Junud al-Sham (''Soldiers of the Levant''), sometimes also called Jund al-Sham,
is a group of
Chechen and
Lebanese Sunni
mujahideen
''Mujahideen'', or ''Mujahidin'' ( ar, مُجَاهِدِين, mujāhidīn), is the plural form of ''mujahid'' ( ar, مجاهد, mujāhid, strugglers or strivers or justice, right conduct, Godly rule, etc. doers of jihād), an Arabic term th ...
that fight in the
Syrian Civil War and were led by
Muslim Abu Walid al Shishani
Murad Akhmetovich Margoshvili, also known by his nom de guerre Muslim Abu Walid al Shishani (taken from the Saudi fighter Abu al-Walid), is the commander of Junud al-Sham in Syria. Al Shishani was sanctioned by the US State Department on 24 Sep ...
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 commander
Abu Omar al-Shishani 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. 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
Hama Governorate ( ar, مُحافظة حماة / ALA-LC: ''Muḥāfaẓat Ḥamā'') is one of the 14 Governorates of Syria, governorates of Syria. It is situated in western-central Syria, bordering Idlib Governorate, Idlib and Aleppo Governorates ...
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
Harakat Ahrar al-Sham al-Islamiyya ( ar-at, حركة أحرار الشام الإسلامية, Ḥarakat Aḥrāru š-Šām al-Islāmiyah, lit=Islamic Movement of the Freemen of the Levant), commonly referred to as Ahrar al-Sham, is a coalition ...
, with many of its Chechen fighters reportedly joining
Ajnad al-Kavkaz.
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
A military campaign is large-scale long-duration significant military strategy plan incorporating a series of interrelated military operations or battles forming a distinct part of a larger conflict often called a war. The term derives from the ...
against the government in northwestern Syria. Meanwhile, the Turkish newspaper ''
Yeni Akit
''Yeni Akit'' (literally "New Agreement") is an Islamic-conservative Turkish daily newspaper. ''Yeni Akit'' is aligned with Islamism and has been criticised for homophobia and hate against the LGBT, Jews, Christians, and atheists.
History
The ...
'' claimed he was participating in the
Turkish military operation in Afrin. However, Shishani denied that he or his followers were in Afrin, and confirmed he was in
Hama
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, ar ...
, fighting alongside another Chechen militia,
Tarkhan Gaziyev
Tarkhan Ismailovich Gaziyev (russian: Тарха́н Исмаи́лович Гази́ев), also known as Emir Tarkhan, is a Chechen militant commander who has fought in the Insurgency in the North Caucasus. The United States Department of Stat ...
'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
References
External links
Junud al-Sham's YouTube Channel
{{Syrian Civil War
Anti-government factions of the Syrian civil war
Jihadist groups in Syria