By Samah Abdul Fattah | 2024-07-29

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) is strengthening the positions of its affiliated militias in the eastern Syrian province of Deir Ezzor with local recruits and fighters brought in from Iraq, local activists said.

Senior leaders from the IRGC, Hizbullah and other Iran-backed militias met in Deir Ezzor July 22 to discuss ways to reinforce the militias' ranks with local recruits, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported.

"For some time now, the IRGC has been fortifying the posts where its militias are stationed," Deir Ezzor media activist Jamil al-Abed told Al-Fassel.

Most of these positions are in and around the cities of Deir Ezzor, al-Mayadeen and Albu Kamal, he said.

Syrian youth are being targeted for recruitment, supplied with weapons and training, and distributed among the various posts, he said, noting that this group is often assigned to dangerous areas or to fixed and mobile checkpoints.

Some militiamen are being bused in from Iraq under the guise of religious pilgrims -- a tactic that was especially effective amid the recent increase in legitimate pilgrimages to commemorate Ashura, he said.

The Iranian reinforcements "come after the large losses [the IRGC] suffers on an almost daily basis" from air strikes targeting its militias, al-Abed said, and the reluctance of Syrian youth to volunteer out of fear of coming under fire.

Military reinforcements

Iran-aligned militias have reinforced their presence in al-Mayadeen with a number of "tanks and transport vehicles," Syrian activist Ayham al-Ali told Al-Fassel.

They have provided tribal groups with training on the use of heavy weapons and civilian vehicles for their transportation, he said, after inciting them against the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).

The militias have brought a large quantity of weapons and ammunition into the border town of Albu Kamal from Iraq via the Sikak crossing, which is controlled by Kataib Hizbullah, he said.

"These weapons were unloaded into the warehouses of the Fatemiyoun Division militia in the town of al-Hamdan," al-Ali added.

The training was conducted in the desert near Albu Kamal, exclusively for elements of the IRGC-aligned Fatemiyoun Division and 47th Regiment militias.

Training on the use of heavy weapons, missiles, explosives and drone operation is taking place in "Qassem Soleimani camp" in the town of Ayyash, he said, under the supervision of Lebanese Hizbullah, with help from Afghan trainers.

Additionally, he said, intensive screening is being undertaken with the aim of reducing information leaks about the movements of militia leaders and officers and the transfer of weapons and ammunition.