Ghuraba al-Sham (Syria)
| Ghuraba al-Sham | |
|---|---|
|
جبهة غرباء الشام Participant in Syrian Civil War | |
 | |
| Active | 2011[1][2]– April 2016 |
| Leaders |
Sheikh Omar[1] Hasan Jazra  [3] |
| Area of operations | Aleppo Governorate[1] |
| Strength |
2,000 (until May 2013) ~100 (since May 2013)[1] |
| Part of | Free Syrian Army[4] |
| Opponents |
Syrian Armed Forces Al-Nusra Front[5] Al-Tawhid Brigade[5] Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant[2] |
Ghuraba al-Sham Front (Arabic: جبهة غرباء الشام Jabhat Ghurabā’ ash-Shām, "Strangers/Foreigners of the region of Syria") is a group of fighters, active during the Syrian civil war, in favor of a non-religious state.[1] The group formerly had around 2,000 men, but in May 2013 it clashed with fundamentalist formations and most of its fighters dispersed.[1] Ghuraba al-Sham's arsenals were confiscated by the fundamentalists and now it only has around 100 fighters in its ranks.[1] The group consists of a mixture of secularists and Islamists.[1] The name of the group has since changed.[2] There is a battalion within the group called the Loyalty battalion made up entirely of women.[6]
In November 2013, Hasan Jazra, the commander of Ghuraba al-Sham, was publicly executed by members of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant in the Aleppo town of Atareb. Opposition groups had accused Ghuraba of looting and collaborating at times with the Assad regime.[3]
In April 2016 the German police arrested an unnamed 41 year old Syrian man accused of crimes against international law like torture and looting, committed while he was a leader of the group in 2012/2013.[7]
See also
References
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "Special Report: Syria's Islamists seize control as moderates dither". Reuters. 19 June 2013. Retrieved 24 April 2014.
- 1 2 3 "Scores die as rebel factions fight in Aleppo". Al Jazeera English. 13 October 2013. Retrieved 24 April 2014.
- 1 2 "Battles rage around Damascus, jihadists slay rival rebel leader". The Daily Star. Beirut. 28 November 2013. Retrieved 24 April 2014.
- ↑ "RPT-INSIGHT-Beheadings and spies help al Qaeda gain ground in Syria". Reuters. 6 December 2013. Retrieved 24 April 2014.
- 1 2 "Warring Syrian rebel groups abduct each other's members". Times of Israel. Jerusalem. 18 May 2013. Retrieved 24 April 2014.
- ↑ "Using Women to Win in Syria". Al Monitor. 29 September 2013. Retrieved 24 April 2014.
- ↑ "Völkerstrafrecht: SEK nimmt mutmaßlichen Kriegsverbrecher aus Syrien fest" (in German). DER SPIEGEL. 6 April 2016. Retrieved 6 April 2016.
