Guardians of the Dawn

Guardians of the Dawn
حراس الفجر
A promotional image for the Guardians of the Dawn, showcasing their insignia to the right. The constituent groups of the coalition also frequently use the Christian cross, the Flag of Syria and images of Bashar al-Assad as logos.
Leaders	Fadi Abd al-Massih Khouri[1]
Dates of operation	2015[1][2] – present
Allegiance	Syrian Air Force Intelligence Directorate[1][2]
Group(s)	Lions of the Cherubim Earthquake of Jobar Ararat Group Lions of the Valley Lions of Hamidiya (former) Intervention Regiment Lions of Dwel’a
Headquarters	Various Christian towns throughout Syria
Active regions	Western Syria
Ideology	Christian solidarity Christian holy war Syrian nationalism
Allies	Syrian Armed Forces SSNP Sootoro Various other pro-government militias
Opponents	Free Syrian Army Army of Conquest Jaysh al-Islam Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant Jund al-Aqsa
Battles and wars	Syrian Civil War Rif Dimashq Governorate campaign Siege of Darayya and Muadamiyat Rif Dimashq offensive (April–May 2016) Rif Dimashq offensive (June–October 2016) Homs offensive (November–December 2015) 2016 Hama offensive Hama offensive (March–April 2017)

The Guardians of the Dawn (Arabic: حراس الفجر, romanized: Ḥurrās al-Fajr) are a coalition of Christian pro-government militias which are involved in the Syrian Civil War and affiliated with the Air Force Intelligence Directorate. Although the Guardians of the Dawn, whose official motto is "A homeland that we do not protect is one we do not deserve to live in", promote themselves as a Syrian nationalist force, their fighters are primarily motivated by a concept of holy war to defend the Christian areas of Syria from hostile rebels. The militiamen of Usud al-Cherubim, one of the coalition's constituent groups, even refer to themselves as "mujahideen of the cross".^[1]