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The Mu'tasim Division ( ar, فرقة المُعتصم, Firqat al-Mu'tasim), formerly the Mutasim Brigade ( ar, لواء المعتصم, Liwa al-Mu'tasim), is a
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 ...
faction active in the northern Aleppo Governorate, based in the town of Mare'. The group was named after al-Mu'tasim (r. 833–842), an
Abbasid The Abbasid Caliphate ( or ; ar, الْخِلَافَةُ الْعَبَّاسِيَّة, ') was the third caliphate to succeed the Islamic prophet Muhammad. It was founded by a dynasty descended from Muhammad's uncle, Abbas ibn Abdul-Muttalib ...
caliph 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 ...
.


Equipment

The Mu'tasim Division is known for possessing a large amount of US-supplied weapons from the
Syrian Train and Equip Program The Syrian Train and Equip Program is a United States-led military operation launched in 2014 that identified and trained selected Syrian opposition forces inside Syria as well as in Turkey and other US-allied states who would then return to Syria ...
, including
M16 rifle The M16 rifle (officially designated Rifle, Caliber 5.56 mm, M16) is a family of military rifles adapted from the ArmaLite AR-15 rifle for the United States military. The original M16 rifle was a 5.56×45mm automatic rifle with a 20-roun ...
s,
M249 light machine gun The M249 light machine gun (LMG), also known as the M249 Squad Automatic Weapon (SAW), which continues to be the manufacturer's designation, and formally written as Light Machine Gun, 5.56 mm, M249, is the American adaptation of the Belgian F ...
s,
M240 machine gun The M240 – officially the Machine Gun, 7.62 mm, M240 – is the U.S. military designation for the FN MAG, a family of belt-fed, gas-operated medium machine guns that chamber the 7.62×51mm NATO cartridge. The M240 has been used by the U ...
s,
Soltam K6 The Soltam K6 is a 120 mm (4.75 inch) mortar that was developed by Soltam Systems of Israel. It is the long-range version of the Soltam K5 and has replaced older systems, such as the M30, in several armies including the United States Army. ...
, M224 mortars, M252 mortars,
M2 Browning The M2 machine gun or Browning .50 caliber machine gun (informally, "Ma Deuce") is a heavy machine gun that was designed towards the end of World War I by John Browning. Its design is similar to Browning's earlier M1919 Browning machine gun, w ...
, and technicals. This led to reports being made that this group is supplied by the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
. The group did not receive
anti-tank missile An anti-tank guided missile (ATGM), anti-tank missile, anti-tank guided weapon (ATGW) or anti-armor guided weapon is a Missile guidance, guided missile primarily designed to hit and destroy Armoured fighting vehicle, heavily armored military v ...
s from the US.


Ideology

The Mu'tasim Division supports the political Syrian peace process. However, it opposes the U.S.–Russia peace proposals on Syria. The commander of the group has called for "
freedom Freedom is understood as either having the ability to act or change without constraint or to possess the power and resources to fulfill one's purposes unhindered. Freedom is often associated with liberty and autonomy in the sense of "giving on ...
and
justice Justice, in its broadest sense, is the principle that people receive that which they deserve, with the interpretation of what then constitutes "deserving" being impacted upon by numerous fields, with many differing viewpoints and perspective ...
", which led to tensions between him and 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 ...
, seeing him as a threat to al-Nusra's project. The Mu'tasim Division has criticised al-Nusra for “attacking rebel factions, stealing weapons of the
Mujahideen ''Mujahideen'', or ''Mujahidin'' ( ar, مُجَاهِدِين, mujāhidīn), is the plural form of ''mujahid'' ( ar, مجاهد, mujāhid, strugglers or strivers or justice, right conduct, Godly rule, etc. doers of jihād), an Arabic term th ...
, cutting roads, seizing headquarters, refusing to respect
Shariah Sharia (; ar, شريعة, sharīʿa ) is a body of religious law that forms a part of the Islamic tradition. It is derived from the religious precepts of Islam and is based on the sacred scriptures of Islam, particularly the Quran and the H ...
practices, and tarnishing the reputation of the sons and leaders of the revolution.”


