Defense Companies ( Syria ) The Defense Companies ( ; " Saraya ad - Difa " ) were a paramilitary force in Syria that were commanded by Rifaat al - Assad . Their task was to defend the Assad regime , and Damascus , from internal and external attack . In 1984 they were merged into the Syrian Arab Army as the 4th Armoured division and the Republican Guard as well as the 14th Airborne Division comprising 5 Special Forces regiments . History and deployment . The lessons of the Six - Day War of 1967 pointed to the fact of the weak airborne and heavy armor capabilities of the Syrian Military . There was a perceptible lack of expertise in combined arms operations involving a combined deployment of armoured , artillery and airborne infantry units . Top Syrian military commanders and Hafez al Assad recognized the need to create a powerful and operationally self - sufficient Divisional command that would incorporate all the elements of modern combined arms . Also the political instability of the preceding decade in Syria pointed to the necessity of having a large and well - equipped body of highly loyal soldiers with strategic responsibilities of dealing with threats to the Baathist regime . From 1968 onwards many Alawite officers and soldiers from the regular Army were sent for advanced training to the Soviet Union in order to build up such a unit . The Defense Companies were founded in 1971 under this plan and were organizationally and operationally independent of the regular armed forces . They were under the command of Rifaat al - Assad , the president ' s brother . The Defense Companies were garrisoned outside Damascus , with the primary mission of countering attempted coups and challenges to the Assad government . These special forces , however , also had military missions beyond the role of a praetorian guard . The Defense Companies were initially trained by Soviet Spetsnaz special forces , VDV airborne forces , and the Soviet Army Tank Corps . They had regular Soviet advisors and conducted frequent war games and field exercises with the Soviet Army . Their expertise lay in Soviet - style combined arms operations involving armour , mechanized , artillery , and airborne forces . Defense Companies commanders were known to be personally close to several high - ranking Soviet military officials , like Vassily Margelov and Dmitri Sukhorukov , commanders of the VDF Airborne forces . The Defence Companies served in Syria ' s first armed intervention in the Lebanese Civil War in 1976 , especially the initial offensive operations against PLO and PSP positions in Sidon and the Chouf , and were involved in internal security operations during the nationwide strikes and demonstrations in Aleppo in March 1980 and in June 1980 . Lt . Col . Nassif ran a revenge operation after an attempted assassination of the President in 1980 , in which a Battalion of Defense Company soldiers killed up to 1 , 000 Tadmor Prison inmates suspected of belonging to the Muslim Brotherhood . In Spring 1982 , 2 brigades of the Defence Companies and other elite armoured formations were deployed in Hama to quell an Islamist uprising , in what became known as the Hama Massacre . Members of the Defense Companies are alleged to have been involved in a February 1981 assassination attempt against the Prime Minister of Jordan Mudar Badran . In Lebanon , Defense Companies units supported pro - Syrian Lebanese militias , and cooperated closely with the Tripoli - based Arab Knights of the Arab Democratic Party ( founded in 1981 by Rifaat al Assad and composed largely of Lebanese Alawis ) , and the Lebanese Baath Party and its militia , the Assad Battalion . Structure and equipment . Members of the approximately 55 , 000 strong Defense Companies were organised into companies of 120 to 200 men , which in turn were organized into Battalions of about 600 to 800 men , under a Lt . Col . Battalion Commanders were directly under the command of the Division Commander , Rifaat al - Assad , who actually held the rank of Brigadier throughout this period . There were separate Aviation squadrons and Artillery battalions within the Defense Companies . Most Defense Company soldiers , including Tank crewmen and Artillery personnel , received advanced commando and parachute training , as well as basic training in Tank warfare . The unit included a small but symbolically visible female parachutist corps . The Defense Companies were equipped with some of the most modern weapons available to the Syrian Army , including T - 72 tanks , BM - 21 Grad rocket artillery units , 2S4 Tyulpan heavy mortar vehicles , 122 mm howitzer 2A18 ( D - 30 ) field artillery howitzers , and Mil Mi - 24D and Mil Mi - 8 attack helicopter s , and could demand logistical help and support from the regular military . The Defense Company paratroop units were usually deployed from the AN - 22 or IL - 76 aircraft . At their peak in 1983 - 84 , the force had about 1200 T - 72 Tanks , 120 Mil Mi - 8 and 75 Mil Mi - 24D attack helicopters , and three battalions ( around 50 launch trucks ) of BM - 21 Grad systems . During this period ( 1973 - 1984 ) , the whole Syrian Military only had 7 Grad battalions , and 3 of them were with the Defense Companies , illustrating the unit ' s importance in the Syrian Military hierarchy . They were also equipped with 4 units of the very powerful 2S4 Tyulpan 240 - mm self - propelled heavy mortar vehicles . The 3rd and 10th Armoured Divisions were the only other Syrian division having access to this weapons system . The soldiers were predominantly Alawites , the sectarian community of the Assad family . The Defense Companies recruited independently from the regular Army , and held separate recruitment campaigns mainly concentrated in a few Provinces . Ideological training and propaganda were intense , and focused on revolutionary Baathism , secular nationalism , Alawite pride , and a cult of " the Leader " , Rifaat al - Assad . The Defense Companies have also been deployed against Jordan . In late February 1981 , some of their senior commanders , including Colonel Adnan Barakat , were alleged to have been involved in an abortive assassination attempt against Jordanian Prime Minister Mudir Badran . Members of the Defense Companies also reportedly have been sent abroad to monitor Syrian political exiles and to impede their activities . In Lebanon , Defense Companies units have supported pro - Syrian Lebanese militias , such as the Tripoli - based Arab Knights of the Arab Democratic Party ( founded in 1981 by Rifaat al Assad and composed largely of Lebanese Alawis of Syrian origin ) , and the Lebanese Baath Party and its militia , the Assad Battalion . Following a power struggle between Rifaat al Assad and his rivals in the armed forces in early 1984 , the Defense Companies were renamed Unit 569 and reorganized as a standard armored division with four armored and three mechanized brigades . Training , Doctrine and Uniform . Training consisted primarily of infantry training combined with Special Forces commando training modelled on the Soviet system . Recruits who passed this initial stage were given parachute training as well as advanced training either in airborne operations , artillery , Armour or Mechanized forces . Training for recruits usually was for 1 year whereas for officers it was for 2 years including a 4 month course at Soviet military academies . Howerever , almost all Defense Companies personnel were qualified paratroopers as well as had to pass a basic course on familiarization with Tanks and Tank warfare . Tank training and doctrine was focused on using Tanks and Armoured formations in urban warfare environments , close - quarters combat , and deployment of Tank units alongside Airborne special forces used as shock troops . This strategy was used extensively by successor units of the Saraya in the Syrian Civil War . The Saraya al - Difaa wore combat uniforms quite distinct from the regular Syrian military , their uniform consisted of lizard - patterned camouflage fatigues along with Soviet combat boots , helmets and bulletproof vests . Headgear consisted of a red or orange beret . After basic training , the Saraya conducted their advanced courses at secret locations in the Damascus Countryside , Tartous mountains , and in Syrian - controlled parts of Lebanon . Much of the initial generations of Saraya soldiers had been trained in the Soviet Union .