23rd Division (Syrian rebel group)

, native_name_lang=Ar , war=the Syrian Civil War , image= Afrine 2018 23e division ASL (1).jpg , caption= Fighters of the 23rd Division, led by Col. Abu Mustafa, during the

Turkish military operation in Afrin Operation Olive Branch ( tr, Zeytin Dalı Harekâtı) was a cross-border military operation conducted by the Turkish Armed Forces and Syrian National Army (SNA) in the majority-Kurdish Afrin District of northwest Syria, against the People's P ...

in February 2018. The group's flag can be seen in the background. , active=19 September 2013 – 25 July 2016 (16th Division)
July 2016 – 8 August 2020 (23rd Division Aleppo branch only) , ideology= , leaders= *

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 ...

Hassan Rajoub (Abu Omar, since July 2016) *Col. Abu Mustafa *Abu al-Joud al-Homsi Former: *Col. Suleyman Shalal *Khaled Saraj ("Khaled Hayani") (2013–15) *Abdul Khaliq Lahyani (resigned in July 2016) , clans= *Badr Martyrs' Brigade *Descendents of Omar Battalions *Lions of the Revolution Brigade *Mustafa Martyrs Brigade *Hawks of Islam Battalions Former: *

Yusuf al-'Azma Yusuf al-Azma ( ar, يوسف العظمة, ALA-LC: ''Yūsuf al-ʻAẓmah''; 1883 – 24 July 1920) was the Syrian minister of war in the governments of prime ministers Rida al-Rikabi and Hashim al-Atassi, and the Arab Army's chief of general st ...

Brigade * Saladin Ayubi Brigade * Free Syria Brigade **

Arab Spring The Arab Spring ( ar, الربيع العربي) was a series of anti-government protests, uprisings and armed rebellions that spread across much of the Arab world in the early 2010s. It began in Tunisia in response to corruption and econom ...

Brigade *

Al-Aqsa Aqsa'', ''Aksa, al-Aksa or al-Aqsa ( ar, الأقصى, link=no, translit=al-Aqṣā) usually refer to either: *al-Aqsa Mosque compound, also known as , a religious site in Jerusalem located on the Temple Mount *, also known as the Qibli Mosque, ...

Brigade , headquarters=Khalidiya District, Aleppo (2013–16)
Qah,

Idlib Governorate Idlib Governorate ( ar, مُحافظة ادلب / ALA-LC: ''Muḥāfaẓat Idlib'') is one of the 14 governorates of Syria. It is situated in northwestern Syria, bordering Turkey's Hatay province to the north, Aleppo Governorate to the east, Ham ...

(2016–18)

Azaz Azaz ( ar, أَعْزَاز, ʾAʿzāz) is a city in northwest Syria, roughly north-northwest of Aleppo. According to the Syria Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), Azaz had a population of 31,623 in the 2004 census.

and Afrin, northern

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 ...

(2018–20) , area=

and northern

, Syria , size=+1,600 (own claim in 2014) , partof=

Syrian National Army The Syrian National Army (SNA) ( ar, الجيش الوطني السوري, al-Jayš al-Waṭanī as-Sūrī), previously the Free Syrian Army (FSA) and also known as the Turkish-backed Free Syrian Army (TFSA), is a coalition of armed Syrian op ...

National Front for Liberation The National Front for Liberation ( ar, الجبهة الوطنية للتحرير, ''Al-Jabhat al-Wataniya lil-Tahrir'') is a Syrian rebel coalition that is part of the Syrian National Army (SNA) fighting in the Syrian Civil War. The group was ...

Fatah Halab Fatah Halab ( ar, فتح حلب, Fataḥ Ḥalab, lit=Conquest of Aleppo), or Aleppo Conquest, was a joint operations room of Syrian rebel factions operating in and around Aleppo, Syria. Succeeding the Aleppo Liberation operations room, its ...

(2015–16) , successor= , allies=*

Ahrar al-Sham Harakat Ahrar al-Sham al-Islamiyya ( ar-at, حركة أحرار الشام الإسلامية, Ḥarakat Aḥrāru š-Šām al-Islāmiyah, lit=Islamic Movement of the Freemen of the Levant), commonly referred to as Ahrar al-Sham, is a coalition ...