History

The group's commander,
Lieutenant Colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...
Muhammad Hassan Khalil, was originally a rebel commander in Jabal al-Akrad,
Latakia Governorate Latakia Governorate, also transliterated as Ladhakia Governorate, ( ar, مُحافظة اللاذقية / ALA-LC: ''Muḥāfaẓat al-Lādhiqīyah'') is one of the 14 governorates of Syria. It is situated in western Syria, bordering Turkey's Hatay ...
. However, in 2015 he was forced out of Latakia by the al-Nusra Front after tensions between the two groups. His group then moved to Aleppo. In April 2016 the group participated in the Northern Aleppo offensive (March–June 2016), along with the
Sham Legion The Sham Legion ( ar, فَيْلَق الشَّام, ''Faylaq al-Shām'') is an alliance of Sunni Islamist rebel groups formed in March 2014, during the Syrian Civil War. The alliance was formed from 19 different groups, some of which were previ ...
and the
Sultan Murad Division The Sultan Murad Division ( ar, فرقة السلطان مراد; ''Firqat al-Sultan Murad'', tr, Sultan Murat Tümeni) is an armed rebel group in the Syrian Civil War, created around a Syrian Turkmen identity. It is aligned with the Syrian opp ...
, driving vehicles from Doudiyan toward ISIL positions in al-Rai and capturing 8 villages in the way. In June the group formed an alliance with the Descendants of Saladin Brigade and 6 other rebel groups in Mare' after breaking an ISIL siege on the town. The new coalition claims to have 1,500 fighters under a unified military command and established contact with the rival
Syrian Democratic Forces , war = the Syrian Civil War , image = Flag of Syrian Democratic Forces.svgborder , caption = Flag , active = 10 October 2015 – present , ideology = DemocracyDecentralizationSecularism ...
. Later that month, Muhammad Hassan Khalil was kidnapped in Mare'. The Mu'tasim Brigade accused
Major General Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...
Dara Aza, former commander of rebels in Mare', and al-Nusra Front of carrying out the abduction. In August and September the Mu'tasim Brigade participated in Operation Euphrates Shield which captured
Jarabulus Jarabulus ( ar, جَرَابُلُس / ALA-LC: ''Jarābulus'', Aleppo dialect: ''Jrāblos''; tr, Cerablus) is a Syrian city administratively belonging to Aleppo Governorate, under the de-facto control of the Syrian Opposition. Jarabulus lies on ...
and al-Rai. On 12 April 2017, 100 new fighters of the Mu'tasim Brigade graduated after they completed training in a camp near Mare', bringing the total number of members in the group to 1,000, according to one of its commanders. On 29 June 2017, Awad Abu Saqr, a military commander in the Mu'tasim Brigade, defected to the
Syrian Democratic Forces , war = the Syrian Civil War , image = Flag of Syrian Democratic Forces.svgborder , caption = Flag , active = 10 October 2015 – present , ideology = DemocracyDecentralizationSecularism ...
. On 25 April 2018, the Mu'tasim Brigade withdraw its recognition of the National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces due to the National Coalition's inability to make national decisions. The group's decision came hours after George Sabra,
Suheir Atassi Suheir al-Atassi ( ar, سهير الأتاسي, Suhair al-ʾAtāsī; born 1971) is the leading female secular activist in the Syrian opposition, and co-vice-president of the National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces betwe ...
, and
Khaled Khoja Khaled Khoja ( ar, خالد خوجة, tr, Halid Hoca, born 4 July 1965) is a Syrian- Turkish politician. He was the president of the National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces from 2015 to 2016. He was born to a Turkish ...
resigned from the National Coalition. On 12 May 2018, commanders of
Jaysh al-Islam ) , successor = , allies = * * * * * Free Syrian Army * Ahrar al-Sham *al-Rahman Legion (sometimes) *1st Brigade of Damascus (sometimes) * Al-Nusra Front (formerly) * Saraya Ahl al-Sham * Aknaf Bait al-Maqdis , opponents ...
and
al-Rahman Legion The al-Rahman Legion ( ar, فيلق الرحمن, ''Faylaq al-Raḥmān'') is a Syrian rebel group that operated in Eastern Ghouta, in the outskirts of Damascus, and in the eastern Qalamoun Mountains. It was the main rebel group in Jobar, and w ...
, who frequently fought until they were defeated in eastern
Ghouta Ghouta ( ar, غُوطَةُ دِمَشْقَ / ALA-LC: ''Ḡūṭat Dimašq'') is a countryside and suburban area in southwestern Syria that surrounds the city of Damascus along its eastern and southern rim. Name Ghouta is the Arabic term (''gh ...
and transferred to northern Aleppo, met in the Mu'tasim Brigade's headquarters and pledged not to continue fighting each other.
Syrian Interim Government The Syrian Interim Government ''(SIG)'' is an alternative government in Syria, formed by the umbrella opposition group, the National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces. The interim government indirectly controls some areas ...
head
Jawad Abu Hatab Jawad Abu Hatab (born 1962) is a Syrian politician. Since May 2016 he has served as Defence minister, Minister of Defence in the Syrian Interim Government. He also served as Prime Minister, resigning on 10 March 2019. Prior to his election as Pri ...
also attended the meeting.


References

{{reflist Anti-government factions of the Syrian civil war Anti-ISIL factions in Syria Military units and factions of the Syrian civil war Military units and formations established in 2015 Free Syrian Army Syrian National Army Turkish supported militant groups of the Syrian civil war