In this series we have examined Syrian armed groups from across the entire political spectrum who at one point or another during the war featured a firearm in their official crest. Our goal is to present a statistical overview of the small arms used in this military imagery and to share some interesting information I was able to deduce. You can find the first three parts of this series here, here and here. In this fourth and final part, we will make a comparative overview of all the political affiliations fighting previously focused on throughout the previous posts.
AK-47
Small Arms Symbology of Syrian Opposition Forces (2011-2020)
The Syrian Civil War is an extremely complex conflict, not least in terms of its innumerable state and non-state actors, armed groups, popular militias and foreign contractors. Despite the obvious confusing chaos and dreadful complexity caused by a large number of participants it does offer a representative sample frame for academic research. For any researcher looking for a realistic subset of armed factions and political movements within the wider region, Syria provides an interesting case study. In this exclusive series, I examined Syrian armed groups from across the entire political spectrum who at one point or another during the war featured a firearm in their official crest. My goal is to present a statistical overview of the small arms used in this military imagery, and to share some interesting information I was able to deduct.
YPG and SDF Load Bearing Equipment in North Eastern Syria
In this article we will examine some of the load-bearing equipment and kit used by the YPG and SDF Forces during the ongoing Syrian conflict. First a little context, the YPG is an abbreviation of Yekîneyên Parastina Gel in Kurdish and translates to People’s Protection Units in English. This initially Kurdish only militia can trace its lineage to 2011 when we saw the YPG become an official entity with the establishment of the Kurdish Supreme Committee when the left-leaning Democratic Union Party and the center to right-leaning Kurdish National Council formed a pact.
The Emblem of the Shiite Muqāwama: The Cold War’s Third Alternative
When designing a new flag or representative banner of any given social group, one of the most important pillars of vexillology (the study of flags) one should keep in mind is clarity. Any serious flag should at least be indicative of what it represents, and how the people brandishing it wish to be perceived by the outside world. A clueless spectator means failure in offering a sufficiently suggestive flag for the group’s representation to the public. A flag is an important attribute for any group, presenting a visual introduction and identification through colors, symbols and objects featured on the banner.
The AK Milled Faux-Stamped Receiver Types of Darra & The Khyber Pass
An often-misunderstood topic in regards to Darra-E / ‘Khyber’ AK’s, is the type or variation of receivers that are produced in the Pak-Afghan, FATA, tribal region. Particularly noted are a variation of milled receiver that are machined and fashioned in such a sense, they imitate a standard stamped receiver so well that at a glance you would not be able tell if it was a genuine stamped receiver or not.
Afghan and Pakistani Craft-Produced Kalashnikov Variations
This post originally appeared on The Firearm Blog in March of 2018.
What does an average person know about the Pakistani weapons and the military-industrial complex? Nothing. Ordinary people are not interested in this kind of weird stuff. OK, so what does an average gun enthusiast know about Pakistani weapons? Probably not much either.
Winter Drills of Armed Forces of the Republic of Kazakhstan
Ministry of Defense of the Republic of Kazakhstan regularly publishes news on their official website. We collected photos from various winter exercises and drills and depicting small arms in the hands of Kazakh soldiers. The units in the photos represent various branches of this country’s military.
I hope you enjoyed this set of photos. Let us know in the comments section what interesting piece of gear have you noticed.
Basij Militia Selfie Stick
During the training exercises of Iranian Basij militia forces, the personnel found a controversial use for what looks to be a Chinese made underfolder AK-47. The guy in the image has mounted a phone on the stock and uses the gun as a selfie stick! Why controversial? Well, at first it looks to be a nice trick, which various armies’ soldiers have been doing lately. On the other hand, the Basij soldier violates key safety rules by pointing the gun at himself. He actually doesn’t care about three of four safety rules. I hope at least he has a good trigger discipline.
About the Basij Militia, from Wikipedia-
The Basij (Persian: بسيج, lit. “The Mobilization”), Niruyeh Moghavemat Basij (Persian: نیروی مقاومت بسیج, “Mobilisation Resistance Force”), full name Sāzmān-e Basij-e Mostaz’afin (Persian: سازمان بسیج مستضعفین, “The Organization for Mobilization of the Oppressed”), is one of the five forces of the Army of the Guardians of the Islamic Revolution. A paramilitary volunteer militia established in Iran in 1979 by Ayatollah Khomeini.
It was an independent organization from inception until 17 February 1981, when it was officially incorporated into the Revolutionary Guards organization structure by the Iranian Parliament.
Today the force consists of young Iranian volunteers. Basij serve as an auxiliary force engaged in activities such as internal security, law enforcement auxiliary, providing social services, organizing public religious ceremonies, policing morals, and suppression of dissident gatherings. The force is named Basij and individual members are called basiji.