The Syrian Resistance (''al-Muqāwamat al-Sūriyah'',

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...

: المقاومة السورية), formerly known as the Popular Front for the Liberation of the Sanjak of Iskandarun (

: الجبهة الشعبية لتحرير لواء اســكندرون), is a pro-government Syrian armed

militia A militia () is generally an army or some other fighting organization of non-professional soldiers, citizens of a country, or subjects of a state, who may perform military service during a time of need, as opposed to a professional force of r ...

group operating in northwest

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 ...

, claiming a

Marxist–Leninist Marxism is a left-wing to far-left method of socioeconomic analysis that uses a materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to understand class relations and social conflict and a dialect ...

ideology.

Background

The movement is led by

Mihrac Ural Mihraç Ural, also known as Ali Kayyali (Arabic:علي كيالي), is a Turkish-Syrian Alawite militant and leader of the Syrian Resistance (formerly known as the Popular Front for the Liberation of the Sanjak of Iskandarun), a pro-Syrian governm ...

, a Turkish Alawite who has Syrian citizenship and is also known as "Ali Kayyali" (علي كيالي). According to ''

Today's Zaman ''Today's Zaman'' (Zaman is Turkish for 'time' or 'age') was an English-language daily newspaper based in Turkey. Established on 17 January 2007, it was the English-language edition of the Turkish daily '' Zaman.'' ''Today's Zaman'' included dom ...

'', Ural was the leader of a clandestine insurgent cell in

Hatay Province Hatay Province ( tr, Hatay ili, ) is the southernmost province of Turkey. It is situated almost entirely outside Anatolia, along the eastern coast of the Levantine Sea. The province borders Syria to its south and east, the Turkish province of A ...

called the

People's Liberation Party-Front of Turkey The People's Liberation Party-Front of Turkey ( tr, Türkiye Halk Kurtuluş Partisi-Cephesi, THKP-C) was a Turkish Marxist–Leninist guerrilla group It was founded in 1970 by Münir Ramazan Aktolga, Yusuf Küpeli and Mahir Çayan, with the P ...

or ''Acilciler'' (The Urgent Ones). ''Zaman'' further alleged that Ural's group has sought to agitate Hatay's sizable Alawite population into confrontation with the Turkish authorities and has also recruited local Alawites to fight in Syria on behalf of the Syrian government. The group claims to also have supporters among Syria's

Sunni Sunni Islam () is the largest branch of Islam, followed by 85–90% of the world's Muslims. Its name comes from the word '' Sunnah'', referring to the tradition of Muhammad. The differences between Sunni and Shia Muslims arose from a disagr ...

Muslims and Christians. Though the group openly espouses a broadly-inclusive platform of

Syrian nationalism Syrian nationalism, also known as Pan-Syrian nationalism (or pan-Syrianism), refers to the nationalism of the region of Syria, as a cultural or political entity known as "Greater Syria". It should not be confused with the Arab nationalism that is ...

in addition to secular leftism, it has been claimed that its primary focus is the defence of the

Alawite The Alawis, Alawites ( ar, علوية ''Alawīyah''), or pejoratively Nusayris ( ar, نصيرية ''Nuṣayrīyah'') are an ethnoreligious group that lives primarily in Levant and follows Alawism, a sect of Islam that originated from Shia Isl ...

and Twelver Shi’a religious minorities of Syria. The Syrian Resistance has been accused by the

Syrian opposition The Syrian opposition ( ar, المعارضة السورية ', ) is the political structure represented by the Syrian National Coalition and associated Syrian anti-Assad groups with certain territorial control as an alternative Syrian gover ...

of being a

sectarian Sectarianism is a political or cultural conflict between two groups which are often related to the form of government which they live under. Prejudice, discrimination, or hatred can arise in these conflicts, depending on the political status quo ...

Alawite

, and of having carried out bombings and attacks in

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 ...

and on villages in Syria. However, Sheikh Muwaffaq al-Ghazal, a member of the Islamic Alawi Council, claims it has an inclusive national line regarding religion, race and gender.

History

Founded before the Syrian Civil War's outbreak under the name "Popular Front for the Liberation of the Sanjak of Iskandarun", the militia has been most active in

Latakia Governorate Latakia Governorate, also transliterated as Ladhakia Governorate, ( ar, مُحافظة اللاذقية / ALA-LC: ''Muḥāfaẓat al-Lādhiqīyah'') is one of the 14 governorates of Syria. It is situated in western Syria, bordering Turkey's Hatay ...

, where its members reportedly committed a massacre in the town of

Baniyas Baniyas ( ar, بَانِيَاس ') is a Mediterranean coastal city in Tartous Governorate, northwestern Syria, located south of Latakia (ancient Laodicea) and north of Tartous (ancient Tortosa). It is known for its citrus fruit orchards an ...

in 2013. The Turkish government has also suspected the Syrian Resistance of carrying out the Reyhanlı bombings. On 29 March 2016, it was falsely reported that Mihraç Ural had been killed by

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 ...

. In late July 2016, the Syrian Resistance sent reinforcement contingents from

Hama , timezone = EET , utc_offset = +2 , timezone_DST = EEST , utc_offset_DST = +3 , postal_code_type = , postal_code = , ar ...

to Aleppo in order to support the pro-government forces during the

2016 Aleppo campaign {{infobox military conflict , conflict = 2016 Aleppo summer campaign , width = 400px , partof = the Battle of Aleppo and the Syrian Civil War , image = Aleppo Summer Campaign 2016.png , image_size = 300px , caption ...

. In course of the campaign, they were deployed both in the northern city at the Castello road front, as well as in the south where rebel forces launched a

counter-offensive In the study of military tactics, a counter-offensive is a large-scale strategic offensive military operation, usually by forces that had successfully halted the enemy's offensive, while occupying defensive positions. The counter-offensive is ...

. At some point, the "Falcons of the Jazira and Euphrates", a militia of

Deir ez-Zor Governorate Deir ez-Zor Governorate ( ar, مُحافظة دير الزور / ALA-LC: ''Muḥāfaẓat Dayr az-Zawr'') is one of the fourteen governorates (provinces) of Syria. It is situated in eastern Syria, bordering Iraq. It has an area of 33,060 km2 ( ...

natives, officially joined the Syrian Resistance, though it remained operationally fully autonomous. Under the Syrian Resistance's flag, this unit took part in the

central Syria campaign The Central Syria campaign, known as "Operation Khuzam," or "Lavender," was a large-scale military operation of the Syrian Army (SAA) against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) during the Syrian Civil War. Its goal was to capture ...

of mid-2017. Jamal Trabelsi, director of the Syrian Resistance's information office, was targeted by an

improvised explosive device An improvised explosive device (IED) is a bomb constructed and deployed in ways other than in conventional military action. It may be constructed of conventional military explosives, such as an artillery shell, attached to a detonating mechan ...

(IED) in Aleppo in July 2017, though he survived. The group accused "Turkey-backed & hired gangs" of being behind the attack. A few days later, a female media officer of the Syrian Resistance, Duaa Hayel Sulaiman, was assassinated in

Damascus )), is an adjective which means "spacious". , motto = , image_flag = Flag of Damascus.svg , image_seal = Emblem of Damascus.svg , seal_type = Seal , map_caption = , ...

References

External links

*
THKP-C ''Acilciler'' blog
{{Syrian Civil War 2011 establishments in Syria Anti-ISIL factions in Syria Communism in Syria Communist militant groups Leninism Military units and formations established in 2011 Pro-government factions of the Syrian civil war Syrian nationalism Axis of Resistance

Background

History

See also

References

External links