The Ghuraba al-Sham Front ( ar, جبهة غرباء الشام ''Jabhat Ghurabā' ash-Shām'', "Strangers/Foreigners of the

Levant The Levant () is an approximate historical geographical term referring to a large area in the Eastern Mediterranean region of Western Asia. In its narrowest sense, which is in use today in archaeology and other cultural contexts, it is eq ...

") was a group of fighters, active during the Syrian civil war, in favor of a secular state. The group formerly had around 2,000 men, but in May 2013 it clashed with

Islamic fundamentalist Islamic fundamentalism has been defined as a puritanical, revivalist, and reform movement of Muslims who aim to return to the founding scriptures of Islam. Islamic fundamentalists are of the view that Muslim-majority countries should return t ...

groups and most of its fighters dispersed. Ghuraba al-Sham's arsenals were confiscated by the Islamists and by late 2013 it had only has around 100 fighters in its ranks. The group consisted of a mixture of

secularist Secularism is the principle of seeking to conduct human affairs based on secular, naturalistic considerations. Secularism is most commonly defined as the separation of religion from civil affairs and the state, and may be broadened to a sim ...

s and Islamists. The name of the group has since changed. There was a battalion within the group called the Loyalty Battalion made up entirely of women. In November 2013, Hasan Jazra, the commander of Ghuraba al-Sham, was publicly executed by members of the

Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant An Islamic state is a state that has a form of government based on Islamic law (sharia). As a term, it has been used to describe various historical polities and theories of governance in the Islamic world. As a translation of the Arabic term ' ...

in the town of

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 ...

. Islamist groups had accused Ghuraba of looting and collaborating at times with the

Syrian government Government of the Syrian Arab Republic is the union government created by the constitution of Syria where by the president is the head of state and the prime minister is the head of government. Executive power is exercised by the government. Syr ...

. One of the group commanders, 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", formed the Descendants of Messengers Brigade after the dissolution of Ghuraba al-Sham, and continued to fight ISIL. In January and February 2014, the Descendants 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 ...

amid battles against ISIL in northern Aleppo, and in March 2014, it changed its name to the Dawn of Freedom Brigades. In April 2016 the German police arrested an unnamed 41 year-old Syrian man accused of crimes against international law, including torture and looting, committed while he was a leader of the group in 2012/2013.

References

{{Syrian Civil War Anti-government factions of the Syrian civil war Anti-ISIL factions in Syria Free Syrian Army Military units and formations disestablished in 2013 Military units and formations established in 2012

See also

References