The Chechen mujahideen in Syria (; ; Chechen: Noxçiyn mudƶahidaş Şemaẋ) are ethnic Chechen members of

Sunni Sunni Islam is the largest branch of Islam and the largest religious denomination in the world. It holds that Muhammad did not appoint any successor and that his closest companion Abu Bakr () rightfully succeeded him as the caliph of the Mu ...

Islamist armed groups. They are organized into military factions, and take part in the

civil war A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

to fight against the government of

Bashar al-Assad Bashar al-Assad (born 11September 1965) is a Syrian politician, military officer and former dictator Sources characterising Assad as a dictator: who served as the president of Syria from 2000 until fall of the Assad regime, his government ...

on the side of the

Syrian opposition Syrians () are the majority inhabitants of Syria, indigenous to the Levant, most of whom have Arabic, especially its Levantine and Mesopotamian dialects, as a mother tongue. The cultural and linguistic heritage of the Syrian people is a blend ...

and

Tahrir al-Sham Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) was a Sunni Islamist political organisation and paramilitary group involved in the Syrian civil war. It was formed on 28January 2017 as a merger between several armed groups: Jaysh al-Ahrar (an Ahrar al-Sham facti ...

, also on the side of the

Islamic State The Islamic State (IS), also known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and Daesh, is a transnational Salafi jihadism, Salafi jihadist organization and unrecognized quasi-state. IS ...

History

The first mention of armed groups of Chechen militants in

appeared in a number of media outlets at the end of 2011. In October 2012, some publications wrote that

Chechens The Chechens ( ; , , Old Chechen: Нахчой, ''Naxçoy''), historically also known as ''Kistin, Kisti'' and ''Durdzuks'', are a Northeast Caucasian languages, Northeast Caucasian ethnic group of the Nakh peoples native to the North Caucasus. ...

as part of the

forces of the FSA and Jabhat al-Nusra took part in an attack on the military base of the Syrian army air defense brigade near

Aleppo Aleppo is a city in Syria, which serves as the capital of the Aleppo Governorate, the most populous Governorates of Syria, governorate of Syria. With an estimated population of 2,098,000 residents it is Syria's largest city by urban area, and ...

. Chechen

jihadists Jihadism is a neologism for modern, armed militant Islamic movements that seek to establish states based on Islamic principles. In a narrower sense, it refers to the belief that armed confrontation is an efficient and theologically legit ...

began arriving in

en masse mainly in 2011-2015 from

Chechnya Chechnya, officially the Chechen Republic, is a Republics of Russia, republic of Russia. It is situated in the North Caucasus of Eastern Europe, between the Caspian Sea and Black Sea. The republic forms a part of the North Caucasian Federa ...

, as well as from Europe, where they left during the

second Chechen War Names The Second Chechen War is also known as the Second Chechen Campaign () or the Second Russian Invasion of Chechnya from the Chechens, Chechen insurgents' point of view.Федеральный закон № 5-ФЗ от 12 января 19 ...

, fleeing from the war, as well as from the Pankisi Gorge of

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

, where ethnic Chechens-Kistins, who emigrated there during the

Caucasian War The Caucasian War () or the Caucasus War was a 19th-century military conflict between the Russian Empire and various peoples of the North Caucasus who resisted subjugation during the Russian conquest of the Caucasus. It consisted of a series o ...

. Chechens occupied the second largest number among the foreign contingent of jihadists in

, estimates of their number range from 1,700 to 3,000 people, they played a significant role in the civil war in Syria, and several dozen well-known commanders of Syrian rebels and jihadists were

by origin. Some of them were veterans of the first and

second Chechen war Names The Second Chechen War is also known as the Second Chechen Campaign () or the Second Russian Invasion of Chechnya from the Chechens, Chechen insurgents' point of view.Федеральный закон № 5-ФЗ от 12 января 19 ...

s and used their combat experience to train and train the

and militants. They formed their own armed detachments and jamaats, which were also joined by other militants from the

North Caucasus The North Caucasus, or Ciscaucasia, is a subregion in Eastern Europe governed by Russia. It constitutes the northern part of the wider Caucasus region, which separates Europe and Asia. The North Caucasus is bordered by the Sea of Azov and the B ...

, as well as Syrians and jihadists from all over the

Middle East The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...

. According to representatives of the Chechen diaspora in

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

, hundreds of

from

went to

to fight in the ranks of the

against the government army of

. In June 2013, the leadership of the

Chechen Republic Chechnya, officially the Chechen Republic, is a republic of Russia. It is situated in the North Caucasus of Eastern Europe, between the Caspian Sea and Black Sea. The republic forms a part of the North Caucasian Federal District, and share ...

officially recognized that up to 1,700 Chechen natives were howling in the Middle East region. In the same year, according to information disseminated by the militants' Internet resources, as well as in the Russian media, Rustam Gelaev, the son of the famous Chechen commander Ruslan (Khamzat) Gelaev, was killed in Syria. Rustam died fighting on the side of the Syrian opposition.

