Syrian commanders have become celebrities in recent years with the media avidly promoting battlefield successes

The Syrian Defense Minister has issued a memo to the Information Ministry refusing the circulation or mentioning of names or titles of military commanders or officers in the regime forces.

“The circular requires all media during television and radio interviews not to mention the names of officers or combat groups or names of their commanders, or any titles of combat groups, and only mentioning the phrase Syrian Arab Army or allied groups,” the pro-regime websites reported.

The pages commented on the contents of the circular, saying: “There are no Tigers, no Leopards, no Hawks, no National Defense, no this, no that, no nothing… Only the Syrian Arab Army and allied forces.”

Titles abound in the regime forces for military commanders and are often shown on social media, such as: “Colonel in the regime forces Suhail al-Hassan, known as the ‘Tiger,’” and “Lion of the Republican Guard” for the commander killed recently, Issam Zahereddine.

In recent years, names and titles of some commanders in the Syrian army have turned into symbols among regime loyalists and their progress on the battlefields has become the main news on loyalist websites pages.

This article was translated and edited by The Syrian Observer. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author.