The Owais al-Qorani Brigade ( ar, لواء أويس القرني; Liwa Owais al-Qorani) is a Syrian rebel group from
al-Thawrah
Al-Thawrah ( ar, ٱلثَّوْرَة, aṯ-Ṯawrah), also known as Al-Tabqah ( ar, ٱلطَّبْقَة, aṭ-Ṭabqah, also ), is a city in Raqqa Governorate, Syria, approximately west of Raqqa. The name "al-Thawrah" literally means "The Revo ...
that was formed in 2012 and revered the Islamic martyr
Uwais al-Qarani
Awais bin Bashir ( ar, أُوَيْس ٱبْن عَامِر ٱبْن جَزْء ٱبْن مَالِك ٱلْقَرَنِيّ, ), also spelled Uways or Owais, was a Muslim from Yemen who lived during the lifetime of the Islamic prophet Muhammad.B ...
. Originally part of the
Free Syrian Army
The Free Syrian Army (FSA) ( ar, الجيش السوري الحر, al-jaysh as-Sūrī al-ḥur) is a loose faction in the Syrian Civil War founded on 29 July 2011 by officers of the Syrian Armed Forces with the goal of bringing down the governm ...
, the brigade later became a subordinate of the
Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant
An Islamic state is a State (polity), state that has a form of government based on sharia, Islamic law (sharia). As a term, it has been used to describe various historical Polity, polities and theories of governance in the Islamic world. As a t ...
, only to be destroyed by ISIL in 2014 over disagreements. Remnants of the group eventually joined the
Syrian Democratic Forces
, war = the Syrian Civil War
, image = Flag of Syrian Democratic Forces.svgborder
, caption = Flag
, active = 10 October 2015 – present
, ideology = DemocracyDecentralizationSecularism ...
to take revenge on ISIL.
History
![Liwa Owais al-Qorani convoy in Tabqa](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/09/Liwa_Owais_al-Qorani_convoy_in_Tabqa.png)
The group was originally formed as "Katibat Owais al-Qorani" (Owais al-Qorani Battalion) by followers of Owais al-Qorani
and members of the local Nasser tribe in June 2012 as part of the
Free Syrian Army
The Free Syrian Army (FSA) ( ar, الجيش السوري الحر, al-jaysh as-Sūrī al-ḥur) is a loose faction in the Syrian Civil War founded on 29 July 2011 by officers of the Syrian Armed Forces with the goal of bringing down the governm ...
. Over time, the group came to function as
private army
A private army (or private military) is a military or paramilitary force consisting of armed combatants who owe their allegiance to a private person, group, or organization, rather than a nation or state.
History
Private armies may form when l ...
of the Nasser tribe, who considered itself the "bedrock of the revolution in the region". Katibat Owais al-Qorani was one of the earliest rebel groups to become active in the area around al-Thawrah and among the first to carry out urban insurgency attacks against government forces inside the town. In September 2012, it reportedly ambushed
Military Intelligence
Military intelligence is a military discipline that uses information collection and analysis approaches to provide guidance and direction to assist commanders in their decisions. This aim is achieved by providing an assessment of data from a ...
members in al-Thawrah. The group eventually joined a Free Syrian Army coalition.
In February 2013, Katibat Owais al-Qorani was part of the rebel alliance that attacked and captured al-Thawrah from the government, and thereafter helped laying siege to the nearby airport which was still held by the
Syrian Army
" (''Guardians of the Homeland'')
, colors = * Service uniform: Khaki, Olive
* Combat uniform: Green, Black, Khaki
, anniversaries = August 1st
, equipment =
, equipment_label =
, battles = 1948 Arab–Israeli War
Six ...
.
On 14 April 2013, Katibat Owais al-Qorani was reorganized into Liwa Owais al-Qorani. By this time, the group no longer used the
Syrian independence flag
As a result of the Syrian Civil War since 2011, there are at least two flags used to represent Syria, used by different factions in the war. The incumbent government of the Syrian Arab Republic led by the Ba'ath Party uses the red-white-black tri ...
, instead using the
Black Standard
The Black Banner or Black Standard ( ar, الراية السوداء, ar-rāyat as-sawdāʾ, also known as (, "banner of the eagle" or simply as , , "the banner") is one of the flags flown by the Islamic prophet Muhammad according to Muslim tr ...
variant with the "
Seal of Muhammad
The Seal of Muhammad ( Turkish: Muhammed'in mührü, ar, ختم الرسول, KḪatm ar-Rasūl) is one of the relics of Muhammad kept in the Topkapı Palace by the Ottoman Sultans as part of the Sacred Relics collection.
