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

Levant The Levant ( ) is the subregion that borders the Eastern Mediterranean, Eastern Mediterranean sea to the west, and forms the core of West Asia and the political term, Middle East, ''Middle East''. In its narrowest sense, which is in use toda ...

") 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 revivalist and reform movement of Muslims who aim to return to the founding scriptures of Islam. The term has been used interchangeably with similar terms such as Islamism, Islamic revivalism, Qut ...

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 naturalistic considerations, uninvolved with religion. It is most commonly thought of as the separation of religion from civil affairs and the state and may be broadened ...

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 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 jihadist organization and unrecognized quasi-state. IS occupied signi ...

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

Syrian government The government of Syria takes place in a presidential system and is currently in a transitionary period under and led by a transitional government. The seat of the government is located in Damascus, Syria. On 8 December 2024, after the succ ...

. One of the group commanders, Nizar al-Khatib, also known by his

nom de guerre A ''nom de guerre'' (, 'war name') is a pseudonym chosen by someone to use when they are involved in a particular activity, especially fighting in a war. In Ancien régime, ''ancien régime'' Kingdom of France, France it would be adopted by each n ...

"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 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-Assad 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