The Syrian Civil War is many things, not least an extremely complex conflict. In this series we examine the imagery used by various groups from across Syria’s political spectrum. In the first part of the series we examined the crests Opposition-affiliated groups and organisations. If you missed the first part of the series you can find it here. In this part we will examine groups affiliated with the Assad Regime and present a statistical overview of the small arms used in their military imagery. You can find the first part of this series here.
In this article we will look at Regime-affiliated groups, limiting the scope of our research to any armed group having effectively fought at any given time of their active existence under an official logo depicting a firearm. We found a total of 36 of these well-defined sample units loyal to the politically aligned entity known to observers as ‘the Regime’. Despite the possibility of having overlooked some minor groups, I’m fairly confident to assert that a sample frame of 36 factions suffices for this exploration.
This chart above shows each of the featured small arms and light weapon (SALW) models and the number of times it appeared on the relevant crests. Like Opposition-affiliated groups, USSR-produced small arms remain the foremost popular image to appear on Regime emblems at about 57%. The AK-47 design, along with the more common AKM (both 7.62×39mm chambered self-loading rifles), are once again most prevalent, followed by the 7.62×54mmR SVD-63 “Dragunov” self-loading designated marksman’s rifle as seen on the crest of the Iraqi Liwāʾ al-Yawm al-Mawʿūd and al-Nakhsā, a special operations unit fighting under Iran’s IRGC command. One instance of an RPG-7 appears on the crest of Faylaq al-Waʿd al-Ṣādiq, an Iraqi Shiite militia operating as part of the Popular Mobilization Forces’ operations in Syria. The reason USSR weaponry doesn’t exceed 57%, is likely because of the symbolic role another assault rifle represents among Regime-affiliated factions.
The Iranian-made licensed H&K G3A6, a 7.62×51mm self-loading rifle, is the single most popular firearm model to appear among Regime factions, no less than 40.5% of the total amount of SALW counted. As I wrote in a previous article on the subject, 150,000 G3A6 rifles were produced in Iran each year by the end of the 1970’s and quickly became the main service rifle of the Iranian armed forces. When the design of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps’ imagery was entrusted to Moḥsen Kohalduz, an original member of the Guard Corps Command Council, he decided to feature the G3A6 as a central element on the IRGC’s banner. Today, the amount of groups affiliated with the IRGC and the ideals of the Iranian Revolution has never been more numerous. Due to the intense support and diplomatic maneuvering of the IRGC in neighboring countries, new Iranian proxies can currently be found all over Iraq as part of the so-called Popular Mobilization Forces (al-Ḥashd al-Shaʿbī), in Syria as part of the pro-Regime armed forces and in Yemen as part of the Ḥūthī tribal confederation collectively known as the Anṣār Allāh. All of these groups brandish a flag copied exactly from the IRGC’s emblem, a statement of alignment and coalition under the watchful eye of the Iranian Republic Guard Corps.
Ḥizb Allāh is definitely the most famous group to feature the G3A6 after the IRGC. Established between 1982 and 1985 by Lebanese followers of al-Khomeynī, the group is involved in the Syrian Civil War from 2012 onward. With the exception of one native Syrian pro-Iranian Shiite group, Junūd al-Imām al-Mahdī, all factions featuring an Iranian G3A6 are foreign Shiite armed groups of Iraqi, Afghani and Lebanese origin. This graph below shows the nationality of each fighting group in Syria using a G3A6 in their crest.
Like the Opposition, some Regime-affiliated factions have rather peculiar choices in the firearm model featured on their crest. Al-Muqāwama al-Shaʿbiyya fī al-Mintaqa al-Sharqiyya, a pro-Iranian group operating in the eastern Syria desert and most famously claiming a rocket-attack against a US military base in April 2018, feature quite prominently an American Remington 1903A4 .30-06 bolt-action rifle. It should be quite clear that this rare and desirable World War Two-vintage sniper rifle hasn’t seen an inch of the Syrian battlefield as of today, making it rather unclear why such an arm has been chosen to represent the group.
What does make sense, however, is the Czechoslovak sa vz. 23 submachine gun found in a heavily stylized form on the emblem of the Palestinian Fatḥ al-Intifāḍa group (not to be mistaken with the mainstream Palestinian Fatḥ movement). Despite the quite generic depiction of this 9×19mm submachine gun being quite similar to the real deal, it takes cues from various submachine guns. The Beretta M12 comes to mind as well as the Egyptian AKABA, a simplified variation of the Port-Said, a local Egyptian copy of the Swedish Carl Gustaf M/45 submachine gun. This ambiguity is quite meaningful, given that submachine guns are quite popular among Palestinian resistance groups for their portable size and simple design, and have actually influenced the creation of the so-called Carlo, a cheap derivative manufactured by small workshops in Palestine.
We can, in conclusion, note that Regime-affiliated factions can be divided into two different categories based on the weaponry featured on their crest: Pro-Assad Syrian and Iraqi groups that mainly use firearms from the former USSR, the AK-47, AKM and RPG-7, and distinct pro-Iran Shiite militias that copy the IRGC logo and feature the G3A6. There is a notable lack of Western firearms used, with the peculiar exception of the Remington 1903A4. The same goes for a total lack of modern Russian firearms like the AK-74M, AK-101 and AK-103, despite the Regime’s ties to Russia.
You can find the next part of this series here. For an overview of the raw data I used to create the Regime-affiliated sample group, please refer to this file.
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