Sootoro

Not to be confused with Sutoro.
Gozarto Protection Forces – Sootoro
ܣܘܬܪܐ – ܚܝܠܘ̈ܬܐ ܕܣܘܬܪܐ ܕܓܙܪܬܐ
LeadersSargon Ibrahim [1]
Dates of operation2012–present
AllegianceSyria Syrian government
Size500+ (2015)[2]
c. 300-400 (2017 estimate)[3]
Allies Syria

SSNP

Battles and warsSyrian Civil War
WebsiteFacebook
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The Gozarto Protection Forces (Syriac: ܚܝܠܘ̈ܬܐ ܕܣܘܬܪܐ ܕܓܙܪܬܐ, Arabic: سوتورو, GPF) and Sootoro (Syriac: ܣܘܬܪܐ), united as one organisation, are a regional militia based in Qamishli, Al-Hasakah Governorate, Syria, composed of members of the local ethnic Assyrian and some Armenian communities, founded after the outbreak of the Syrian Civil War that began in 2011. Sootoro claims to be affiliated with the Civil Peace Committee for Syriac Orthodox.[8] The Qamishli Sootoro is aligned with the Ba'athist government of Bashar Assad.[9]

  1. ^ Sargon Ibrahim ledaren för Sootoro om situationen i Qamishli "Sargon Ibrahim the leader of Sootoro on the situation in Qamishli"
  2. ^ "Pro-regime militias in Syria". Yahoo News. 25 September 2015. Retrieved 29 November 2015.
  3. ^ Rashid (2018), p. 36.
  4. ^ "Sectarian militias brought by the regime to fight in Deir al-Zour". El-Dorar Al-Shamia. 15 May 2017. Archived from the original on 13 October 2017. Retrieved 17 May 2017.
  5. ^ Leith Fadel (15 May 2017). "Pro-government Assyrian forces arrive in Deir Ezzor for offensive". al-Masdar News. Archived from the original on 28 June 2018. Retrieved 17 May 2017.
  6. ^ https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/christian-forces-fight-back-against-isis-in-east-homs-several-hilltops-captured-near-maheen/ Archived 4 August 2018 at the Wayback Machine On Wednesday morning, the National Defense Forces (NDF) of Sadad, the Syrian Social Nationalist Party (SSNP), and the Gozarto Protection Forces (GPF) launched a counter-offensive from the Maheen-Sadad checkpoint to reclaim several hilltops from the terrorist group (ISIS).
  7. ^ Leith Fadel (4 June 2015). "ISIS fails to enter Al-Hasakah City despite numerous attempts". Al-Masdar News. Archived from the original on 5 June 2015. Retrieved 7 June 2015.
  8. ^ al-Tamimi, Aymenn Jawad (23 February 2014). "Christian Militia and Political Dynamics in Syria". Syria Comment. Retrieved 25 February 2014.
  9. ^ Al Tamimi, Aymenn J (24 March 2014). "Assad regime lacks the total support of Syria's Christians". The National. Retrieved 16 February 2015.