* Mountain Hawks Brigade * Knights of Justice Brigade *

Levant Front The Levant Front ( ar, الجبهة الشامية, al-Jabhat aš-Šāmiyya, Jabhat al-Shamiyah, also translated as the Sham Front or the Levantine Front) is a Syrian rebel group based around Aleppo involved in the Syrian Civil War. It was fo ...

(until August 2020) *

Fastaqim Union The Fastaqim Kama Umirt Union ( ar-at, تجمعُ فاستقم كما أمرتَ, Tajammuʿ Fastaqim Kamā Umirt, lit=Union of Be Upright as Ordered) is a rebel group active during the Syrian Civil War. History Operations of the main faction ...

Nour al-Din al-Zenki Movement The Nour al-Din al-Zenki Movement ( ar, حركة نور الدين الزنكي ''Ḥaraka Nūr ad-Dīn az-Zankī'') was a Sunni Islamist rebel group involved in the Syrian Civil War. In 2014, it was reportedly one of the most influential factions ...

* *

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 ...

Hayat Tahrir al-Sham Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) (, transliteration: ', "Organization for the Liberation of the Levant" or "Levant Liberation Committee"), commonly referred to as Tahrir al-Sham, is a Sunni Islamist political and armed organisation involved in the ...

(sometimes) , 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 R ...

Hezbollah Hezbollah (; ar, حزب الله ', , also transliterated Hizbullah or Hizballah, among others) is a Lebanese Shia Islamist political party and militant group, led by its Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah since 1992. Hezbollah's paramil ...

* *

Syrian Democratic Forces , war = the Syrian Civil War , image = Flag of Syrian Democratic Forces.svgborder , caption = Flag , active = 10 October 2015 – present , ideology = DemocracyDecentralizationSecularism ...

(sometimes) *

(August 2020) , battles= Syrian Civil War *

Battle of Aleppo A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...

Aleppo offensive (October–December 2013) The October–December 2013 Aleppo offensive or Operation Northern Storm was a campaign during the Syrian civil war launched by the Syrian army in the Aleppo Governorate to reopen a key supply route linking central Syria to the largest city, Al ...

Aleppo offensive (July 2015) The Aleppo offensive (July 2015) was a military operation launched by two rebel coalitions against the Syrian Army, during the Syrian Civil War, in the city of Aleppo. The aim of the operation was to breach Army defenses and enter, and potential ...

Aleppo offensive (October–December 2015) The Aleppo offensive (October–December 2015) was a Syrian Army large-scale strategic offensive south of Aleppo. The main objective of the operation was to secure the Azzan Mountains, while also creating a larger buffer zone around the onl ...

Northern Aleppo offensive (February 2016) The Northern Aleppo offensive (February 2016) refers to a military operation launched northwest of Aleppo in early February 2016 by the Syrian Arab Army and its allies. The offensive successfully broke the three-year Siege of Nubl and Al-Zahraa ...

Aleppo offensive (June–July 2016) The Aleppo offensive (June–July 2016) refers to a military operation launched on the northern outskirts of Aleppo in late June 2016, by the Syrian Army. The aim of the offensive was to cut the last rebel supply line into Aleppo city. The off ...

* Al-Nusra Front-SRF/Hazzm Movement conflict *

The 23rd Division ( ar, الفرقة 23) or 16th Infantry Division ( ar, الفرقة 16 مشاة) 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 affiliated with the

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 ...

. Formed in September 2013, the group was active mainly in the city Aleppo and its surroundings. After rebel lines in Aleppo collapsed due to advances by the

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 ...

during the

in mid-2016, the 16th Division suffered heavy casualties and was dissolved. Remnants of the group then formed the 23rd Division ( ar, الفرقة 23). The

faction of the group in northern Aleppo was disbanded after its leadership was attacked by the

Levant Front The Levant Front ( ar, الجبهة الشامية, al-Jabhat aš-Šāmiyya, Jabhat