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5th Assault Corps (Syria)

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Not to be confused with 5th Corps (Syrian rebel group).

5th Assault Corps
فيلق الهجوم الخامس
Syrian Armed Forces Flag
Active2016 – present[1]
Country Syria
Allegiance Syrian Armed Forces
Branch Syrian Arab Army
TypeCorps
Size15,000 soldiers (2019)[2]
Garrison/HQLatakia
Homs (1st Brigade)[2]
Hama (2nd Brigade)
Daraa (3rd, 4th & al-Quds Brigade)
Maarat al-Numan (5th & 6th Brigade)[3]
Deir ez-Zor (7th Brigade)
Bosra (8th Brigade)
Ayn Issa (103rd & 148th Brigade)
EngagementsSyrian Civil War
Commanders
Current CommanderMaj. Gen. Omran Mahmoud Omran
Deputy CommanderMaj. Gen. Boris Novikov[4]
Brigade CommandersBrig. Gen. Burhan Al-Halabi (1st Brigade)[5]
Brig. Gen. Najim Muna (2nd Brigade)[5]
Brig. Gen. Aktham Hussain (3rd Brigade)[5]
Brig. Gen. Ahmed Saleh Al Dhamati (4th Brigade)
Brig. Gen. Khaiyrat Kuhlh (5th Brigade)[5]
Brig. Gen. Ali Ali (6th Brigade) †[5]
Brig. Gen. Nabil Issa (7th Brigade)[6]
Ahmed Al-Ouhda (8th Brigade)[5]
Col. Muhammad al-Sa'eed (al-Quds Brigade)
Brig. Gen. Yasser Saleh Mansour (148th Brigade)

The 5th Assault Corps (Arabic: فيلق الهجوم الخامس), also called the Fifth Legion, is an all-volunteer corps, formation of the Syrian Army involved in the Syrian Civil War fighting against the Syrian opposition, Al-Qaeda in Syria, and ISIS.[1][7] It was first formed in 2016. Unlike other corps in the Syrian Army, the 5th Corps is not divided into divisions, but commands eleven brigades, as well as the actual number of serving soldiers is lower (about a third of the manpower in other corps).

Command structure

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5th Assault Corps (2021)
  • 1st Assault Brigade[7]
    • 13th Infantry Battalion
    • 1579th Infantry Battalion[8]
  • 2nd Assault Brigade[9]
  • 3rd Assault Brigade[7]
    • 103rd Battalion
  • 4th Assault Brigade[7]
  • 5th Assault Brigade[7]
    • 1st Infantry Regiment[10]
    • 2nd Infantry Regiment
  • 6th Assault Brigade[7]
    • 79th Infantry Battalion
    • 86th Infantry Battalion
  • 7th Assault Brigade[7]
    • 3rd Infantry Battalion
  • 8th Assault Brigade[7]
  • al-Quds Brigade[11]
    • Lions of al-Quds Battalion[11]
    • Defenders of Aleppo Battalion
    • Deterrence Battalion
    • Lions of al-Shahba Battalion[12]
  • 103rd Artillery Brigade[13]
  • 148th Artillery Brigade[14]

Combat history

[edit]

The formation of the 5th Corps in 2016 was preceded by the creation of the 4th Volunteer Assault Corps, which did not live up to expectations, whose sphere remained the local defense of Latakia.[15] The Fifth Corps of volunteers recruits men from over age 18 from across the country "not already eligible for military service or deserters".[16][17] The Russians took an active part in preparing and equipping the corps.

The 5th Volunteer Assault Corps was formed entirely from contract soldiers from scratch. Russian officers participate in the command of the formation, ranging from company to the corps commander. Russian signal officers provide communications between units and corps headquarters.[18] The corps is commanded by a Syrian, his Russian deputy usually remains in the shadows. 5th Corps soldiers are trained, equipped and advised by Russian military personnel since their intervention in 2015.[19] Most main battle tanks of the 5th Assault Corps are modernized Soviet tanks, including the T-62M and T-72B3.[19]

According to Abdullah Soleiman Ali in al-Safir paper, formation of 'Fifth Attack Troop Corps' is the apex point of cooperation among members of Russia–Syria–Iran–Iraq coalition.[20] The corps was commanded until his death in Deir ez-Zor on September 23, 2017, by Lieutenant General Valery Asapov.[21]

