The 19th Division ( ar, الفرقة 19) was a

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 ...

group which fought in the Syrian Civil War. The group was created in June 2013 in the western countryside of the

Aleppo Governorate Aleppo Governorate ( ar, محافظة حلب / ALA-LC: ''Muḥāfaẓat Ḥalab'' / ) is one of the fourteen governorates of Syria. It is the most populous governorate in Syria with a population of more than 4,867,000 (2011 Est.), almost 23% of ...

as a part of a foreign-funded project to unify local

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 factions into bigger factions.

History

In September 2012, the Ansar Brigade ( ar, لواء الانصار, ''Liwa al-Ansar'') was formed as part of the Mutasim Billah Brigades in the western Aleppo countryside. The group was known for producing

improvised fighting vehicle An improvised fighting vehicle is an ''ad hoc'' combat vehicle resulting from modified or upgraded civilian or military non-combat vehicle, often constructed and employed by civilian insurgents, terrorists, rebels, guerrillas, partisans, cri ...

s. In June 2013, the group joined several other rebel groups in the area and formed the 19th Division. In late June 2013, a rebel court in

Darat Izza Darat Izza ( ar, دارة عزة, also spelled Darat Aza or Darit Izza) is a town in northern Syria, administratively part of the Aleppo Governorate, located northwest of Aleppo. Nearby localities include Deir Samaan to the north, Anadan to th ...

arrested a media activist after he criticized Lt. Col. Muhammad Bakur, commander of the Ansar Brigade of the 19th Division. The arrest was condemned by an opposition court in

Atarib Atarib ( ar, أتارب, ʾAtārib), also known as Atharib or Athareb, is a town in western Aleppo countryside, Aleppo Governorate, Syria. Located west of the city of Aleppo and southeast of Reyhanlı in Turkish-administered Hatay Province, it ...

, which demanded the Darat Izza court to release him. On 22 July 2013, the Supporters of the

Caliphate A caliphate or khilāfah ( ar, خِلَافَة, ) is an institution or public office under the leadership of an Islamic steward with the title of caliph (; ar, خَلِيفَة , ), a person considered a political-religious successor to th ...

Brigade, part of the 19th Division, along with

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 ...

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 ...

, took part in a

massacre A massacre is the killing of a large number of people or animals, especially those who are not involved in any fighting or have no way of defending themselves. A massacre is generally considered to be morally unacceptable, especially when per ...

of 51

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 ...

soldiers in

Khan al-Asal Khan al-Assal ( ar, خان العسل, Ḵān al-ʿAsal) is a district of Aleppo city in northern Syria. It is administratively a sub-district of Aleppo, which is a part of the Mount Simeon District in the Aleppo Governorate. Khan al-Assal is loc ...

.''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', 27 July 2013
Soldiers’ Mass Execution Reported by Syria Group
/ref> On 25 September 2013, the 19th Division signed a statement, along with 12 other Syrian rebel groups, in which it rejected any foreign-based opposition group, including the

Syrian National Council The Syrian National Council (SNC; ar, المجلس الوطني السوري, ''al- Majlis al-Waṭanī as-Sūri'', french: Conseil national syrien), sometimes known as the Syrian National Transitional Council or the National Council of Syri ...

References

Anti-government factions of the Syrian civil war Free Syrian Army Military units and formations established in 2013 Anti-ISIL factions in Syria Sunni Islamist groups {{mil-unit-stub

History

See also

References