Report: Syrian Regime Organized Feared 'Ghost' Militias

Facts

• According to a report by the Commission for International Justice and Accountability (CIJA) published on Tuesday, senior Syrian officials created and led paramilitary groups known as "shabbiha" — Arabic for "ghosts" — which have targeted government opponents since the start of the Syrian conflict in 2011.¹
• In a seven-document dossier, Commission investigators claim to provide evidence of how Damascus "planned, organised [sic], instigated and deployed" the shabbiha militias at the highest levels to support the state's campaign against opposition forces in the early years of the conflict.²
• The documents, which date back to the beginnings of the anti-Assad protests in 2011, reportedly show that Assad loyalists were integrated into the state security structure by newly formed so-called Popular Committees and turned into powerful militias.³
• The evidence also shows how the Central Crisis Management Committee — comprising security forces, intelligence agencies, and high-ranking officials — ordered that the Popular Committees undergo training on how to use force against anti-government protesters.²
• In 2012, UN investigators concluded that the shabbiha committed crimes against humanity as well as war crimes, including murder, torture, and sexual violence. Damascus has blamed opposition forces for multiple massacres investigated by Commission.⁴
• The report comes as Jordan's Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi traveled to Damascus on Monday for talks on ending the Syrian crisis after the country was readmitted to the Arab League in May, following a 12-year hiatus. Jordan hosts about 1.3M Syrian refugees.⁵

Sources: ¹Al Jazeera, ²Reuters, ³Jerusalem Post, ⁴Haaretz, and ⁵The New Arab.

Narratives

• Pro-establishment narrative, as provided by Al Jazeera. As the Arab world once again rolls out the red carpet for Assad at the Arab League, this report is a crucial reminder of the Syrian regime's cruel nature. Assad may have won Syria's civil war, but he has the blood of more than 300K people on his hands. The fact that Canada and the Netherlands have initiated proceedings against Syria at the International Court of Justice gives hope that the international community will eventually hold Assad accountable for his crimes against humanity.
• Establishment- critical narrative, as provided by The Cradle. While Assad continues to be targeted by the international community, hardly anyone is talking about the ongoing and illegal occupation of Syrian territory by US troops to plunder the country's resources. Moreover, Washington is not only training anti-government armed forces but is also widely believed to be backing Islamists in its war against Assad. The fact that Syria has been readmitted to the Arab League proves that the region now wants to take its fate into its own hands — despite what the West desires.