Danish Immigration Service
Executive summary
As a consequence of the Syrian conflict, the Syrian Special Forces and the three elite units, including the Republican Guard, the Fourth Armoured Division and the 25th Special Tasks Division/ Tiger Forces, have undergone considerable changes in organisation and structure. As a result:
- – the regiments of the Syrian Special Forces Command has ceased to exist
- – only remnants of the 15th Special Forces Division survived
- – the 14th Special Forces Division still exists in its pre-war structure
- – both the Republican Guard and the Fourth Division have been expanded in terms of manpower and authority
- – the new elite unit, the 25th Special Tasks Division was created and restructured to include six regiments.
The recruitment practices of the Special Forces are different from the three other elite units. The Special Forces only recruit soldiers and officers (including conscripts and reservists) from the regular units in the Syrian Arab Army (SAA), whereas the three other units recruit members of foreign and local militias, and fighters from former opposition groups.
The Fourth Division and the Republican Guard also recruit regular soldiers (including conscripts and reservists) from the SAA.
However, all units prefer to recruit Alawite fighters, especially in the high-level positions in the units.
All the units have committed violations against humanity in 2021 and 2022.
This includes violations such as
(indiscriminate) killings of civilians, detention/kidnapping, blackmailing and extortion
