The Sutoro Police should not be confused with the Sootoro which has the same name in the Syriac language, but uses the English translation "Syriac Protection Office" and the transliteration "Sootoro". This police organization in the city of Qamishli was originally founded as the local branch of the Sutero but in late 2013 broke away, turning itself into a militia aligned with the Ba'athist government of Bashar Assad.[1][2][4][5] The Sutoro later founded a new branch in Qamishli.