The 5th Corps unit, The Ba'ath Legion, was formed from Ba'ath Brigades volunteers.[22] It was later transformed into the 4th Brigade. According to the Russian International Affairs Council, the Qalamoun Shield Forces also joined the Fifth Corps, though no other sources confirmed this.[23] In February 2018, 20 members[24] of the ISIS Hunters (a 5th Corps subunit) died in a US airstrike.[25][26]

After the rebels surrendered in July 2018 in Daraa, they were integrated into the 5th Corps from October 2018[11] as the 8th Brigade with a permanent location in Bosra, its commander was the former rebel Ahmad Oda, who previously commanded the Youth Sunni Forces (QSS) group. Although the majority of the rebels (the total number of forces of the Southern Front FSA was 30,000 people) chose to evacuate to the province of Idlib (about 5,000 people) or return to peaceful life.[11] By April 2019, former rebels made up more than 75% of the brigade's fighters. As of April 2019, the strength of the 8th Brigade was 1,585 military personnel.

The 8th Brigade is unique in that it consists entirely of natives of the province Daraa. The brigade's personnel are made up of three categories: ordinary civilians (300 people), mainly engaged in maintenance; civil servants who had previously participated in the rebellion against the government and joined the brigade in order to avoid criminal prosecution, since they had previously worked for the rebels; the rebels themselves are from the QSS group (about 860 fighters). The 8th Brigade participated in operations against IS in the desert Suwayda, Latakia and Deir ez-Zor. The brigade consists of 4 infantry battalions, a reconnaissance company, a fire support company, a logistics company support and headquarters.[11]

In March 2021, the 5th Corps unit supported by the Russians managed to control Tuenan gas plant and Al-Thawrah oilfield in Raqqa Governorate, previously held by Liwa Fatemiyoun.[27] That month, its commander since January 2018, Major General Zaid Salah (formerly commander the Republican Guard’s 30th Division) was sanctioned by the United Kingdom, who named him as "Responsible for the violent repression of the civilian population by troops under his command, particularly during the increased violence of the Idlib/Hama offensive which began in April 2019."[28] In July 2020, Maj. Gen. Milad Jadid replaced Maj. Gen. Zaid Salah as commander of the 5th Corps.[29] In August 2022, Maj. Gen. Munzar Ibrahim was appointed as commander of the 5th Corps.[30] On 30 December 2023, Maj. Gen. Muhammad al-Daher was named as a commander of the 5th Assault Corps. On 3 April 2024, Maj. Gen. Omran Mahmoud Omran was appointed as a commander of the 5th Assault Corps.[citation needed]

