Eagles of the Whirlwind
The Eagles of the Whirlwind (Arabic: نسور الزوبعة, Nusour al Zawba'a) are the armed wing of the Syrian Social National Party. Around 6,000 to 8,000 men strong, they participated in many battles and operations throughout the Syrian Civil War fighting alongside the Syrian government and its allies.
| Eagles of the Whirlwind | |
|---|---|
| نسور الزوبعة | |
Eagles of the Whirlwind logo | |
| Dates of operation | 1975-ongoing (in Lebanon) 2012-2019 (in Syria) |
| Dissolved | November 2019 (in Syria only) |
| Active regions | Syria, Lebanon |
| Ideology | Syrian nationalism Anti-Zionism Syrian irredentism Pro-Syrian government |
| Size | 10,000 (in Lebanon) 6,000–8,000 (in Syria) |
| Part of | Syrian Social Nationalist Party Syrian Social Nationalist Party in Lebanon |
| Allies |
Hezbollah Sootoro Ba'ath Brigades (Until 2019) Popular Committees (Until 2019) Amal Movement Lebanese National Resistance Front (1982-1991) March 8 Alliance |
| Opponents | Free Syrian Army Islamic Front Al-Nusra Front Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Lebanese Forces (Until 1991) South Lebanon Army (Until 2000) |
| Battles and wars |
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| Flag | |
After the civil war in Syria turned into a full-scale war, the Eagles began taking recruits and their fighters were primarily deployed in the governorates of Homs and Damascus and were said to be the most formidable military force other than the Syrian Army in Suweida. Their most notable military operations is their participation in the battles of Sadad, Ma'loula, and al-Qaryatayn, among others.
As part of campaigns launched by the Ba'ath party to strengthen its role in Syrian society since 2019, Syrian wing of SSNP (Amana) financed by businessman Rami Makhlouf was banned. This was part of the wider clampdown on business assets and private militias of Rami Makhlouf ordered by Bashar al-Assad. In November 2019, Ba'athist authorities initiated crackdown on armed SSNP militias across the country, and dismantled Eagles of Whirlwind. EOW fighters were subsequently assimilated into Russian-backed Fifth Corps after surrendering their artillery.
In Lebanon, the Eagles, mainly composed of Orthodox Christians and Shiite Muslims, have been active since the Lebanese Civil War by integrating the Lebanese National Resistance Front with the support of the Syrian Armed Forces, who fought the Lebanese Forces and allied Maronite militias of Israel. They recently participated in the 2023–2024 border clashes against the Israeli army alongside Hezbollah, with which they have a history of armed cooperation since the 1990s against the Israeli army.