The Damascus branch is headed by Abdul-Ghani Qannout, and joined the Ba'ath Party-led National Progressive Front government in 1972[2][3] and has continued to support the al-Assad family's rule in Syria ever since.[1] After Abdul-Ghani Qannout died in 2001, Ahmad al-Ahmad became the new secretary general; under him, the party continued its pro-government course, even during the Syrian Civil War.[1] Amid the conflict's civil uprising phase, the Arab Socialist Movement's Damascus branch organised pro-government rallies.[4] When the uprising escalated into a full insurgency, members of the party organised pro-government militias.