SUMMARY

The Military Council for the Liberation of Syria was a pro-Assad insurgent group that emerged after the fall of the Assad regime in December 2024. The group’s formation was announced on 6 March 2025, amid coordinated attacks by former regime elements on Syrian transitional government forces in the coastal region. In a statement that same day, the group said it aimed to overthrow the interim government and “liberate” Syria from what it described as “occupying and terrorist forces”.

The group appeared to have drawn primarily on former members of the Assad-era army and security apparatus, including personnel from elite and predominantly Alawite units such as the 4th Division and the 25th Division. The group was led by Ghiath Dallah, a former brigadier general in the Syrian army’s 4th Division and a figure associated with Maher al-Assad, Bashar al-Assad’s brother.

The Military Council for the Liberation of Syria has been involved in the state-based, and one-sided categories of UCDP organized violence.