According to Alasdair Drysdale , the Hafiz al-Asad 's rule was characterized by a marked increase of the Alawite presence in key posts in the officer corps , in the internal security forces and in the Ba'ath Party , possibly also due to the Islamist unrest . During the 1980s , the internal security apparatus was under the command of Rifaat al-Assad , brother of President Hafez al-Assad . During the unrest caused by the Muslim Brotherhood in 1976 , the Internal Security Forces were heavily employed in the northern-central region , in Aleppo , Hama and Homs . During 1970s , Ali Haydar 's Special Forces formed a key part of the Syrian government 's security apparatus ; they participated to the quelling of the Islamist uprising in Jisr al-Shughur in March 1980 and in Hama in February 1982
quelling
Jisr al-Shughour massacre (1980)
Law enforcement in Syria