Ahrar al-Sharqiya

Ahrar al-Sharqiya
Participant in the Syrian Civil War
The logo used by the group
The logo used by the group
Active 2016-Present
Leaders Abou Hatim Shaqra
Abu Maria Al-Qahtani (2016)
Area of operations Aleppo Governorate, Syria
Part of Turkish-backed Free Syrian Army
Allies  Turkey
Opponents Islamic State
Ahrar al-Sham
Sham Legion
Sultan Murad Division
Hamza Division[1]
Farouq Brigades[2]
Levant Front[3]
Syrian Democratic Forces
 Syria
Hezbollah
Battles and wars

Syrian Civil War

Ahrar al-Sharqiya (Free Men of the East) are an active armed Syrian rebel group founded in 2016 by individuals exiled mostly from the Deir ez-Zor Governorate for opposing ISIL and the YPG, many fighters in Ahrar al-Sharqiya are former al-Nusra and Ahrar al-Sham members that took part in the Deir ez-Zor offensive (April–July 2014). The group was announced by al-Nusra's former lead Sharia Judge in eastern Syria and Shura Council Member, Abu Maria al-Qahtani in 2016, who is originally from Iraq and also keeps close ties to Turkey and has been accused on many occasions of causing internal strife in al-Nusra, causing him to be later dismissed from his position in al-Nusra.[4] Many of the groups members are also from the al-Shaitat tribe, which has had long standing tensions with ISIL.[5] In September 2016 members of the group taunted, insulted and verbally attacked American forces in al-Rai embedded with the Al-Mu'tasim Brigade, an American spokesmen said that the group posed no threat to American forces and that American forces present were unaware of the protests to their presence, after evacuating American forces the al-Mutasim Brigade asked Ahrar al-Sharqiya members to stop.[6]

Relationship with other groups

The group has participated in Turkish led operations against ISIL & Rojava but has come into conflict with groups it allied with in these operations over things such as the distribution of captured equipment and property. Such cases arose in Al-Bab, Al-Rai and Jarabulus in 2016 and again in Afrin city in 2018.

References

  1. ↑ "Once again, clashes break out between Ahrar Al-Sham and Ahrar Al-Sharqiya in Al-Bab city - Aleppo24 English". en.aleppo24.com.
  2. ↑ "FSA FACTIONS CLASH OVER STOLEN PROPERTY IN AFRIN". 20 July 2018.
  3. ↑ "Clash between Bubena tribe and Ahrar al-Sham gangs in Afrin".
  4. ↑ "Syrie: Ahrar al-Sharqiya, ces anciens d'al-Nosra devenus supplétifs de la Turquie". 3 May 2018.
  5. ↑ "Which are the Jihadist Groups Attacking Afrin and the Forces Behind them? – Information Center of Afrin Resistance". icafrinresist.com.
  6. ↑ Weiss, Michael (30 September 2016). "Syrian Rebels Taunt U.S. Troops" – via www.thedailybeast.com.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.