ASP Group armoured vehicles in Damascus.

ASP Group has provided security services in Syria without interruption since 2007, for clients in the oil, gas, industrial and diplomatic sectors. War, sanctions and successive governments have not stopped our teams from working, and we maintain our full operational capacity in the country today.

Nearly twenty years on the ground

We began operating in Syria in 2007. Since then, the country has gone through armed conflict, international sanctions, the fall of a government and a political transition. Many foreign organisations left. In the meantime, we stayed, kept our local staff employed and continued to deliver our contracts.

For 16 years, from 2009 to 2025, we secured the office premises of the European Union Delegation to Syria in Damascus. We guarded the site through the nine years when its staff were evacuated, and through the change of authority at the end of 2024. While other premises nearby were looted, the site and vehicles under our protection remained intact.

This continuity gives us what a newcomer cannot buy: an established local network, working relations with the authorities and a first-hand reading of the security situation.

“Our edge in Syria is simple: we never left,” says ASP Group’s Country Manager for Syria. “We have been operating there since 2007, before the war, during it and after it, and we are still operating today. Our clients stay with us because we take care of everything: the security teams, of course, but also the vehicles, armoured or soft-skin, the emergency response, relocation and evacuation, medical support and hotel logistics. It is a complete service, from arrival to departure.”

Security capacity in Syria today: a sector in transition

Demand for security support is rising as oil and gas companies, industrial groups and diplomatic missions return to Damascus. However, capacity on the ground has not kept pace. Armoured vehicles, trained security drivers and vetted local staff remain in short supply.

The legal framework is also changing. On 10 March 2026, Presidential Decree No. 55 of 2026 replaced the 2013 legislation on private security companies. The new decree:

• places licensing and supervision under the Ministry of Interior;
• requires Syrian shareholders to hold at least 51% of a company, which opens the rest to foreign investors;
• creates licence categories, from 300 to 1,500 guards, plus a licence for training companies;
• limits private security to protecting people, premises, valuables and funds, with no role in policing.

The decree is an important step towards a regulated, accountable sector. Its implementation is still at an early stage: to our knowledge, no company has yet been established under the new framework.

In the meantime, a temporary arrangement applies. The four or five security companies set up under the previous regime are still operating, but their former directors have gone, and their management has been reorganised since the change of government. They are not yet the independent private operators the new decree provides for. This is a transitional solution until the new decree is applied in practice.

ASP Group continues to operate as it has for nearly twenty years: through its own network, built over time with trusted local partners and members of the business community who have no political affiliation. This independence has allowed us to keep working through each change of government. As a certified member of the International Code of Conduct Association (ICoCA), we hold our local partners to the same human-rights standards we apply ourselves. We will also apply for a licence under the new decree.

Until the first licences are issued, a client cannot rely on a licence to choose a provider. What can be checked is the track record: how long the provider has worked in Syria, who its people are, which equipment it really has in the country and which international standards it is audited against. On that last point, ASP Group holds ISO 9001, ISO 14001, ISO 45001 and ISO 18788 certification, the last being the standard for private security operations.

Regular missions since the new government took office

International companies and delegations are returning to Damascus, and since the new government took office, we regularly carry out secure ground support missions for them. A major international energy group has also signed a one-year contract with ASP for the provision of security services in Syria.

What a mission in Damascus involves

Each mission is short, planned in detail and led by one person. Our standard set-up covers:

• A security risk assessment before travel, based on ISO 31000, to support the client’s duty-of-care decision.
• Advance reconnaissance of routes, hotel, meeting venues and the Lebanese border crossing, one day before arrival.
• Meet-and-greet at Damascus International Airport and a security briefing on arrival.
• All movements in a B6 armoured Toyota Land Cruiser with a trained security driver, on pre-approved routes with alternates.
• A dedicated team leader, with ASP Group since 2006, as the single decision point to go, delay, re-route or abort.
• Permanent communications, with in-vehicle internet for the travellers and a satellite phone as backup.
• A medical kit in the vehicle and medical facilities identified along every route.
• A contingency plan, including a controlled road movement to Beirut if flights are disrupted.

Our services in Syria

• Close protection for executives, VIPs and official delegations
• Secure convoys with armoured vehicles and professional drivers
• Guarding and access control for diplomatic premises, industrial sites and oil and gas facilities
• Security risk assessments, travel advice and journey management
• Local coordination and liaison with the authorities
• Full logistics: planning, accommodation, transport, communications and first aid

Planning a visit to Syria?

Syria remains a demanding environment, and several governments still advise against travel. For companies, diplomatic missions and international organisations that need to be there, preparation and local knowledge make the difference.

For more information: info@aspgroup.com

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