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| '''Harakat Ahrar ash-Sham Al Islami''' ({{lang-ar|حركة أحرار الشام الإسلامية }} ''Ahrār ash-Shām'', meaning "Islamic Movement of the Free Men of the ]") is a coalition of ] and ]st units which formed into a ] during the ] in order to fight against the ] lead by ].<ref name=MESR/> Ahrar ash-Sham is led by ].<ref name=econ0720/> As of July 2013, it has 10,000 to 20,000 fighters, making it the most powerful unit fighting against al-Assad.<ref name=econ0720/> It was the principal organisation operating under the umbrella of the ]<ref name=econ0720/> and is a major component of the ].<ref name=BBC22Nov/> | '''Harakat Ahrar ash-Sham Al Islami''' ({{lang-ar|حركة أحرار الشام الإسلامية }} ''Ahrār ash-Shām'', meaning "Islamic Movement of the Free Men of the ]") is a coalition of ] and ]st units which formed into a ] during the ] in order to fight against the ] lead by ].<ref name=MESR/> Ahrar ash-Sham is led by ].<ref name=econ0720/> As of July 2013, it has 10,000 to 20,000 fighters, making it the most powerful unit fighting against al-Assad.<ref name=econ0720/> It was the principal organisation operating under the umbrella of the ]<ref name=econ0720/> and is a major component of the ].<ref name=BBC22Nov/> | ||
| According to US intelligence officials, a few ] members released from prisons by the Syrian government have been able to influence actions of the group and install operatives within senior ranks of Ahrar ash-Sham.<ref name="LWJalSuri">{{cite news|url=http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2013/12/aq_courier_rebel_leader_zawahiri.php|title=Syrian rebel leader was bin Laden's courier, now Zawahiri's representative|publisher=The Long War Journal|date=17 December 2013|accessdate=2013-12-18}}</ref><ref name=telegraph20jan>{{cite news|url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/syria/10585394/Syrias-duplicity-over-al-Qaeda-means-West-will-not-trust-Assad.html|title=Syria’s duplicity over al-Qaeda means West will not trust Assad|date=20 January 2014|accessdate=20 January 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/syria/10585391/Syrias-Assad-accused-of-boosting-Al-Qaeda-with-secret-oil-deals.html|title=Syria's Assad accused of boosting Al-Qaeda with secret oil deals|date=20 January 2014|accessdate=20 January 2014}}</ref> Such ties were not disclosed publicly until January 2014 when a senior leader of Ahrar ash-Sham, Abu Khalid al-Suri, acknowledged his long-time membership in al-Qaeda.<ref name="LWJalQaeda">{{cite web|url=http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2014/01/statement_from_zawah.php|title=Statement from Zawahiri's representative shows Syrian rebel group tied to al Qaeda|date=2014-01-18|accessdate=2014-01-20}}</ref><ref name=telegraph20jan/> | |||
| ==Origin, ideology and structure== | ==Origin, ideology and structure== | ||
Revision as of 18:46, 23 February 2014
| Harakat Ahrar ash-Sham Al Islami حركة أحرار الشام الإسلامية | |
|---|---|
| File:Ahrar al-Sham.jpg Official logo of Ahrar ash-Sham  Flag of Ahrar ash-Sham | |
| Leaders | Hassan Aboud nom de guerre: Abu Abdullah al-Hamawi |
| Dates of operation | Late 2011–present |
| Active regions | Syria |
| Ideology | Salafist jihadism Sunni Islamism |
| Part of |  Islamic Front |
| Allies |  Al-Nusra Front Free Syrian Army Liwa al-Islam |
| Opponents |  Syrian Armed Forces Syrian ResistanceFile:Flag of the National Defense Force.svg National Defense Force  Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant |
| Battles and wars | Syrian Civil War |
Harakat Ahrar ash-Sham Al Islami (Template:Lang-ar Ahrār ash-Shām, meaning "Islamic Movement of the Free Men of the Levant") is a coalition of Islamist and Salafist units which formed into a brigade during the Syrian Civil War in order to fight against the Ba'athist government lead by Bashar al-Assad. Ahrar ash-Sham is led by Hassan Aboud. As of July 2013, it has 10,000 to 20,000 fighters, making it the most powerful unit fighting against al-Assad. It was the principal organisation operating under the umbrella of the Syrian Islamic Front and is a major component of the Islamic Front.
Origin, ideology and structure
The first Ahrar ash-Sham brigades were formed just after the Egyptian revolution and before the revolution in Syria started in 2011.
