A/HRC/18/53 actively participated in the killing of unarmed civilians and in imposing sieges on cities and towns, and were also complicit in the perpetration of collective punishments. 2. Security forces 30. The agencies identified by the majority of witnesses interviewed by the mission as having played the key role in suppressing peaceful protests since mid-March 2011 are the General Security Directorate (Idarat Al Mukhabarat Al Amma), the Political Security Branch (Shubat Al Amn Al Siyassi), the Military Intelligence Branch (Shubat Al Mukhabarat Al Askariyya) and the Air Force Intelligence Branch (Shubat Al Mukhabarat Al Jawwiyya). Security and intelligence agencies are pervasive and are present at all administrative levels of the State.22 Typically, each agency has a branch in each governorate and a division in each city; some also have units in villages or smaller towns. Many of the victims and witnesses interviewed by the mission identified the heads of the security and intelligence branches in their governorates or cities as having ordered the human rights abuses committed, including summary executions, arbitrary arrests and torture.23 3. National Police Force 31. The civil police personnel of the Ministry of the Interior are divided into several forces, including the riot police, who were deployed to quell protests and demonstrations.24 They were often on the front lines, usually equipped with shields and helmets with visors and armed with Kalashnikovs, batons and tear gas canisters. During some of the earlier protests, riot police used water cannon and tear gas to disperse crowds. 4. Civilian militias 32. The Shabbiha, led by the security forces, participated in operations against civilian protestors. They are members of the Alawite minority in the Syrian Arab Republic and are closely linked to the ruling Assad family, many of them having belonged to the earlier Defence Brigades (Saraya Al Difa).25 Numerous victims or witnesses stated that members of the Shabbiha took part in the crackdown against unarmed civilians in locations including 22 23 24 25 Two of the main agencies – Military Intelligence and Air Force Intelligence – are nominally part of the Ministry of Defence, and their responsibilities relate to affairs of the Army, and the Air Force and Air Defences, respectively. The Political Security Branch is part of the Ministry of the Interior, and is said to have within its jurisdiction matters relating to political parties, opposition groups, students and State employees, including the police force. The General Security Directorate (formerly known as State Security or Amn Al Dawla) is a separate institution that falls outside the framework of any ministry, and its formal responsibilities focus on crimes affecting the internal and external security of the State. At the time of writing, the heads of these four agencies were among a number of Syrian officials and others subject to sanctions imposed by the European Union or the Government of the United States of America, or both. See “U.S. Sanctions on Syrian President, Six Senior Officials”, U.S. Department of Treasury press release, 18 May 2011; and Council Regulation (EU) No. 442/2011 of 9 May 2011 concerning restrictive measures in view of the situation in Syria, and Council Decision 2011/273/CFSP of 9 May 2011 concerning restrictive measures against Syria, Official Journal of the European Union, vol. 54, 10 May 2011. Each governorate has its own Police Command, except for Damascus, where there is an additional Police Command for the capital. The Defence Brigades were security forces under the command of the late President’s brother, Rif’at Al Assad. They were responsible for gross violations of human rights, particularly during the 1980s, including the killing of thousands of civilians and detainees. The members of the Shabbiha are generally dressed in civilian clothes and armed with Kalashnikovs or various light weaponry, as well as batons, and are typically identifiable by their shaved heads, thick beards and tattooed arms. 9