Mujahideen Army (Syria)

Not to be confused with Mujahideen Army (Iraq).
Mujahideen Army
Arabic: جيش المجاهدين
Jaysh al-Mujahideen
Leaders
  • Lt. Col. Muhammad Juma Abdul Qader Bakur ("Abu Bakr")[1]
  • Capt. Muhammad Shakerdi[2]
  • Salim Abu Jaafar[3]
  • Hammoud al-Barm †[4]
Dates of operation2 January 2014 – 25 January 2017[5]
Active regionsAleppo Governorate, Syria
IdeologySunni Islamism[6]
Size5,000+[7]–12,000[8] (own claim, 2014)

4,000 (own claim, May 2016)[9]

8,000[10] (December 2016, Russian military claim)
Part of
Allies
Opponents
Battles and warsSyrian Civil War

The Mujahideen Army (Arabic: جيش المجاهدين, Jaysh al-Mujahideen) was a Sunni Islamist rebel group formed in order to fight the Syrian government and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) during the Syrian Civil War.[18] Originally a coalition of several Islamist rebel groups, it accused ISIL of disrupting "security and stability" in areas that had been captured from the Syrian government.[19] During its establishment in January 2014, the spokesperson of the coalition said it would start operations in Idlib and Aleppo and gradually expand towards the rest of Syria.[5] In December 2016, the Army of Mujahideen was briefly reorganized as Jabhat Ahl al-Sham (Arabic: جبهة أهل الشام; Front of the People of the Levant), but this formation soon fell apart during rebel infighting in January 2017.

  1. ^ "Commander of "Army of Mujahideen": "Fatah al-Sham" stormed my house and confiscated my property". Enab Baladi. 27 January 2017.
  2. ^ "Syria: Army of the Mujahideen Challenges ISIS Gains". Al Akhbar. 6 January 2014. Retrieved 9 January 2014.
  3. ^ "The lead in front of the people of Syria shows for "Qassioun" nature of the initiative to unite the factions in northern Syria". Qasioun. 28 December 2016. Archived from the original on 1 January 2017. Retrieved 20 January 2017.
  4. ^ Fadel, Leith (18 July 2016). "Jihadist rebels mourn the loss of 16 fighters as government forces advance in Aleppo City".
  5. ^ a b "Syrian Opposition Builds Army Against Assad, Al-Qaeda". Anadolu Agency. 3 January 2014. Archived from the original on 5 January 2014. Retrieved 8 January 2014.
  6. ^ "Syria opposition says it backs rebel fight against al-Qaeda". Al Arabiya News. 4 January 2014. Retrieved 5 January 2014.
  7. ^ "Pushing Back Against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant: The Syria Revolutionaries' Front and the Mujahideen Army". Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. 7 January 2014. Retrieved 7 January 2014.
  8. ^ "Al Qaida rebels leave mass grave behind as they desert base in Syria". McClatchy. 6 January 2014. Retrieved 8 January 2014.
  9. ^ "Leadership in the Army of the Mujahideen's (RFS) after the recent merger: the unification of the floor and arms Our goal". RFS Media Office. 22 May 2016. Archived from the original on 5 March 2017. Retrieved 8 February 2017.
  10. ^ "List of armed formations, which joined the ceasefire in the Syrian Arab Republic on December 30, 2016". Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation. 30 December 2016.
  11. ^ "Translation: the Formation of the Syrian Revolutionary Command Council". Goha's Nail. 3 August 2014. Retrieved 6 August 2014.
  12. ^ "Syrian Civil War factions".
  13. ^ "The Levant Front: Can Aleppo's Rebels Unite?". Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. 26 December 2014. Retrieved 26 December 2014.
  14. ^ "Zulfikarr comments on "Aleppo operations room" announcing the preparation for "the great battle" with 14 rebel groups". reddit. 6 May 2015.
  15. ^ "Mujahideen Army announces joining Freedom Movement Sham". Qasioun News Agency. 24 January 2017. Archived from the original on 19 October 2017. Retrieved 25 January 2017.
  16. ^ "Syria rebels unite and launch new revolt, against jihadists". AFP. 4 January 2014. Retrieved 28 April 2014.
  17. ^ "The Assad Regime and Jihadis: Collaborators and Allies?". 12 February 2014.
  18. ^ "Qaeda-Linked Insurgents Clash With Other Rebels in Syria, as Schism Grows". New York Times. 3 January 2014. Retrieved 5 January 2014.
  19. ^ "Syrian rebels launch fierce offensive against al Qaeda fighters". Reuters. 4 January 2014. Retrieved 5 January 2014.