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30th Division (Syria)

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30th Division
الفرقة 30 الحرس الجمهوري
Republican Guard shoulder sleeve insignia
ActiveJanuary 2017–2024
Country Syria
Allegiance President of Syria
Branch Syrian Army
TypeCommando
Mechanized infantry
Special forces
Size30,000 guardsmen (as of 2017)[1]
Part of Republican Guard
Garrison/HQAleppo
Engagements
Commanders
Current CommanderMaj. Gen. Mohamad Saftly[3]
Deputy CommanderMaj. Gen. Nizar Yunis[4]
Brigade CommandersBrig. Gen. Aqil Jumaa (106th Brigade)[6]
Notable
commanders		Maj. Gen. Ziad Ali Salah
Maj. Gen. Zeid Salih
Maj. Gen. Malik Aliaa
Maj. Gen. Saleh Abdullah[5]
Brig. Gen. Burhan Rahmun †[2]

The 30th Division (Arabic: الفرقة 30 الحرس الجمهوري) was the only elite combined forces division of the Syrian Republican Guard (SRG), established in 2017.[7][8] Its main purpose was similar to other SRG units, to protect the second largest city of Syria, Aleppo, from any foreign or domestic threats.[5]

Commanders

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  • Maj. Gen. Ziad Ali Salah (January 2017—November 2017)[9]
    • Deputy Commander: Maj. Gen. Zeid Salih
  • Brig. Gen. Malik Aliaa (November 2017—December 2018)[10]
    • Deputy Commander: Brig. Gen. Barakat Ali Barakat[11]
  • Maj. Gen. Barakat Ali Barakat (December 2018—October 2022)[12]
    • Deputy Commander: Brig. Gen. Saleh Abdullah (August 2022—October 2022)
  • Maj. Gen. Saleh Abdullah (October 2022—April 2024)[5]
  • Maj. Gen. Mohamad Saftly (April 2024—present)[13]
    • Deputy Commander: Maj. Gen. Nizar Yunis (May 2023—present)

Command structure

[edit]

As of October 2022, according to Gregory Waters, 30th Division operated five brigades, three special forces regiments and one artillery regiment:[7][5][a]

30th Division (2022)
  • 102nd Commando Brigade
  • 106th Mechanized Brigade
  • 123rd Special Forces Brigade[14]
  • 124th Special Forces Brigade[14]
  • 135th Mechanized Brigade[15]
  • 47th Special Forces Regiment[16]
  • 93rd Special Forces Regiment
  • 147th Special Forces Regiment
  • Artillery Regiment

Combat history

[edit]

The 30th Division was established in January 2017, following the Syrian government's regain of Aleppo city.[8] According Kheder Khaddour, the 30th Division united Aleppo's local militias as an umbrella organization and for while retaining their independent operating structures.[8][17] The Republican Guard created the new 30th Division to incorporate all its units in Aleppo under a single nominal command, and to integrate the paramilitary militias in the city (already operating under the Republican Guard supervision) into the Republican Guard organization.[7]

The then-deputy commander of the Republican Guard and overall military commander of the 2016 Aleppo offensive, Maj. Gen. Ziad Ali Salah, was appointed in charge of the 30th Division until November 2017[7] with Major General Zeid Salih as his deputy.[18] In November 2017 Brigadier General Malik Aliaa took over the command, he was later promoted as the new SRG commander.[7][19] In October 2022, Major General Saleh Abdullah was named as a commander of the unit.[20] By 2022, the 30th Division was rebuilt into a regular military unit composed of elite guardsmen.[7][5]

See also

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Notes

[edit]
  1. ^ Including units created after 2017

References

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  1. ^ "Сколько людей и оружия по обе линии сирийского противостояния". Газета.Ru. Archived from the original on 31 July 2016. Retrieved 20 May 2016.
  2. ^ a b "Syrian regime commander reportedly killed in Turkish drone strike in Aleppo". Rudaw. 28 February 2020. Retrieved 29 February 2020.
  3. ^ Gregory Waters (12 April 2024). "Changes to Syria's special forces this week: Recently appointed Mohamad Saftly moved to command 30th SRG Division. Replaced as head of Special Forces by Suhail Hassan. Suhail replaced as head of 25th Div by former senior Tiger commander, current 30th Div commander Saleh Abdullah". Twitter. Retrieved 14 April 2024.
  4. ^ "Maj General Nizar Yunis has been appointed head of the Aleppo Security & Military Committee".
  5. ^ a b c d e Gregory Waters (12 September 2022). "From Tiger Forces to the 16th Brigade: Russia's evolving Syrian proxies". Middle East Institute. Retrieved 16 November 2023.
  6. ^ Gregory Waters (20 November 2019). "Return to the northeast: Syrian Army deployments against Turkish forces". Middle East Institute. Retrieved 20 November 2023.
  7. ^ a b c d e f Waters, Gregory (18 July 2019). "The Lion and The Eagle: The Syrian Arab Army's Destruction and Rebirth". Middle East Institute. Retrieved 4 September 2019.
  8. ^ a b c Khaddour, Kheder (5 November 2018). "Syria's Troublesome Militias". Carnegie Middle East Center. Retrieved 4 September 2019.
  9. ^ "The General Zaid Saleh appointed as Head of the Security and Military Committee in Idleb". Syrian Observer. 4 March 2020. Retrieved 9 December 2023.
  10. ^ Leith Aboufadel (28 December 2018). "Syrian military names new commander of elite Republican Guard". al-Masdar News. Archived from the original on 29 December 2018. Retrieved 28 December 2018.
  11. ^ Gregory Waters. "Syria's Republican Guard: growth and fragmentation" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 13 January 2021. Retrieved 24 December 2018.
  12. ^ Muhsen al-Mustafa (9 November 2021). "Chain of Command in the Syrian Military: Formal and Informal Tracks". Omran Center for strategic studies. Retrieved 31 March 2024.
  13. ^ Gregory Waters (28 March 2024). "Lots of new senior appointments today: Mundhir Ibrahim replaces Ramadan as head of SAA Operations Authority (ex-head of 5th Corps & Idlib Sec Committee). Mohamed Saftly moves from 15th Div to command all Special Forces. Replaced by Suhail Fajr Hassan, fmr 67 Brig commander". Twitter. Retrieved 31 March 2024.
  14. ^ a b Gregory Waters (12 May 2020). "Current Syrian Army Deployments". International Review. Retrieved 17 October 2023.
  15. ^ Gregory Waters (12 January 2023). "The commander of the 135th Republican Guard Brigade & at least two others (captain & 1st Lt) were killed by #Turkish shelling". Twitter. Retrieved 3 March 2024.
  16. ^ Gregory Waters (29 June 2022). "Hellcannon of the 1st Company of the Republican Guard's 30th Division, 47th Regiment, 63rd Battalion". Twitter. Retrieved 3 March 2024.
  17. ^ Alami, Mona (6 March 2019). "Can Assad's Demobilization, Demilitarization, and Rehabilitation Strategy Actually Consolidate Syria's Paramilitary Forces?". www.washingtoninstitute.org. The Washington Institute for Near East Policy. Retrieved 7 September 2019.
  18. ^ Al-Jabassini, Abdullah (14 May 2019). "From Insurgents to Soldiers: The Fifth Assault Corps in Daraa, Southern Syria" (PDF). European University Institute. p. 6. Retrieved 4 September 2019.
  19. ^ Aboufadel, Leith (27 October 2017). "Syrian Army announces new commander of elite Republican Guard unit". AMN - Al-Masdar News | المصدر نيوز. Retrieved 4 September 2019.
  20. ^ Syria - The Special Forces and the Elite Units
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