Most of the group founders, however, were Islamist political prisoners who had been detained for years at the Sednaya prison until they were released as part of an amnesty by the Syrian Government in May 2011. At the time of its establishment in late 2011, Ahrar al-Sham consisted of about 25 rebel units spread across Syria. Since then it has expanded, in July 2012 the group's website listed 50 units, and in mid January 2013 the number had increased to 83 units. Most of these units are headquartered in villages in Idlib Governorate, but many others are located in Hama and Aleppo. Some Ahrar al-Sham units that have been involved in heavy fighting include the Qawafel al-Shuhada and Ansar al-Haqq Brigades (both in Khan Sheikhoun, Idleb Province), the al-Tawhid wal-Iman Brigade (Maarrat al-Nouman, Idleb Province), the Shahba Brigade (Aleppo City), the Hassane bin Thabet Brigade (Darat Ezza, Aleppo Province), and the Salahaddin and Abul-Fida Brigades (both in Hama City).
In its first audio address, Ahrar al-Sham stated its goal was to replace the Assad government with an Islamic state, however it acknowledged the need to take into account the population’s current state of mind. It also described the uprising as a jihad against a Safawi plot to spread Shiism and establish a Shiite state from Iran through Iraq and Syria to Lebanon and Palestine.
Members of the group are Islamists. Ahrar al-Sham cooperates with the Free Syrian Army and other secular rebel groups, however, it does not maintain ties with the SNC. Although they coordinate with other groups, they maintain their own strict and secretive leadership, receiving the majority of their funding and support from donors in Kuwait.
The group has a Syrian leadership and "emphasizes that its campaign is for Syria, not for a global jihad". However, anonymous US intelligence sources have asserted that an important figure within the group, Abu Khalid al Suri, is a senior Al Qaeda operative and acts as Ayman al-Zawahiri's representative in the Levant. Other unnamed al Qaeda operatives were also said to hold important, but not top leadership, positions within Ahrar al Sham, in an attempt to influence the group.
Ahrar al-Sham has claimed that it only targets government forces and militia and that it has cancelled several operations due to fear of civilian casualties. It provides humanitarian services and relief to local communities, in addition to pamphlets promoting religious commitment in daily life.
As of June 2013, Ahrar al-Sham had become one of the most powerful rebel factions active in the Syrian Civil War, having being involved in every major rebel victory over Syrian Government forces since at least September 2012, including leading the capture of Ar-Raqqah in March 2013.
Through donations from supporters abroad and the capture of materiel from the Syrian Armed Forces, Ahrar al-Sham has become one of the best-armed insurgent groups in the country. Its operations have progressed from the use of Improvised Explosive Devices and small-arms ambushes in early 2012 to assuming a lead role in large-scale sustained assaults on multiple fronts by 2013. It regularly deploys tanks and mobile artillery, anti-tank guided missiles, and occasionally 1990s-era Croatian rocket and grenade launchers.
In August 2013, members of the brigade uploaded a video of a their downing of a Syrian Air Force MiG-21 over the Latakia province with a Chinese-made FN-6 MANPADS, apparently becoming the first recorded kill with such weapon.
In January 2014 Abu Khaled al-Suri, a top official of Ahrar ash-Sham, acknowledged his own personal ties to al-Qaeda and Ayman al-Zawahiri. Suri was held in a Syrian government prison and was intentionally released by the Syrian government in the first few weeks of the uprising in a bid to cause distrust among the opposition.
Notable incidents
Ahrar al-Sham was responsible for rescuing NBC journalist Richard Engel and his crew after they were kidnapped by suspected Shabiha in December 2012.
In December 2012, a new umbrella organization was announced, called the Syrian Islamic Front, consisting of 11 Islamist rebel organizations. Ahrar al-Sham was the most prominent of these, and a member of Ahrar al-Sham's, Abu 'Abd Al-Rahman Al-Suri, served as the Front's spokesman. In November 2013 the SIF announced that it was dissolving and its components would henceforth operate as part of the newly formed Islamic Front (Syria).
In January 2013, several of the member organizations of the Syrian Islamic Front announced that they were joining forces with Ahrar al-Sham into a broader group called Harakat Ahrar al-Sham al-Islamiyya (The Islamic Movement of Ahrar al-Sham).
In mid-November 2013, after the Battle for Brigade 80 near the Aleppo International Airport, fighters from ISIS beheaded a commander of Ahrar ash-Sham forces mistaking him for an Iraqi Shiite pro-regime militiaman.
