Homs Military Academy
الكلية العسكرية بحمص | |
| Type | Military academy |
|---|---|
| Established | 1933 |
| Location | , , |
 | |
Homs Military Academy (Arabic: الكلية العسكرية بحمص) is a military educational and training institution located in Homs, Syria.
History
[edit]Establishment
[edit]Homs Military Academy was founded in 1933 by France during the Mandate for Syria and the Lebanon. During the period of French administration the academy provided officer training for the Troupes Speciales du Levant - the locally recruited Syrian and Lebanese units forming part of the Army of the Levant.[1][2]
Continuing in existence after the end of the Mandate in 1943 and throughout various political changes, it remains the oldest and largest military service institution in Syria.[3] At first, it was primarily an academy for infantry officers, while graduates who selected the other services went on to additional specialized training at other army-operated specialist schools. Graduates were often selected for a military academy in the Soviet Union.[4]
Homs Academy admitted entrants who did not possess high level education qualifications, as well as offering a relatively rare rapid career path for graduates. In addition to large numbers of Syrian and Lebanese nationals it also offered officer training to French citizens who were denied by class or education from attending comparable academies within France.[5]
Syrian civil war
[edit]On 23 July 2011, there were reports of explosions at the Homs Academy during the Syrian revolution, which later denied by the Syrian military.[6] On 15 April 2012, the Syrian Army targeted the neighborhood of al-Waer from the nearby Homs Academy during the military confrontation in the city.[7] On 30 August 2013, the academy was evacuated and its military equipment moved, to avoid a possible air attack from the United States following the Ghouta chemical attack.[8]
On 5 October 2023, a drone attack during a graduation ceremony at the academy killed over 100 people.[9]
Notable alumni
[edit]- Lu'ay al-Atassi, Lieutenant-General, military attache to USA. Titular President during interim government.[10]
- Ali Abdullah Ayyoub, Deputy Prime Minister of Syria, senior Syrian Arab Army officer and former Minister of Defense
- Adnan al-Malki, Deputy-Chief of Staff of Syrian Army[11]
- Ali Aslan, Lieutenant General, Former Chief of Staff of Syrian Army[12]
- Bashar al-Assad, Syrian President[13]
- Hafez al-Assad, Former Syrian President[14]
- Rifat al-Assad, brother of Former Syrian President[15]
- Adnan Badr Hassan, Former intelligence chief[16]
- Suheil Al Hassan, Major General, Commander of Elite 25th Special Mission Forces Division[17]
- Ali Haydar "Father of the Syrian Special Forces, served as commander of the Syrian Special Forces for 26 years
- Salah Jadid, Major General, De Facto former leader of Syria[10]
- Ghazi Kanaan,[18] Syria's interior minister and head of Syria's security apparatus in Lebanon
- Hassan Khalil, Former Head of Military Intelligence of Syria[19]
- Hikmat al-Shihabi, Former chief of staff of the Syrian Army[20]
- Bahjat Suleiman[21] Major General, Former Syrian Ambassador to Jordan and Head of Internal Branch of General Intelligence Directorate.
- Fawzi Selu, both a graduate and later director of the academy[10]
- Manaf Tlass,[22] former Brigadier General of the Syrian Republican Guard and member of Bashar al-Assad's inner circle[23][24][25]
- Mustafa Tlass,[26] former Syrian senior military officer and politician who was Syria's minister of defense from 1972 to 2004.[27]
References
[edit]- ^ Drake, Diane (2018). The Merchant of Syria: A History of Survival. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780190935030.
- ^ American University (Washington, D.C.). Foreign Area Studies (1979). Syria, a Country Study. United States Department of the Army. p. 211.
- ^ Nyrop, Richard F. (1971). Area Handbook for Syria. U.S. Government Printing Office.
- ^ "Military Training". All Refer. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 3 December 2017.
- ^ Horowitz, Donald L. (2000). Ethnic Groups in Conflict, Updated Edition With a New Preface. University of California Press. ISBN 978-0-520-22706-4.
- ^ "Syria strikes". DW. 23 July 2011.
- ^ "U.N. monitors arrive in Syria as killings continue". CNN. 15 April 2012. Retrieved 21 April 2012.
- ^ "Security Forces Evacuate Homs Military Academy". ISW Blog. 30 August 2013.
- ^ "At least 100 killed in drone attack on Syrian military academy - monitor". Reuters. 5 October 2023.
- ^ a b c Moubayed, Sami (2006). Steel & Silk: Men and Women Who Shaped Syria 1900-2000. Seattle: Cune Press.
- ^ Martin, Kevin (November 24, 2015). Syria's Democratic Years: Citizens, Experts, and Media in the 1950s. Indiana University Press.
- ^ Moubayed, Sami M. (2006). Steel and Silk: Men and Women who Shaped Syria 1900-2000. Cune Press. p. 40. ISBN 1-885942-41-9.
- ^ Zisser, Eyal (2007). Commanding Syria: Bashar Al-Asad And the First Years in Power. I.B. Tauris. ISBN 978-1-84511-153-3.
- ^ Alianak, Sonia (2007). Middle Eastern Leaders and Islam: A Precarious Equilibrium. Peter Lang. ISBN 978-0-8204-6924-9.
- ^ Hamidi, Ibrahim (2021-10-26). "A Once Powerful Patriarch Returns to an Unrecognizable Syria". New Lines Magazine. Archived from the original on 2022-12-29. Retrieved 2022-05-06.
- ^ Diana Darke (2018). The Merchant of Syria: A History of Survival. Oxford University Press. p. 260. ISBN 978-0-19-087485-8.
- ^ Who is Colonel Suheil Al-Hassan Archived 2015-06-23 at the Wayback Machine Almasdar News. Leith Aboufadel. 26/02/2015. Retrieved: 16/05/18
- ^ "Obituary: Major-General Ghazi Kanaan". the Guardian. 2005-10-18. Archived from the original on 2022-12-29. Retrieved 2022-12-29.
- ^ "SYRIA : Hassan Khalil - 29/06/2000". Intelligence Online. 2000-06-29. Archived from the original on 2022-12-29. Retrieved 2022-05-25.
- ^ "Shihabi, Hikmat Al- (Al-Shehabi; 1931–) | Encyclopedia.com". www.encyclopedia.com. Archived from the original on 2022-12-29. Retrieved 2022-05-25.
- ^ "Syrian regime security figure Bahjat Suleiman dies after contracting Covid-19". The New Arab. 26 February 2021. Archived from the original on 2 May 2022. Retrieved 2 May 2022.
- ^ "Profile: Manaf Tlas". BBC News. 2012-07-06. Archived from the original on 2022-12-29. Retrieved 2022-12-29.
- ^ "Top Syrian general 'defects to Turkey'". The Guardian. 5 July 2012. Archived from the original on 8 August 2022. Retrieved 8 August 2022.
- ^ Sharp, Jeremy M. (9 August 2011). "Unrest in Syria and U.S. Sanctions Against the Asad Regime" (PDF). Congressional Research Service. Archived (PDF) from the original on 29 April 2022. Retrieved 3 January 2022.
- ^ "Syria: Defection Rumors Rife; Annan Diplomacy Founders". Eurasia Review. 13 March 2012. Archived from the original on 8 August 2022. Retrieved 6 July 2012.
- ^ "Syria is bigger than individuals, says defected brigadier". gulfnews.com. Archived from the original on 2014-11-07. Retrieved 2022-12-29.
- ^ "Profile: Mustafa Tlas". BBC. 2004. Archived from the original on 25 June 2012. Retrieved 5 July 2012.