See also

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References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b "Syrian army forms volunteer corps to fight militants". Reuters. 22 November 2016. Archived from the original on 4 December 2016. Retrieved 5 December 2016.
  2. ^ a b Waters, Gregory (18 July 2019). "The Lion and The Eagle: The Syrian Arab Army's Destruction and Rebirth". Middle East Institute. Retrieved 4 September 2019.
  3. ^ Gregory Waters (29 September 2020). "Haider Regiment training near Maarat al-Numan. 5th Corps/5th Brigade commander Brig Kheirat Kahla overseeing". Twitter. Retrieved 2 March 2024.
  4. ^ #Russia's "military advisor" to the Syrian 5th Corps is Major General Novikov Boris Alekseevich
  5. ^ a b c d e f Muhsen al-Mustafa (9 November 2021). "Chain of Command in the Syrian Military: Formal and Informal Tracks". Omran Center for strategic studies. Retrieved 31 March 2024.
  6. ^ Gregory Waters (30 March 2024). "Eastern Syria reshuffle: Jihad Yusuf to command 17th Div & Eastern Region Sec Committee (fmr dep co of Republican Guard). Muhammad Issa to command Hasakah Security Committee (fmr 10th Div commander). Nabil Issa to command 5th Corps' Dez-based 7th Brigade (fmr SRG officer)". Twitter. Retrieved 31 March 2024.
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h Gregory Waters (18 July 2019). "The Lion and The Eagle: The Syrian Arab Army's Destruction and Rebirth". Middle East Institute. Retrieved 20 September 2022.
  8. ^ "1579th Battalion of the 5th Corps' 1st Brigade patrolling southeast #Hama this week".
  9. ^ Gregory Waters (12 March 2019). "Understanding Syria's Military Deployments in Idlib". International Review. Retrieved 22 March 2023.
  10. ^ Gregory Waters (11 August 2020). "Picture taker is a BMP commander in the 5th Corps' 1st Regiment". Twitter. Retrieved 2 March 2024.
  11. ^ a b c d e Al-Jabassini, Abdullah (2019). From Insurgents to Soldiers: The Fifth Assault Corps in Daraa, Southern Syria. Wartime and Post-Conflict in Syria. European University Institute. ISBN 978-92-9084-767-0.
  12. ^ "The Palestinian al-Quds Brigade has a new Iran-backed militia for fighting in Aleppo". Al-Dorar al-Shamia. 20 June 2017. Archived from the original on 25 August 2017. Retrieved 28 August 2017.
  13. ^ Gregory Waters (20 November 2019). "Return to the northeast: Syrian Army deployments against Turkish forces". Middle East Institute. Retrieved 18 October 2023.
  14. ^ Gregory Waters (31 January 2021). "Pictures from inside the #Russian base in Ain Issa, Raqqa. 5th Corps 148th Brig". Twitter. Retrieved 2 March 2024.
  15. ^ وزارة الدفاع في الجمهورية العربية السورية (30 January 2017). "شاهد رمايات مدفعية الجيش العربي السوري على إرهابيي داعش شرقي حمص وتحرير الكتيبة المهجورة الثالثة". Archived from the original on 30 January 2017. Retrieved 30 January 2017 – via YouTube.
  16. ^ "Syria launches new commando force as war heats up". www.aljazeera.com. Archived from the original on 7 December 2016. Retrieved 7 December 2016.
  17. ^ "The Fifth Legion: A New Auxiliary Force". 24 December 2016. Archived from the original on 25 December 2016. Retrieved 24 December 2016.
  18. ^ Игорь Январёв, Никита Голобоков (20 April 2019). "Как Россия меняет Сирийскую армию". Archived from the original on 28 February 2020. Retrieved 28 February 2020.
  19. ^ a b Leith Fadel (11 August 2017). "Pictures of Syrian Army units that will lift Deir Ezzor seige [sic]". Al-Masdar News. Archived from the original on 11 August 2017. Retrieved 11 August 2017.
  20. ^ Staff writers. "Fifth Attack Troops Corps entered the Syria civil war". mashreghnews (in Persian). Archived from the original on 7 December 2016. Retrieved 7 December 2016.
  21. ^ "Russian army general, ex-commander of "DPR" militants, killed in Syria – media". UNIAN. 24 September 2017.
  22. ^ "Syrian regime forms militia mostly from the ruling party". Zaman Alwasl. 16 March 2017. Archived from the original on 17 March 2017. Retrieved 17 March 2017.
  23. ^ Mona Alami (6 March 2019). "Can Assad's Demobilization, Demilitarization, and Rehabilitation Strategy Actually Consolidate Syria's Paramilitary Forces?". Washington Institute. Retrieved 18 June 2019.
  24. ^ "Pro-gov't ISIS Hunters release official statement after US airstrikes in Deir Ezzor". 11 February 2018. Archived from the original on 12 February 2018. Retrieved 11 February 2018.
  25. ^ "US-led coalition strikes kill pro-regime forces in Syria". 7 February 2018. Archived from the original on 30 April 2018. Retrieved 11 February 2018.
  26. ^ "Inside the U.S. Coalition attack on Syrian forces in Deir Ez Zor". 10 February 2018. Archived from the original on 12 February 2018. Retrieved 11 February 2018.
  27. ^ "بعد حقل توينان.. القوات الروسية تبسط سيطرتها على حقل الثورة النفطي وفاطميون تنسحب". eyeofeuphrates.com (in Arabic). 13 March 2021.
  28. ^ "New UK sanctions targeting Assad regime for repressing the Syrian people". GOV.UK. 15 March 2021. Retrieved 14 September 2022.
  29. ^ Gregory Waters (13 July 2020). "Maj General Milad Jadid (chief of staff of Republican Guard) replaces Maj Gen Zaid Salah as commander of the 5th Corps". Twitter. Retrieved 2 March 2024.
  30. ^ Gregory Waters (28 March 2024). "Lots of new senior appointments today: Mundhir Ibrahim replaces Ramadan as head of SAA Operations Authority (ex-head of 5th Corps & Idlib Sec Committee). Mohamed Saftly moves from 15th Div to command all Special Forces. Replaced by Suhail Fajr Hassan, fmr 67 Brig commander". Twitter. Retrieved 31 March 2024.
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