syrians view" the Shabiha as "operating without any known organization or leadership."^[1] Sunni and Alawite businessmen who are protecting their own interests in the country are alleged to be paying the groups.^[24]

See also [link]

• Baltagiya

References [link]