Non-Governmental and Irregular Armed Groups in the Syria/Iraq Conflict Zone

... consolidated under the umbrella of the PMF, whose strength eventually reached around 120,000 troops. The PMF includes both Shiites and Sunnis (between 6,000 and 16,000, according to different estimates), as well as representatives of other ethnicities ... ... appears that any attempts to establish regional stability through the creation and exploitation of non-governmental and irregular armed groups, including those based on Shiite ideology, are bound to fail. Moscow is already working to uphold Syria’s statehood ...