The Dawn of Freedom Brigades ( ar-at, تجمع ألوية فجر الحرية, Tajamu Alwiya Fajr al-Hurriya) was a

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 ...

-affiliated

Syrian rebel 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 ...

alliance which participated in the Syrian Civil War. It coordinated with the joint operations room

Euphrates Volcano Euphrates Volcano ( ar-at, بركان الفرات, Burkān al-Furāt) was a joint operations room/coalition established during the Syrian Civil War. It mainly consisted of the Syrian Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) and certain factions o ...

and eventually became part of the Army of Revolutionaries (''Jaysh al-Thuwar'') in 2015.

History

The founder of the Dawn of Freedom Brigades was Nizar al-Khatib, also known by his

nom de guerre A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name (orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individua ...

"Abu Laith". Al-Khatib was a commander in the Ghuraba al-Sham Front, which was defeated by Islamist rebel forces led by 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 ...

between mid and late 2013. During this time, Nizar al-Khatib formed the Descendents of Messengers Brigade as an offshoot of Ghuraba al-Sham. In January 2014 and February, amid widespread conflict between ISIL and other rebel groups, including in northern Aleppo, the Descendents of Messengers Brigade forged an alliance with the

Kurdish Front The Kurdish Front ( ar, جبهة الأكراد, transliterated: Jabhat al-Akrad; ku, Eniya Kurdan, former full name: ''Liwa' Jabhat al-'Akrad l-Nusra Shaʿbnā al-Sūrī'', "Brigade of the Kurdish Front to Support Our Syrian People") is a pre ...

. In March 2014, the brigade changed its name to the Dawn of Freedom Brigades. On 8 November 2014, a field commander of the Dawn of Freedom Brigades was killed by the

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 ...

. On 18 November, Nizar al-Khatib ("Abu Laith") was replaced by Hasan al-Banawi ("Abu Juma") as the leader of the coalition due to "health issues" of al-Khatib. On 5 December 2014, the Supporters of Dawn of Freedom Brigade based in

Idlib ar, إدلبي, Idlibi , coordinates = , elevation_m = 500 , area_code = 23 , geocode = C3871 , blank_name = Climate , blank_info ...

defected from the Dawn of Freedom Brigades. On 24 December, the Grievous Response Force, which included the al-Nusra Front and the Islamic Mujahideen Army, raided the Dawn of Freedom Brigades' headquarters in

Mare' Mare' ( ar, مارع ''Māriʿ'', locally pronounced ''Mēreʿ''), also spelled Marea, is a town in northern Aleppo Governorate, northwestern Syria. It is the largest town and administrative centre of the Mare' nahiyah in the Azaz District. Locate ...

. Al-Nusra captured Wael al-Khatib ("Abu Fuad"), general commander of the group, and several other commanders during the raid. On 3 May 2015, some of the former members of the

Hazzm Movement The Hazzm Movement ( ar, حركة حزم, ''Ḥarakat Ḥazzm'', meaning ''Movement of Steadfastness'') was an alliance of Syrian rebel groups affiliated with the Free Syrian Army in northwestern Syria that existed from 25 January 2014 until 1 M ...

and the Syria Revolutionaries Front along with

Jabhat al-Akrad The Kurdish Front ( ar, جبهة الأكراد, transliterated: Jabhat al-Akrad; ku, Eniya Kurdan, former full name: ''Liwa' Jabhat al-'Akrad l-Nusra Shaʿbnā al-Sūrī'', "Brigade of the Kurdish Front to Support Our Syrian People") is a pre ...

, the Dawn of Freedom Brigades' main component group the

Northern Sun Battalion The Northern Sun Battalion ( ar-at, كتائب شمس الشمال, Katā'ib Šams aš-Šamāl) is an armed rebel group affiliated with the Free Syrian Army and part of the Syrian Democratic Forces that has been active during the Syrian Civil ...

(making the Dawn of Freedom Brigades defunct in the process) and smaller FSA groups formed the Army of Revolutionaries. Although most of the Dawn of Freedom Brigades joined the Army of Revolutionaries, its founder, Nizar al-Khatib, did not, and criticized the Army.

References

External links

*
Dawn of Freedom Brigades YouTube Channel
{{Syrian Civil War Anti-government factions of the Syrian civil war Free Syrian Army Military units and formations established in 2014 Military units and formations disestablished in 2015

History

See also

References

External links