Junud al-Sham (''Soldiers of the Levant''), sometimes also called Jund al-Sham,
is a group of
Chechen and
Lebanese Sunni
mujahideen that fight in the
Syrian Civil War and were led by
Muslim Abu Walid al Shishani until his death in 2021. Abu Turab Shishani as deputy leader has led the group since.
History
Unlike many other foreign mujahideen, Junud al-Sham remained mostly independent from other Syrian rebel groups. Many of its fighters defected to
Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant
An Islamic state is a state that has a form of government based on Islamic law (sharia). As a term, it has been used to describe various historical polities and theories of governance in the Islamic world. As a translation of the Arabic term ...
commander
Abu Omar al-Shishani
Tarkhan Tayumurazovich Batirashvili ( ka, თარხან ბათირაშვილი; 11 January 1986 – 10 July 2016), known by his '' nom de guerre'' Abu Omar al-Shishani ( ar, أَبُو عُمَرَ ٱلشِّيشَانِيِّ, ...
in 2014. The remainder of the group remained combat-ready, and continued to take part in military operations in 2015.
Financial difficulties caused a further decline, however, and some sources claimed that it was reduced to merely 30 fighters by early 2016.
Many of its members had reportedly left in order to join the
Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant
An Islamic state is a state that has a form of government based on Islamic law (sharia). As a term, it has been used to describe various historical polities and theories of governance in the Islamic world. As a translation of the Arabic term ...
. In a video address, Muslim Shishani consequently reproached other insurgent groups in Syria for not providing assistance, which regional expert Joanna Paraszczuk described as a "rant".
In September 2016, Junud al-Sham travelled to
Hama Governorate in order to fight in a local
rebel offensive. Later that year, there were reports according to which the group had dissolved, reportedly as result of clashes with
Ahrar al-Sham, with many of its Chechen fighters reportedly joining
Ajnad al-Kavkaz
, war = Syrian Civil War
, image = Ajnad Al-Kavkaz flag.svg
, caption = Flag of Ajnad al-Kavkaz.
, groups =
, active = 2015–''present''
, ideology = *Sunni Islam, Sunni Islamic ...
.
Despite these reports, however, other reports suggested remnants of Junud al-Sham were still active by 2018. In January 2018, pro-government media reported that "a military source in Damascus" said the group took part in a major
military campaign against the government in northwestern Syria. Meanwhile, the Turkish newspaper ''
Yeni Akit'' claimed he was participating in the
Turkish military operation in Afrin
Operation Olive Branch ( tr, Zeytin Dalı Harekâtı) was a cross-border military operation conducted by the Turkish Armed Forces and Syrian National Army (SNA) in the majority-Kurdish Afrin District of northwest Syria, against the People's Pro ...
. However, Shishani denied that he or his followers were in Afrin, and confirmed he was in
Hama, fighting alongside another Chechen militia,
Tarkhan Gaziyev's Katiba Abd Ar-Rahman. A German foreign fighter with the group
named Abu Khalid al-Shami said in an interview from 22 July 2019 that the group clashed with ISIL in
Abu Dali.
See also
*
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
Junud al-Sham's YouTube Channel
{{Syrian Civil War
Anti-government factions of the Syrian civil war
Jihadist groups in Syria