The Hazzm Movement ( ar, حركة حزم, ''Ḥarakat Ḥazzm'', meaning ''Movement of Steadfastness''
) was an alliance of
Syrian rebel groups affiliated with the
Free Syrian Army in northwestern Syria that existed from 25 January 2014
until 1 March 2015, when many of them dissolved into the
Levant Front. Some other members joined the
Army of Revolutionaries.
History
![Hazzm Movement convoy in Mare'](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/18/Hazzm_Movement_convoy_in_Mare%27.jpg)
In late 2013 the former
Supreme Military Council chief of staff
Salim Idris planned to form the Hazzm Movement in response him being sacked as the chief of staff.
[ The Hazzm Movement was established on 25 January 2014 when 12 small rebel factions merged. Several of the factions had been part of the ]Farouq Brigades
The Farouq Brigades ( ar, كتائب الفاروق), also spelt Farooq and Farook, was an armed rebel organisation formed by a number of Homs based members of the Free Syrian Army early in the Syrian Civil War. The group rapidly expanded in siz ...
.[ The groups that became the ]Army of Mujahedeen
Jaysh al-Mujahideen
, native_name_lang= Ar
, war = the Syrian Civil War
, image = Flag of the Army of Mujahedeen (Syria).svg
, caption = Logo of the Army of Mujahideen
, active = 2 January 2014 – 25 January 2017
, ide ...
were originally going to join the Hazzm Movement. The previous incarnation of the group, called Harakat Zaman Mohamed (''The movement of the time of Muhammad
Muhammad ( ar, مُحَمَّد; 570 – 8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious, social, and political leader and the founder of Islam. According to Islamic doctrine, he was a prophet divinely inspired to preach and confirm the mo ...
''), was supported by the Muslim Brotherhood of Syria
The Muslim Brotherhood of Syria ( ar, الإخوان المسلمون في سوريا, translit=al-Ikhwān al-Muslimūn fī Sūrīya) is a Syrian branch of the Sunni Islamist Muslim Brotherhood organization. Its objective is the transformatio ...
.[
The group was supplied with ]BGM-71 TOW
The BGM-71 TOW ("Tube-launched, Optically tracked, Wire-guided") is an American anti-tank missile. TOW replaced much smaller missiles like the SS.10 and ENTAC, offering roughly twice the effective range, a more powerful warhead, and a greatly ...
anti-tank missiles in a covert CIA
The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gathering, processing, ...
program launched in 2014. Scores of the group's fighters also received U.S. military training in Qatar
Qatar (, ; ar, قطر, Qaṭar ; local vernacular pronunciation: ), officially the State of Qatar,) is a country in Western Asia. It occupies the Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it ...
under the same program.[
In October 2014, the al-Nusra Front began attacking positions of the Hazzm Movement in the Idlib Governorate, overrunning bases and seizing weapon stores, due to its perceived closeness to the United States.] Following the loss of men and weapons to Nusra, the Idlib branch of Hazzm stopped receiving funds from the CIA in December 2014, funds to the Aleppo branch continued. In January 2015, al-Nusra attacked Hazzm Movement positions in the Aleppo Governorate
Aleppo Governorate ( ar, محافظة حلب / ALA-LC: ''Muḥāfaẓat Ḥalab'' / ) is one of the fourteen governorates of Syria. It is the most populous governorate in Syria with a population of more than 4,867,000 (2011 Est.), almost 23% of t ...
. The Hazzm Movement reacted by joining the Levant Front, a large alliance of prominent Aleppo-based Islamist rebel groups; the alliance urged al Nusra to resolve its dispute with the Hazzm Movement by negotiating with the Levant Front.
On 3 May 2015, some of the former members of the northern branches of the Hazzm Movement, including the Atarib Martyrs Brigade, and the Syrian Revolutionaries Front along with Jabhat al-Akrad
The Kurdish Front ( ar, جبهة الأكراد, transliterated: Jabhat al-Akrad; ku, Eniya Kurdan, former full name: ''Liwa' Jabhat al-'Akrad l-Nusra Shaʿbnā al-Sūrī'', "Brigade of the Kurdish Front to Support Our Syrian People") is a pre ...
