The Youth of Sunna Forces or Sunni Youth Forces, formerly the Youth of Sunna Division and the Youth of Sunna Brigade, was a Syrian rebel group affiliated with 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 ...

's Southern Front that was armed with U.S.-made

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. It operated in the

Daraa Daraa ( ar, دَرْعَا, Darʿā, Levantine Arabic: , also Darʿā, Dara’a, Deraa, Dera'a, Dera, Derʿā and Edrei; means "''fortress''", compare Dura-Europos) is a city in southwestern Syria, located about north of the border with Jordan ...

and

Quneitra Governorate Quneitra Governorate ( ar, مُحافظة القنيطرة / ALA-LC: ''Muḥāfaẓat Al-Qunayṭrah'') is one of the fourteen governorates (provinces) of Syria. It is situated in southern Syria, notable for the location of the Golan Heights. The ...

s until it surrendered and later joined ranks of Syrian Arab Army in 2018.

History

On 2 August 2016, fighters from the Youth of Sunna Forces raided the house of its deputy leader Mohammad Tohme and proceeded to beat his father and shot his brother. In response, the next day Tohme loyalists stormed its own headquarters in

Bosra Bosra ( ar, بُصْرَىٰ, Buṣrā), also spelled Bostra, Busrana, Bozrah, Bozra and officially called Busra al-Sham ( ar, بُصْرَىٰ ٱلشَّام, Buṣrā al-Shām), is a town in southern Syria, administratively belonging to the Dara ...

and deposed

Ahmad al-Auda Ahmad ( ar, أحمد, ʾAḥmad) is an Arabic male given name common in most parts of the Muslim world. Other spellings of the name include Ahmed and Ahmet. Etymology The word derives from the root (ḥ-m-d), from the Arabic (), from the ve ...

, the leader of the group. Auda and his followers fled and was subsequently placed under

house arrest In justice and law, house arrest (also called home confinement, home detention, or, in modern times, electronic monitoring) is a measure by which a person is confined by the authorities to their residence. Travel is usually restricted, if all ...

, while the military council handed over the group's command to Tohme and his deputy, Bilal Droubi. Some rebel supporters called this a '' coup d'etat'' while others declared their support and defended the toppling of

corrupt Corruption is a form of dishonesty or a criminal offense which is undertaken by a person or an organization which is entrusted in a position of authority, in order to acquire illicit benefits or abuse power for one's personal gain. Corruption m ...

leaders. On 22 August 2016, additional Southern Front factions joined the Youth of Sunna Division under the new leadership of

Colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

Nassim Abu Ezza. In 2018 after major rebel defeat in southern Syria, the group surrendered to the government forces and later joined ranks of SAA, supporting offensive against ISIS affiliate Jaish Al Walid in July 2018.

Groups

*Hamza Division *Zaidi Cavalry Division *Houran Brigade *Caliph

Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz ( ar, عمر بن عبد العزيز, ʿUmar ibn ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz; 2 November 680 – ), commonly known as Umar II (), was the eighth Umayyad caliph. He made various significant contributions and reforms to the society, and ...

Brigade *Spears of Alwali Brigade *Martyr Yousef the Great Brigade *Martyr Ahmed al-Khalaf Brigade *Zaidi Knights Brigade *Shield of Lajat Brigade *Abu Saddam Brigade *Martyr Ahmed al-Miqdad *Banner of the Martyrs of Bosra *Martyr Abdul Razzaq Azaaba Brigade *Martyr Zuhair al-Zoubi Brigade *Martyr Akhawsh Brigade *Descendants of

Ali ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib ( ar, عَلِيّ بْن أَبِي طَالِب; 600 – 661 CE) was the last of four Rightly Guided Caliphs to rule Islam (r. 656 – 661) immediately after the death of Muhammad, and he was the first Shia Imam. ...

Brigade *Martyr Obeida Alissa Brigade *Medical Battalion *Mujahideen Houran *Inkhil Martyrs Brigade

War crimes

On 28 February 2016, the diplomat for the town of

Abtaa Abtaa ( ar, أبطع; transliteration: ''Ibṭaʿ'', also spelled ''Ibta'' or ''Obtei'a'') is a town in southern Syria, administratively part of the Daraa District in the Daraa Governorate. Nearby localities include Da'el to the south, Khirbet Ghaz ...

, Colonel Zidan Nsierat, was

disappeared An enforced disappearance (or forced disappearance) is the secret abduction or imprisonment of a person by a state or political organization, or by a third party with the authorization, support, or acquiescence of a state or political organiza ...

into a

prison A prison, also known as a jail, gaol (dated, standard English, Australian, and historically in Canada), penitentiary (American English and Canadian English), detention center (or detention centre outside the US), correction center, correc ...

in Bosra held by the Youth of Sunna Brigade. Three days later, he was killed being

torture Torture is the deliberate infliction of severe pain or suffering on a person for reasons such as punishment, extracting a confession, interrogation for information, or intimidating third parties. Some definitions are restricted to acts c ...

d in the prison, and the group refused to hand over his corpse to his family. Similar incidents of deaths due to

prisoner abuse Prisoner abuse is the mistreatment of persons while they are under arrest or incarcerated. Prisoner abuse can include physical abuse, psychological abuse, sexual abuse, torture, or other acts such as refusal of essential medication. Physical ...

by the Youth of Sunna was reported in the town.

References

{{Syrian Civil War Anti-government factions of the Syrian civil war Anti-ISIL factions in Syria Free Syrian Army

History

Groups

War crimes

See also

References