Operating as the Iranian arm of the regime forces, the Fourth Division maintains its own security apparatus, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says.
Maher al-Assad, commander of the Fourth Division and brother of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, has issued a directive imposing restrictions on any security or military entity’s ability to arrest members of the Fourth Division, except under official missions sanctioned by the division’s security office or its military police company.
This decision comes amidst escalating disputes and clashes between Fourth Division members and counterparts from other military formations across various Syrian regions.
Instances of conflict have arisen between Fourth Division members and their counterparts from other formations in Damascus countryside, Homs, the Syrian Badia, and Deir-ez-Zor, prompting the division’s leadership to issue this directive aimed at safeguarding its members from arbitrary arrests and retribution.
In April, clashes erupted between Fourth Division members and the National Defense militia in Deir-ez-Zor’s countryside, as the division attempted to assert control over the Ayyash town crossing to monopolize fuel smuggling from areas controlled by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).
Following violent confrontations, National Defense groups managed to capture 12 members of the Fourth Division and the “Al-Baqir” militia, seizing several vehicles and weapons in the process.
The Fourth Division, under Maher Assad’s leadership, possesses specialized armaments, including advanced tanks and weaponry not accessible to other military formations within the Syrian regime’s army. Despite nominal affiliation with the Syrian Ministry of Defense, the Fourth Division operates independently in decision-making, and its members are subject to separate accountability mechanisms.
Members of the Fourth Division benefit from a form of immunity from arrest by security services, requiring summonses to be addressed to the division’s security office in the Muadamiyat al-Sham area of Damascus countryside. The division’s security office evaluates these summonses, determining whether to surrender the individual to security authorities, hold them accountable internally, or exempt them from accountability altogether.
Operating as the Iranian arm of the regime forces, the Fourth Division maintains its own security apparatus for holding members and officers accountable, alongside a distinct military police unit unaffiliated with Syrian security services or the Ministry of Defense’s military police. Similar arrangements apply to formations within the Republican Guard.
During the onset of the Syrian war, the Fourth Division participated in regime military operations against rebel-held areas and opposition factions in Damascus, its countryside, Daraa, and Quneitra. These operations resulted in significant casualties among well-trained fighters, prompting the division to relax entry requirements, admitting applicants irrespective of their security or criminal background.