Syrian Turkmen Brigades (; ), also called the United Turkmen Army (; ), are an informal armed opposition structure composed of

Syrian Turkmen Syrian Turkmen, also called Syrian Turks or Syrian Turkish people (; ) are Syrian citizens of Turkish origin who mainly trace their roots to Anatolia (i.e. modern Turkey). Turkish-speaking Syrian Turkmen make up the third largest ethnic group ...

that form the military wing of the Syrian Turkmen Assembly, primarily fighting against the

Syrian Arab Armed Forces The Syrian Arab Armed Forces (SAAF; ) were the combined armed forces of Syria from 1963 to 2024. They served during the rule of the Ba'ath Party in Syria. The SAAF consisted of the Syrian Arab Army, Syrian Arab Air Force, Syrian Arab Air De ...

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 ...

(IS) and the

Syrian Democratic Forces The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) is a Kurds in Syria, Kurdish-led coalition of U.S.-backed Left-wing politics, left-wing ethnic militias and rebel groups, and serves as the official military wing of the Democratic Autonomous Administration ...

. They are aligned with 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 are heavily supported by

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

, which provides funding and military training along with artillery and aerial support. The groups represent a wide spectrum of ideologies from

Islamism Islamism is a range of religious and political ideological movements that believe that Islam should influence political systems. Its proponents believe Islam is innately political, and that Islam as a political system is superior to communism ...

secular Secularity, also the secular or secularness (from Latin , or or ), is the state of being unrelated or neutral in regards to religion. The origins of secularity can be traced to the Bible itself. The concept was fleshed out through Christian hi ...

Turkish nationalism Turkish nationalism () is nationalism among the people of Turkey and individuals whose national identity is Turkish. Turkish nationalism consists of political and social movements and sentiments prompted by a love for Turkish culture, Turkish ...

History

In November 2015, Syrian Turkmen Brigades and

al-Nusra Front Al-Nusra Front or Jabhat al-Nusra or Jabhat Nusrat Ahl al-Sham, also known as Front for the Conquest of the Levant, and also later known as Jabhat Fatah al-Sham was a Salafi-jihadist organization that fought against Ba'athist Syria, Ba'athist ...

fighters were engaged in heavy fighting in the Bayırbucak region against the Syrian government forces supported by the

Hezbollah Hezbollah ( ; , , ) is a Lebanese Shia Islamist political party and paramilitary group. Hezbollah's paramilitary wing is the Jihad Council, and its political wing is the Loyalty to the Resistance Bloc party in the Lebanese Parliament. I ...

militia and the

Russian Air Force The Russian Air Force () is a branch of the Russian Aerospace Forces, the latter being formed on 1 August 2015 with the merging of the Russian Air Force and the Russian Aerospace Defence Forces. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the reb ...

. Turkmen forces have been the target of heavy Russian bombing in 2015, with reported civilian casualties which have been interpreted as a Russian effort aiming to change the ethnic dynamics of the region. On 24 November 2015, a Russian Su-24 fighter was shot down by Turkish forces for allegedly violating Turkish airspace, near the Syrian border. The aircraft crashed on Syrian land. The two pilots ejected and were shot at in the air while using their parachutes by the Syrian Turkmen Brigades.

Military structure and groups

Aleppo

The

Sultan Murad Division The Sultan Murad Division (; ''Firqat al-Sultan Murad''; ) is a Syrian Turkmen rebel group fighting in the Syrian Civil War. It is aligned with the Syrian Interim Government and heavily supported by Turkey, who provides funding and military t ...

was formed in early 2013 and mainly operates in the

Aleppo Governorate Aleppo Governorate ( / ALA-LC: ''Muḥāfaẓat Ḥalab'' ) is one of the fourteen Governorates of Syria, 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 the t ...

. Its groups includes: Mehmed the Conqueror Brigade, Sultan Murad Brigade, Martyr Zaki Turkmani Brigade, Ashbal Akida Brigade, Hamza and Abbas Brigade, Ahli Sunnah and Community Brigade, Yarmouk Regiment, 1st Regiment and the Turkmen Martyrs Brigade. Another predominantly Turkmen rebel militia in Aleppo Governorate is the Muntasir Billah Brigade.

Latakia

Formed in July 2015, the 2nd Coastal Division is the main Turkmen rebel group operating in the

Latakia Governorate Latakia Governorate ( / ALA-LC: ''Muḥāfaẓat al-Lādhiqīyah''), also transliterated as Ladhakia, is one of the 14 Governorates of Syria, governorates of Syria. It is situated in northwestern Syria, bordering Turkey's Hatay Province to the no ...

and is notable for killing one Russian Air Force pilot, who ejected from a Su-24 which was shot down by Turkey. The commander of the group, Alparslan Çelik, is a member of the Grey Wolves. The subdivisions are the Brigade of Mountain Turkmen, the Sultan Mehmet the Conqueror Brigade, the Sultan Selim Brigade, and the 1071 Raiders Brigade The 2nd Coastal Division has less than 500 fighters as of the end of 2015, although the group claims to have 2,000. According to the Syrian Turkmen National Movement Party, as of early 2016, three out of more than 40 villages in the

Turkmen Mountain Turkmen Mountain (; ''Jabal Turkman'', ) is a mountain range in the north of the Latakia region of Syria, in the area called Bayırbucak locally in Turkish, neighboring the Turkish border. The name is not historically attested in written sourc ...

of Latakia were left under Turkmen rebel control, as the result of the rebel defeat in the 2015–16 Latakia offensive. Many Turkmen rebels in the area are Turkish citizens affiliated with the Grey Wolves. The 2nd Coastal Division took part in the 2016 Latakia offensive in an attempt to regain the territory lost to government forces in 2015. Over the course of the offensive, rebels retook Kinsabba, though division commander Riyad Qarrah Bijeq was mortally wounded during the assault.

Aligned with SDF

The

Seljuq Brigade The Seljuk Brigade (, ) is a Syrian Turkmen rebel group participating in the Syrian civil war, named after the Seljuk Turks. History The Seljuk Brigade was founded in early 2013 in the northern Aleppo Governorate by Colonel Talal Ali Silo an ...

(former Sultan Selim Brigade member, now Army of Revolutionaries member) and the Manbij Turkmen Battalion ( Army of Revolutionaries's Northern Sun Battalion) are Syrian Turkmen groups operating Rojava Syria respectively, unlike other Syrian Turkmen rebel groups, they are allied with the

and are not supported by Turkey.

References

Bibliography

* {{Syrian Civil War Anti-Assad factions of the Syrian civil war Free Syrian Army Syrian Turkmen organizations Military units and formations established in 2012 2012 establishments in Syria Syrian National Army Turkish supported militant groups of the Syrian civil war Turkish nationalist organizations Syrian Turkmen Assembly