Shabiha

Shabiha (Levantine Arabic: شَبِّيحَة Šabbīḥa, pronounced [ʃabˈbiːħa]; also romanized Shabeeha or Shabbiha; lit. 'ghosts') is a colloquial and generally derogatory term for various loosely-organised Syrian militias loyal to the Ba'athist government and the Assad family prior to the regime's collapse in 2024, used particularly during the initial phase of the Syrian civil war. As the war evolved, many groups that had previously been considered shabiha were amalgamated into the National Defence Force (NDF) and other paramilitary groups.

The mercenaries consisted of mostly Alawite men paid by the regime to eliminate figures of its domestic opposition and alleged fifth-columnists. The Shabiha were established in the 1980s to smuggle weapons to the Syrian soldiers stationed in Lebanon during the Lebanese Civil War and Syrian occupation of Lebanon. While most Shabiha were members of the Alawite minority, the main common denominator of the groups was loyalty to the Assad family rather than religion, and in areas such as Aleppo they were primarily Sunni.

The Shabiha were founded in the 1980s by Nimir al-Assad (President Hafez al-Assad's cousin) and Rifaat al-Assad (Hafez al-Assad's brother). They were originally concentrated in the Syrian coastal region around Latakia, Baniyas, and Tartous, where they profited from smuggling through the region's ports.

Known by Alawites in Syria as an Alawite gang, during the late 1980s and early 1990s they smuggled food, cigarettes, and other goods ,with government support, from Syria to Lebanon and sold them for considerable profit. Luxury cars, weapons, and drugs were smuggled in the opposite direction, from Lebanon to Syria. The Shabiha are loyal to various members of Syria's ruling Assad family. They remain untouchable and unarrested, operating with impunity from the Syrian authorities.The Shabiha gained notoriety in the 1990s for the brutality they imposed on the Syrian coast.

The word became common in the 1990s, when it was being used to refer to "thugs" who worked with the government and often drove Mercedes-Benz S-Class and gave their guards the same car; that specific car model was nicknamed Shabah (Ghost) in many Arabic countries which led to its drivers being called Shabeeh. The Syrian opposition stated that the shabiha are a tool of the government for cracking down on dissent. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights has stated that some of the shabiha are mercenaries. Strongly loyal to the Assad regime and containing anti-Sunni factions, shabiha militias are discreetly financed by powerful Syrian businessmen, and have often been responsible for the more brutal actions against the opposition, including possible massacres. Psychological warfare against Syria's Sunni population is also known to have been employed by Alawi Shabiha, which includes demonising Sunni religious beliefs and usage of deriding slogans such as "There is no God but Bashar".

Shabiha, thugs, and other such terms are not a new phenomenon. During the Arab Spring revolutions, they were used politically by some governments and influential individuals to disrupt the revolutions and intimidate the rebels and demonstrators. Enemies of the revolutions also attempted to use gangs to further their political and religious goals.