, native_name_lang= Ar , war=the Syrian Civil War , image= , caption= , active=11 April 2013 – 31 July 2018 , ideology= , leaders=Col. Mohammed Khaled al-Duhni
Hosam Abazid , clans=* Martyr Houran * Liberation of Houran * Engineering and Rocket Battalion * Southern Tawhid Brigade (former) , headquarters= , area=

Daraa Governorate Daraa Governorate ( ar, مُحافظة درعا / ALA-LC: ') is one of the fourteen governorates (provinces) of Syria. It is situated in the south-west of the country and covers an area of 3,730 km2. It is bordered by Jordan to the south, Qune ...

, size= , partof=

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 ...

* Southern Front ** Alliance of Southern Forces , predecessor= , successor= , allies= , opponents=

Syrian Armed Forces The Syrian Arab Armed Forces ( ar, الْقُوَّاتُ الْمُسَلَّحَةُ الْعَرَبِيَّةُ السُّورِيَّةُ, al-Quwwāt al-Musallaḥah al-ʿArabīyah as-Sūrīyah) are the military forces of the Syrian Arab Re ...

National Defense Force

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 ...

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 ...

, battles= Syrian Civil War The 18 March Division ( ar, فرقة 18 آذار) was a rebel group part of the

that is active during the Syrian Civil War. It was named after the 18 March 2011 protests in

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 ...

. It was created on 11 April 2013 by

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 ...

Mohammed Khaled al-Duhni out of three units. On 18 July 2013, the Southern Tawhid Brigade, one of the affiliated groups, left the 18 March Division following internal disputes. It joined the Southern Front on 14 February 2014.

History

In April 2015, after 5 Southern Front groups unilaterally rejected all forms of cooperation with 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 ...

, the 18 March Division clashed with al-Nusra in the Dar'a al-Balad district of Daraa. Conflicting reports stated that the al-Nusra Front captured a member of the Southern Tawhid Brigade and threw a

grenade A grenade is an explosive weapon typically thrown by hand (also called hand grenade), but can also refer to a shell (explosive projectile) shot from the muzzle of a rifle (as a rifle grenade) or a grenade launcher. A modern hand grenade genera ...

at the latter group's headquarters. On 28 September 2016, one of the group's field commanders, Hosam Abazid, was

assassinate Assassination is the murder of a prominent or important person, such as a head of state, head of government, politician, world leader, member of a royal family or CEO. The murder of a celebrity, activist, or artist, though they may not have a ...

d in the eastern Daraa countryside. Hosam Abazid was previously a member of the al-Nusra Front, then defected to the Southern Tawhid Brigade, then to the

Islamic Muthanna Movement The Islamic Muthanna Movement ( ar, حركة المثنى الإسلامية, ''Harakat al-Muthanna al-Islamiya'') was a Syrian Salafist rebel group based in Daraa that had been active during Syrian Civil War. After its formation in 2012 as the ...

, and re-defected back to the 18 March Division.

References

Anti-government factions of the Syrian civil war Free Syrian Army Military units and formations established in 2013 Military units and formations disestablished in 2018 {{mil-unit-stub

History

See also

References