The 19th Division ( ar, الفرقة 19) was a Syrian rebel 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 t ...

as a part of a foreign-funded project to unify local Free Syrian Army-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, crim ...

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 t ...

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, i ...

, 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's al-Nusra Front, 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 soldiers in Khan al-Asal.''

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 d ...

'', 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.

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