Homs Military Academy

Homs Military Academy is a military educational and training institution located in Homs, Syria.
History
Establishment
Homs Military Academy was founded in 1933 by France during the Mandate for Syria and the Lebanon. During the period of French administration the academy provided officer training for the Troupes Speciales du Levant - the locally recruited Syrian and Lebanese units forming part of the Army of the Levant.
Continuing in existence after the end of the Mandate in 1943 and throughout various political changes, it remains the oldest and largest military service institution in Syria. At first, it was primarily an academy for infantry officers, while graduates who selected the other services went on to additional specialized training at other army-operated specialist schools. Graduates were often selected for a military academy in the Soviet Union.
Homs Academy admitted entrants who did not possess high level education qualifications, as well as offering a relatively rare rapid career path for graduates. In addition to large numbers of Syrian and Lebanese nationals it also offered officer training to French citizens who were denied by class or education from attending comparable academies within France.
Syrian civil war
On 23 July 2011, there were reports of explosions at the Homs Academy during the Syrian revolution, which later denied by the Syrian military. On 15 April 2012, the Syrian Army targeted the neighborhood of al-Waer from the nearby Homs Academy during the military confrontation in the city. On 30 August 2013, the academy was evacuated and its military equipment moved, to avoid a possible air attack from the United States following the Ghouta chemical attack.
On 5 October 2023, a drone attack during a graduation ceremony at the academy killed over 100 people.
Notable alumni
Ziad al-Atassi, Major General
Lu'ay al-Atassi, Lieutenant-General, military attache to USA. Titular President during interim government.
Ali Abdullah Ayyoub, Deputy Prime Minister of Syria, senior Syrian Arab Army officer and former Minister of Defense
Adnan al-Malki, Deputy-Chief of Staff of Syrian Army
Ali Aslan, Lieutenant General, Former Chief of Staff of Syrian Army
Bashar al-Assad, Syrian President
Hafez al-Assad, Former Syrian President
Rifat al-Assad, brother of Former Syrian President
Adnan Badr Hassan, Former intelligence chief
Suheil Al Hassan, Brigadier General, Commander of Elite Tiger Forces
Ali Haydar "Father of the Syrian Special Forces, served as commander of the Syrian Special Forces for 26 years
Salah Jadid, Major General, De Facto former leader of Syria
Ghazi Kanaan, Syria's interior minister and head of Syria's security apparatus in Lebanon
Hassan Khalil, Former Head of Military Intelligence of Syria
Hikmat al-Shihabi, Former chief of staff of the Syrian Army
Bahjat Suleiman Major General, Former Syrian Ambassador to Jordan and Head of Internal Branch of General Intelligence Directorate.
Fawzi Selu, both a graduate and later director of the academy
Manaf Tlass, former Brigadier General of the Syrian Republican Guard and member of Bashar al-Assad's inner circle
Mustafa Tlass, former Syrian senior military officer and politician who was Syria's minister of defense from 1972 to 2004.
References
Educational institutions established in 1933
Buildings and structures in Homs
1933 establishments in Mandatory Syria
Universities in Syria