Split

Chechens mediated in the settlement of the conflict between Jabhat al-Nusra (now —

Hayat Tahrir al-Sham Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) was a Sunni Islamist political organisation and paramilitary group involved in the Syrian civil war. It was formed on 28January 2017 as a merger between several armed groups: Jaysh al-Ahrar (an Ahrar al-Sham facti ...

) and the

, on the one hand, and with

ISIS Isis was a major goddess in ancient Egyptian religion whose worship spread throughout the Greco-Roman world. Isis was first mentioned in the Old Kingdom () as one of the main characters of the Osiris myth, in which she resurrects her sla ...

, on the other. In early November 2014, the leadership of "

Jaish al-Muhajireen wal-Ansar Liwa al-Muhajireen wal-Ansar (LMA, ), Brigade of Emigrants and Supporters or literally Banner of the Emigrants and Supporters), also known as Jaish al-Muhajireen wal-Ansar (JMA or JAMWA, , Army of Emigrants and Supporters), formerly the Muhajire ...

", represented by

Salahuddin Shishani Giorgi Kushtanashvili (? December 2017), later known as Feyzullah Margoshvili, and commonly known by his ''nom de guerre'' Salahuddin Shishani, was one of the Chechen mujahideen in Syria. He was briefly the head of Jaish al-Muhajireen wal-Ansar a ...

, met with the leadership of ISIS in their capital

Raqqa Raqqa (, also , Kurdish language, Kurdish: ''Reqa'') is a city in Syria on the North bank of the Euphrates River, about east of Aleppo. It is located east of the Tabqa Dam, Syria's largest dam. The Hellenistic, Roman, and Byzantine city and b ...

and held talks on reconciliation of the two warring parties. However, the conversation with the leadership of ISIS ended in vain as they chose to continue the conflict. In response to Shishani's proposal to stop the war between Sunni Muslims, in particular with Islamic Jamaats such as Jabhat al-Nusra,

Ahrar al-Sham Harakat Ahrar al-Sham al-Islamiyya (), commonly referred to as Ahrar al-Sham, was a coalition of multiple Sunni Islamist units that coalesced into a single brigade and later a division in order to fight against the Syrian Government led by Bas ...

and others, the leadership of ISIS refused and stated that it would not stop fighting these groups, because it considers the emirs of these factions

Kafir ''Kāfir'' (; , , or ; ; or ) is an Arabic-language term used by Muslims to refer to a non-Muslim, more specifically referring to someone who disbelieves in the Islamic God, denies his authority, and rejects the message of Islam as ...

s and Murtads. After that, Shishani left Raqqa and returned to

Idlib Idlib (, ; also spelt Idleb or Edlib) is a city in northwestern Syria, and is the capital of the Idlib Governorate. It has an elevation of nearly above sea level, and is southwest of Aleppo. It is located near the border with Turkey. History ...

. This conflict was also reflected among the Chechen

Mujahideen ''Mujahideen'', or ''Mujahidin'' (), is the plural form of ''mujahid'' (), an Arabic term that broadly refers to people who engage in ''jihad'' (), interpreted in a jurisprudence of Islam as the fight on behalf of God, religion or the commun ...

in Syria, in particular among the Chechen

emir Emir (; ' (), also Romanization of Arabic, transliterated as amir, is a word of Arabic language, Arabic origin that can refer to a male monarch, aristocratic, aristocrat, holder of high-ranking military or political office, or other person po ...

s, who had previously acted in alliance with each other. Some of them defected to the

and took leadership positions, while some remained on the side of Jabhat al-Nusra and the

. The very history of the conflict between Jabhat al-Nusra and ISIS (at that time, the

Islamic State of Iraq The Islamic State of Iraq (ISI; ') was a Salafi jihadist militant organization that fought the forces of the U.S.-led coalition during the Iraqi insurgency. The organization aimed to overthrow the Iraqi federal government and establish an ...

