Suqour al-Sham Brigades

Suqour al-Sham Brigades
أَلْوِيَةُ صُقُورِ الشَّامِ
Leaders
  • Ahmad Issa al-Sheikh[1]
  • Abu Hussein al-Dik †
  • Ahmad Sarhan ("Abu Satif")[2]
Dates of operation
  • September 2011 – 22 March 2015[3]
  • 3 September 2016 – 26 January 2017[4]
  • 26 January 2017 – 2018 (as a semi-autonomous subgroup of Ahrar al-Sham)[5]
  • 2018–present
HeadquartersSarjeh, Idlib Governorate, Syria[1]
Active regionsIdlib Governorate, Syria
Aleppo Governorate, Syria
IdeologySunni Islamism[1]
Size9,000–10,000[6] (2013) 400[7] (December 2014)
Part ofIslamic Front (2013–2015)[8] Free Syrian Army (2011–2013)
Syrian Islamic Liberation Front (2012–2013)
Syrian Revolutionary Command Council (2014–2015)[10]
Army of Conquest (2015–2017)[11]
National Front for Liberation (since August 2018)[2]
Allies
Opponents
Battles and warsSyrian Civil War
Preceded by
Suqour al-Sham Battalion

The Suqour al-Sham Brigades (Arabic: أَلْوِيَةُ صُقُورِ الشَّامِ, romanized: ʾAlwiyat Ṣuqūr aš-Šām, English: Falcons of the Levant Brigades), also known as the Falcons of the Levant Brigades, is an armed rebel organisation formed by Ahmed Abu Issa[1] early in the Syrian Civil War to fight against the Syrian Government.[1] It was a member of the Islamic Front[8] and a former unit of the Free Syrian Army[17] and the Syrian Islamic Liberation Front.[18] They have a history of coordinating with Ahrar al-Sham and al-Qaeda's al-Nusra Front[6] (a group rebranded as Tahrir al-Sham since January 2017), though clashes with the latter broke out in January 2017. In March 2015, the Suqour al-Sham Brigades merged with Ahrar ash-Sham,[19][3] but left Ahrar al-Sham in September 2016.[4] Also, in September 2016, they joined the Army of Conquest, of which Ahrar al-Sham is also a member.[11] On 25 January 2017, Suqour al-Sham rejoined Ahrar al-Sham,[9] but later became independent.[5]

  1. ^ a b c d e O'Bagy 2012, p. 23.
  2. ^ a b "Meet the leading leaders of the "National Liberation Front"". Enab Baladi. 1 August 2018.
  3. ^ a b c "Islamist Mergers in Syria: Ahrar al-Sham Swallows Suqour al-Sham". Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. 23 March 2015. Retrieved 30 March 2015.
  4. ^ a b "Sham Hawks Brigade split from the Islamic Movement of the Free Levant". Eldorar. 3 September 2016.
  5. ^ a b "Rival Groups Clash in Syria's Rebel-Packed Idlib". Associated Press. 15 July 2017.
  6. ^ a b "MAPPING MILITANT ORGANIZATIONS: Suqour al-Sham". Stanford University. Retrieved 2 October 2016.
  7. ^ Dick, Marlin (1 December 2014). "Syrian rebel coalition announced". The Daily Star. Archived from the original on 1 December 2014. Retrieved 1 December 2014.
  8. ^ a b "Leading Syrian rebel groups form new Islamic Front". BBC News. 22 November 2013. Retrieved 22 November 2013.
  9. ^ a b Obs, Syrian Rebellion (25 January 2017). "#SRO - As #JFS leading its war in #Idlib gov', many factions seeking refuge inside Ahrar ash-Sham : these five sunni factions merged in it.pic.twitter.com/KuiZnw4XHJ". Twitter.
  10. ^ "Translation: the Formation of the Syrian Revolutionary Command Council". Goha's Nail. 3 August 2014. Retrieved 6 August 2014.
  11. ^ a b "Hassan Hassan حسن on Twitter". Retrieved 5 March 2017.
  12. ^ a b "Freedom, Human Rights, Rule of Law: The Goals and Guiding Principles of the Islamic Front and Its Allies". Democratic Revolution, Syrian Style. 17 May 2014. Retrieved 17 May 2014.
  13. ^ "Syrian War Daily – 2nd of March 2018". 2 March 2018.
  14. ^ "2021 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Syria". www.state.gov.
  15. ^ "YPG and Rebel Forces Challenge ISIS in Northern Syria".
  16. ^ "Syrian War Daily – 21st of February 2018". 21 February 2018.
  17. ^ "Leading Syrian rebels defect, dealing blow to fight against al-Qaeda". Daily Telegraph. 5 December 2013. Retrieved 10 December 2013.
  18. ^ "Syria's Islamist rebels join forces against Assad". Reuters. 11 October 2012. Retrieved 26 April 2014.
  19. ^ "اندماج حركتي أحرار الشام وصقور الشام". Retrieved 5 March 2017.