Arab Nationalist Guard
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| Arab Nationalist Guard الحرس القومي العربي | |
|---|---|
Arab National Guard emblem and flag | |
| Dates of operation | April 2013–? |
| Headquarters | Sidon, Lebanon[1] |
| Active regions | Western Syria |
| Ideology | Arab nationalism Pan-Arabism Anti-Zionism Nasserism Anti-imperialism Secularism |
| Size | 1,000 (May 2014)[2] |
| Allies |  Syrian Armed Forces (until 2024) National Defense Forces (until 2024) Hezbollah (until 2024) Ba'ath Brigades (until 2018) |
| Opponents |  Free Syrian Army Ahrar al-Sham Jaysh al-Islam Al-Nusra Front |
| Battles and wars | Syrian Civil War
|
The Arab Nationalist Guard (Arabic: الحرس القومي العربي) was a secular volunteer militia force operating in Syria. The group espouses an Arab nationalist ideology. The Arab Nationalist Guard's membership includes nationalists from a variety of Arab countries.
Formed in April 2013 by pan-Arab volunteers to fight against "all Takfiri movements that aim to strike our unity and sow divisions between Arabs",[1] the Arab Nationalist Guard bolstered the ranks of Bashar al-Assad's government amid the 2012–13 escalation of the Syrian Civil War. The group quickly started to closely cooperate with the Syrian National Defence Forces militia network. From late 2013 to early 2014, the Arab Nationalist Guard primarily fought in the Rif Dimashq Governorate, though was also present at other conflict zones in Aleppo Governorate, Deraa Governorate, and Homs Governorate. It was prominently involved in government offensives in Qalamoun at the time.[1][5]
By 2017, the unit had taken up positions in Deraa city.[6] It later fought in the Siege of Eastern Ghouta.[7][8] In 2020, the Israeli Shin Bet security service arrested members of a purported Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine cell which had planned resistance attacks against Israeli targets and reportedly cooperated with the Arab Nationalist Guard and its civilian wing, the Arab Nationalist Youth.[9] It was still operating in Damascus by early 2021.[10]
Ideology
The group's ideology falls in line with Gamal Abdel Nasser's pan-Arab ideals (Nasserism),[1] as well as with anti-Zionism and anti-imperialism. It claims to oppose "sectarian, ethnic, or religious extremism", and also supports an independent State of Palestine.[5] In its imagery and textual output, the militia has emphasized Nasser, Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez, Hezbollah, Iraqi President Saddam Hussein and Bashar al-Assad as praiseworthy examples.[5]