In December 2013, there were reports of fighting between ISIS & another Islamic rebel group in the town of Maskana, Aleppo; activists reported that the Islamic rebel group was identified as Ahrar ash-Sham.
See also
References
- ^ "Competition among Islamists". The Economist. July 20, 2013. Retrieved July 18, 2013.
- ^ Lund, Aron (2012-10-05). "Holy Warriors". Foreign Policy. Retrieved 2012-12-26.
- ^ "The crowning of the Syrian Islamic Front". Foreign Policy. 2013-06-24. Retrieved 2013-06-27.
- ^ "Leading Syrian rebel groups form new Islamic Front". BBC. 22 November 2013. Retrieved 22 November 2013.
- ^ O'Bagy, Elizabeth (2012). Middle East Security Report: Jihad in Syria (PDF). Vol. 6. Washington, DC. p. 27.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - Farrell, Shane (26 August 2012). "Overblown fears of Islamists in Syria". NOW Lebanon. Retrieved 22 September 2012.
- Aron Lund (24 September 2013). "New Islamist Bloc Declares Opposition to National Coalition and US Strategy". Syria Comment. Retrieved 25 September 2013.
- "NGO: Syria jihadists kill rebels in bombing". Al Arabiya. 11 January 2014. Retrieved 12 January 2014.
- ^ Spencer, Richard (16 August 2012). "British convert to Islam vows to fight to the death on Syrian rebel front line". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 11 September 2012.
- Lund, Aron (17 June 2013). "Freedom fighters? Cannibals? The truth about Syria's rebels". The Independent. Retrieved 20 January 2014.
- "TIME Exclusive: Meet the Islamist Militants Fighting Alongside Syria's Rebels". 2012-07-26. Retrieved 2014-01-19.
- ^ Bar, Herve (13 February 2013). "Ahrar al-Sham jihadists emerge from shadows in north Syria". AFP. Retrieved 10 March 2013.
{{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - Lund, Aron (March 2013). "Syria's salafi insurgents: The rise of the Syrian Islamic Front" (PDF). Swedish Institute of International Affairs. Retrieved 2013-03-22.
- ^ "Tentative Jihad Syria's fundamentalist opposition" (PDF). International Crisis Group. 2012-08-12. Retrieved 2012-12-29.
- Abouzeid, Rania (2012-09-18). "Syrian Anti-Assad Rebel Groups Funded by Saudi Arabia, Qatar | TIME.com". Time. Retrieved 2013-11-22.
- "Going Rogue: Bandits and Criminal Gangs Threaten Syria's Rebellion". Time. 2012-07-30. Retrieved 2012-09-11.
- Syria’s Islamist fighters: Competition among Islamists
- Cite error: The named reference
LWJalSuriwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - "Syrian rebels seek refuge in religion". Financial Times. 2012-08-09. Retrieved 2012-09-21.
- Jeremy Binnie (2013-08-18). "Hardline Islamists down Syrian jet with Chinese MANPADS - IHS Jane's 360". Janes.com. Retrieved 2013-11-22.
- "Key anti-Assad rebel leader acknowledges al Qaida past, potentially complicating U.S. aid in Syria". 2014-01-17. Retrieved 2014-01-19.
- Cite error: The named reference
telegraph20janwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - Krauss, Joseph (18 December 2012). "Kidnapped US journalist Engel free after Syria firefight". AFP. Retrieved 18 December 2012.
{{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - "Islamic Forces In Syria Announce Establishment Of Joint Front Aimed At Toppling Assad, Founding Islamic State; Syrian Website Urges Them To Incorporate All Islamic Forces In Country".
- "Al-Qaeda-linked rebels apologise after cutting off head of wrong person". Telegraph. 2013-11-14. Retrieved 2013-12-29.
- "ISIS accidentally beheads allied rebel fighter". Al Bawaba. 2013-11-14. Retrieved 2013-11-22.
- Barbara Surk (10 December 2013). "Syrian army pounds rebels near Lebanon border". Associated Press. Retrieved 17 December 2013.
- "Avashin ISIS kills number of Ahrar Al Sham… | YALLA SOURIYA". Yallasouriya.wordpress.com. 10 December 2013. Retrieved 17 December 2013.
- "#BREAKING: Intense clashes between #ISIS and Ahrar al-Sham in Maskana town #Aleppo north of #Syria to seize control on Jarah Airport : zaidbenjamin". Inagist.com. 9 December 2013. Retrieved 17 December 2013.
External links
- Ahrar al-Sham website
- Ahrar al-Sham on Facebook Template:Ar icon
- Ahrar al-Sham on Twitter Template:Ar icon