, the Dawn of Freedom Brigades
The Dawn of Freedom Brigades ( ar-at, تجمع ألوية فجر الحرية, Tajamu Alwiya Fajr al-Hurriya) was a Free Syrian Army-affiliated Syrian rebel alliance which participated in the Syrian Civil War. It coordinated with the joint operat ...
main component group the Northern Sun Battalion
The Northern Sun Battalion ( ar-at, كتائب شمس الشمال, Katā'ib Šams aš-Šamāl) is an armed rebel group affiliated with the Free Syrian Army and part of the Syrian Democratic Forces that has been active during the Syrian Civil ...
(making the Dawn of Freedom Brigades
The Dawn of Freedom Brigades ( ar-at, تجمع ألوية فجر الحرية, Tajamu Alwiya Fajr al-Hurriya) was a Free Syrian Army-affiliated Syrian rebel alliance which participated in the Syrian Civil War. It coordinated with the joint operat ...
defunct in the process) and smaller FSA groups formed the Army of Revolutionaries. Many of the northern members of the Syrian Revolutionaries Front and Hazzm Movement also joined the Levant Front.
During the Turkish military intervention in Syria which started in late August 2016, some former members of the Syrian Revolutionaries Front and the Hazzm Movement in exile from Turkey crossed into Syria through Jarabulus
Jarabulus ( ar, جَرَابُلُس / ALA-LC: ''Jarābulus'', Aleppo dialect: ''Jrāblos''; tr, Cerablus) is a Syrian city administratively belonging to Aleppo Governorate, under the de-facto control of the Syrian Opposition. Jarabulus lies on ...
.
In late December 2016, the Hazzm Movement, the SRF, and the Ansar Brigades in exile reportedly declared their intentions to return to Syria.
Component groups and structure
The Hazzm Movement had a northern division, led by Murshid al-Khalid (Abu Mutasim), and a southern division led by Mohammed al-Dahik (Abu Hatem). The Secretary-General was Bilal Atar (Abu Abd al-Sham).[ Abdullah Awda (Abu Zeid) was in charge of military operations] and Hamza Shamali (Abu Hashem) in charge of political affairs.[
The 12 groups that merged on 25 January 2014 to form the Hazzm Movement were:
* Atarib Martyrs Brigade—reportedly the largest faction of the Hazzm Movement before its dissolution, based in ]Atarib
Atarib ( ar, أتارب, ʾAtārib), also known as Atharib or Athareb, is a town in western Aleppo countryside, Aleppo Governorate, Syria. Located west of the city of Aleppo and southeast of Reyhanlı in Turkish-administered Hatay Province, i ...
* 9th Special Forces Division of Aleppo[
* Farouq of the North Battalion
* Ayman of God Brigade
* Abi Harith Battalion - Farouq Hama
* Free Salamiya Battalion - Farouq Hama
* Martyr Abdul Ghaffar Hamish Battalion
* Martyr Abdullahi Bukar Battalion
* Salt of the Right Company
* Abu Assad al-Nimr Battalion][
Several other groups joined the Hazzm Movement at a later date.
]
9th Special Forces Division of Aleppo
The 9th Special Forces Division of Aleppo was a Syrian rebel group formerly affiliated with the Syria Revolutionaries Front[ and joined the Hazm Movement in January 2014.] It was headed by Murshid al-Khaled ('' nom de guerre'': Abu Mutasim).
Furthermore, the group was further composed of several additional subgroups before the merger:[
* 1st Infantry Brigade
* 1st Armoured Brigade
* 60th Infantry Brigade
* Rocket Artillery Regiment
* Shahba Shield Brigade
* Ahbab Allah Brigade
]
See also
*Timber Sycamore
Timber Sycamore was a classified weapons supply and training program run by the United States Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and supported by some Arab intelligence services, including Saudi intelligence. Launched in 2012 or 2013, it supplied ...
* Syrian Train and Equip Program
*List of armed groups in the Syrian Civil War
A number of states and armed groups have involved themselves in the ongoing Syrian Civil War as belligerents.
Syrian Arab Republic and allies
A number of sources have emphasized that as of at least late-2015/early-2016 the Syrian Arab Republic ...
References
External links
*
Hazzm Movement's YouTube Channel
{{2011 Syrian uprising
Anti-government factions of the Syrian civil war