The most popular des ...
". Later that year in November, the group was among the rebel units that captured Dibsi Afnan in
Al-Thawrah District
Al-Thawrah District ( ar, منطقة الثورة, Manṭiqat Aṯ Ṯawra) is a district of the Raqqa Governorate in northern Syria. The administrative centre is the city of al-Thawrah. At the 2004 census, the district had a population of 159,840 ...
. Liwa Owais al-Qorani also managed to capture around 110 government fighters. These prisoners were held "in decent conditions", as the militia hoped to be able to trade them for its own members who were imprisoned. By October 2013, however, half of these
POWs
A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610.
Belligerents hold prisoners of war ...
had managed to escape.
![OwaisalQorani](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/88/OwaisalQorani.png)
By late 2013 and early 2014, as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant rose in power in
Raqqa Governorate
Raqqa Governorate ( ar, مُحافظة الرقة, Muḥāfaẓat ar-Raqqah) is one of the fourteen governorates of Syria. It is situated in the north of the country and covers an area of 19,618 km2. The capital is Raqqa. The Islamic State of ...
and began to eliminate other local rebel groups, Liwa Owais al-Qorani refused to take up arms against ISIL, reasoning that "all Islamic factions are brothers in religion". Though it did not swear loyalty to the Islamic State and continued to affirm its independence, this behavior resulted in Liwa Owais al-Qorani effectively becoming an ISIL subordinate.
In March 2014, however, the rest of Liwa Owais al-Qorani's prisoners managed to break out of their prison. This led to severe tensions between the brigade and ISIL, and the latter eventually decided to forcibly disband Liwa Owais al-Qorani. The group's members were imprisoned
or executed, while
Owais al-Qorani's shrine in
Raqqa
Raqqa ( ar, ٱلرَّقَّة, ar-Raqqah, also and ) (Kurdish languages, Kurdish: Reqa/ ڕەقە) is a city in Syria on the northeast bank of the Euphrates River, about east of Aleppo. It is located east of the Tabqa Dam, Syria's largest dam. T ...
was destroyed by the Islamic State.
Some months later, several members of Liwa Owais al-Qorani's jailed leadership managed to escape ISIL custody and fled to
Turkey
Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...
; two years later, in late 2016, these survivors returned to
Syria
Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...
, joining the
Syrian Democratic Forces
, war = the Syrian Civil War
, image = Flag of Syrian Democratic Forces.svgborder
, caption = Flag
, active = 10 October 2015 – present
, ideology = DemocracyDecentralizationSecularism ...
to help them
push
Push may refer to:
Music
* Mike Dierickx (born 1973), a Belgian producer also known as Push
Albums
* ''Push'' (Bros album), 1988
* ''Push'' (Gruntruck album), 1992
* ''Push'' (Jacky Terrasson album), 2010
Songs
* "Push" (Enrique Iglesias s ...
ISIL out of al-Thawrah.
Around 60 former fighters of Liwa Owais al-Qorani who joined
al-Qaeda
Al-Qaeda (; , ) is an Islamic extremism, Islamic extremist organization composed of Salafist jihadists. Its members are mostly composed of Arab, Arabs, but also include other peoples. Al-Qaeda has mounted attacks on civilian and military ta ...
's
al-Nusra Front
Al-Nusra Front or Jabhat al-Nusra ( ar, جبهة النصرة لأهل الشام, Jabhat an-Nuṣrah li-Ahl ish-Sham lit. ''Front of the Supporters of the People of Syria/the Levant''), known as Jabhat Fatah al-Sham ( ar, جبهة فتح ال ...
fled to
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
in late 2014. In September 2017, the
federal prosecutor of Germany accused them 25 of them of being members of a
terrorist organization
A number of national governments and two international organizations have created lists of organizations that they designate as terrorist. The following list of designated terrorist groups lists groups designated as terrorist by current and fo ...
and committing
war crimes after a
mass grave
A mass grave is a grave containing multiple human corpses, which may or may not be identified prior to burial. The United Nations has defined a criminal mass grave as a burial site containing three or more victims of execution, although an exact ...
of 36 policemen, administrative assistants, and government militia commanders who were massacred by Liwa Owais al-Qorani was uncovered in
Tabqa.
Notes
References
Bibliography
*
*
{{Syrian Civil War
Anti-ISIL factions in Syria
Syrian Democratic Forces
Anti-government factions of the Syrian civil war
Islamism in Syria
Military units and formations established in 2012
2012 establishments in Syria