Arab Socialist Movement (Damascus branch)

For the defunct party, see Arab Socialist Movement.

The Arab Socialist Movement's Damascus branch was a Syrian political party that operated from Damascus.

Arab Socialist Movement حركة الاشتراكيين العرب
Leader	Omar Adnan al-Alawi
Founder	Akram al-Hawrani
Banned	29 January 2025; 32 days ago (2025-01-29)[1]
Split from	Arab Socialist Movement
Headquarters	Damascus, Syria
Ideology	Arab socialism Arab nationalism Pan-Arabism Neo-Ba'athism[2] Anti-Islamism[2]
Political position	Left-wing
National affiliation	National Progressive Front (until 2025)
Website
Facebook page
Politics of Syria Political parties Elections

History

The party originated as faction of the Arab Socialist Movement, a party which broke apart in the 1960s, and continues to claim the original party's name and legacy. The Damascus branch is headed by Abdul-Ghani Qannout, and joined the Ba'ath Party-led National Progressive Front (NPF) government in 1972^[3][4] and continued to support the al-Assad family's rule in Syria until the fall of the Assad regime.^[2]

After Abdul-Ghani Qannout died in 2001, Ahmad al-Ahmad became the new secretary general; under him, the party continued its pro-government course, even during the Syrian Civil War.^[2] Amid the conflict's civil uprising phase, the Arab Socialist Movement's Damascus branch organised pro-government rallies.^[5] When the uprising escalated into a full insurgency, members of the party organised pro-government militias. Assistant secretary general Omar Adnan al-Alawi headed the National Defence Forces' Deir ez-Zor branch during part of the siege of Deir ez-Zor (2014–2017), and was wounded in combat.^[2] A member of the party's political office, Turki Albu Hamad, played a leading role in founding the "Forces of the Fighters of the Tribes" militia.^[2]

Following the fall of the Assad regime the party, along with all other NPF members, was dissolved by the Syrian transitional government on 29 January 2025.^[1]