) begins in the spring of 2013, when the emir of the

which was

Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi Ibrahim Awwad Ibrahim Ali al-Badri (28 July 1971 – 27 October 2019), commonly known by his ''nom de guerre'' Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, was an Iraqi militant leader who was the founder and first leader of the Islamic State (IS), who proclaimed hims ...

decided to expand his organisation into neighbouring

and to unite his territories in both the countries of

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

and Syria. Following this announcement, units of the Islamic State of Iraq (ISI) invaded Syria from the territory of Iraq during the most active phase of the Syrian civil war, when various jihadist groups and the Syrian opposition began to consistently seize cities from the Syrian government army of

. The Al-Nusra Front, which was

Al-Qaeda , image = Flag of Jihad.svg , caption = Jihadist flag, Flag used by various al-Qaeda factions , founder = Osama bin Laden{{Assassinated, Killing of Osama bin Laden , leaders = {{Plainlist, * Osama bin Lad ...

's Syrian branch and also sometimes referred to as Al-Qaeda in Syria, together with the Ahrar al-Sham group played a significant role in the capture of the city of Raqqa in eastern Syria in March 2013. However, after the capture of Raqqa, the head of Jabhat al-Nusra, the Syrian wing of Al-Qaeda, which was

Abu Mohammad al-Julani Ahmed Hussein al-Sharaa (born 29 October 1982) also known by his ''nom de guerre'' Abu Mohammad al-Julani, is a Syrian politician and former rebel commander serving as the president of Syria since January 2025. He previously served as the coun ...

expressed his loyalty to the main leader of

Ayman al-Zawahiri Ayman Mohammed Rabie al-Zawahiri (; 19 June 195131 July 2022) was an Egyptian-born pan-Islamism, pan-Islamist militant and physician who served as the second general emir of al-Qaeda from June 2011 until Killing of Ayman al-Zawahiri, his dea ...

, and did not recognize the Islamic State of Iraq and Sham proclaimed by the leadership of the ISI, which was emir Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, in the territory controlled by Jabhat al-Nusra. After that, in February 2014, a large-scale war for spheres of influence in Syria began between the various jihadist groups.

Commanders

Supporters of the «Sunni opposition of Syria» * Abu Abdurrahman Shishani * Abdul-Malik Shishani * Abdul-Hakim Shishani * Hamza Shishani * Abu Al-Bara al-Kavkazi * Muslim Shishani * Abu Turab Shishani * Umar Shishani * Tarkhan Gaziev * Sayfullakh Shishani *

* Hayrullah Shishani * Sayful-Islam Shishani * Naib Shishani * Mohannad Shishani * Muhammad Shishani * Al Bara Shishani * Abu Bakr Shishani * Halid Shishani * Ali Shishani * Abu Musa al Shishani

supporters *

Abu Omar al-Shishani Tarkhan Tayumurazovich Batirashvili ( ka, თარხან ბათირაშვილი; 11 January 1986 – 10 July 2016), known by his ''nom de guerre'' Abu Omar al-Shishani () or Omar al-Shishani, was a Chechen- Georgian jihadist who ...

* Abu Sayfullah Shishani * Abu Said Shishani * Ahmad Shishani * Abu Abdullah Shishani * Al Bara Shishani * Abu Ibrahim Shishani * Abu Umar Grozny * Musa Abu Yusuf Shishani * Hayrullah Shishani * Abdullah Shishani * Abu Hafs Shishani * Adam Shishani * Abdul-Halim Shishani * Hattab Shishani * Abdullah Abu Muhammad Shishani * Abdul-Vahhab Shishani * Muhammad Shishani * Abu Hisham Shishani * Abu Anas Shishani * Abu Shamil Shishani * Jundullah Shishani

Literature

In English * The Syrian Jihad : Al-Qaeda, the Islamic state and the evolution of an insurgency * Cecire, Michael (2016). "Same sides of different coins: contrasting militant activisms between Georgian fighters in Syria and Ukraine". ''Caucasus Survey.'' Brill Deutschland GmbH. 4 (3): 282–295. . . * Vera Mironova. From Freedom Fighters to Jihadists: Human Resources of Non-State Armed Groups. — Oxford University Press, 2019-05-20. — 345 с. — . * The Syrian Jihad: Al-Qaeda, the Islamic State and the Evolution of an Insurgency * Pokalova, Elena. Georgia, Terrorism, and Foreign Fighters * Assessing Terrorism in the Caucasus and the Threat to the Homeland: Hearing In Russian * Майкл Вайс, Хасан Хасан. Исламское государство: Армия террора. — Альпина Паблишер, 2015-11-03. — 346 с. — ISBN 978-5-9614-4068-3. * Даша Никольсон. Иностранные боевики-террористы с Северного Кавказа: понимание влияния Исламского государства в этом регионе // Connections: The Quarterly Journal. — 2017. — Т. 16, вып. 4 * Манойло А.В. «Русская весна» в Сирии // Мировая политика. — 2015–04. — Т. 4, вып. 4. — С. 1–26. — ,

References

{{Reflist

External links