The Syrian Resistance (), formerly known as the Popular Front for the Liberation of the Sanjak of Iskandarun (), is a Marxist-Leninist pro- Assad

militia A militia ( ) is a military or paramilitary force that comprises civilian members, as opposed to a professional standing army of regular, full-time military personnel. Militias may be raised in times of need to support regular troops or se ...

that operated in northwest

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 ...

in support of the Ba'athist regime during 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 ...

Background

The movement is led by

Mihrac Ural Mihraç Ural (), also known as Ali Kayali (), is a Turkish-Syrian Alawite militant and leader of the Syrian Resistance (formerly known as the Popular Front for the Liberation of the Sanjak of Iskandarun), a pro- Syrian government militia. Histo ...

, a Turkish Alawite who has Syrian citizenship and is also known as "Ali Kayyali" (علي كيالي). According to ''

Today's Zaman ''Today's Zaman'' (Zaman is Turkish for 'time' or 'age') was an English-language daily newspaper based in Turkey. Established on 17 January 2007, it was the English-language edition of the Turkish daily '' Zaman.'' ''Today's Zaman'' included dom ...

'', Ural was the leader of a clandestine insurgent cell in

Hatay Province Hatay Province (, ) is the southernmost province and metropolitan municipality of Turkey. Its area is , and its population is 1,686,043 (2022). It is situated mostly outside Anatolia, along the eastern coast of the Levantine Sea. The province ...

called the People's Liberation Party-Front of Turkey or ''Acilciler'' (The Urgentists). ''Zaman'' further alleged that Ural's group has sought to agitate Hatay's sizable Alawite population into confrontation with the Turkish authorities and has also recruited local Alawites to fight in Syria on behalf of the Syrian government. The group claims to also have supporters among Syria's

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 ...

Muslims and Christians. Though the group openly espouses a broadly-inclusive platform of

Syrian nationalism Syrian nationalism (), also known as pan-Syrian nationalism or pan-Syrianism (), refers to the nationalism of the region of Syria, as a cultural or political entity known as " Greater Syria," known in Arabic as '' Bilād ash-Shām'' (). Syrian ...

in addition to secular leftism, it has been claimed that its primary focus is the defence of the

Alawite Alawites () are an Arabs, Arab ethnoreligious group who live primarily in the Levant region in West Asia and follow Alawism, a sect of Islam that splintered from early Shia as a ''ghulat'' branch during the ninth century. Alawites venerate A ...

and Twelver Shi’a religious minorities of Syria. The Syrian Resistance has been accused by 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 ...

of being a

sectarian Sectarianism is a debated concept. Some scholars and journalists define it as pre-existing fixed communal categories in society, and use it to explain political, cultural, or religious conflicts between groups. Others conceive of sectarianism a ...

Alawite

, and of having carried out bombings and attacks in

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 ...

and on villages in Syria. However, Sheikh Muwaffaq al-Ghazal, a member of the Islamic Alawi Council, claims it has an inclusive national line regarding religion, race and gender.

History

Founded before the Syrian Civil War's outbreak under the name "Popular Front for the Liberation of the Sanjak of Iskandarun", the militia has been most active in

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 ...

, where its members reportedly committed a massacre in the town of

Baniyas Baniyas ( ') is a Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean coastal city in Tartous Governorate, western Syria, located south of Latakia and north of Tartous. It is known for its citrus fruit orchards and its export of wood. North of the city is an B ...

in 2013. The Turkish government has also suspected the Syrian Resistance of carrying out the Reyhanlı bombings. On 29 March 2016, it was falsely reported that Mihraç Ural had been killed by

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 ...

. In late July 2016, the Syrian Resistance sent reinforcement contingents from

Hama Hama ( ', ) is a city on the banks of the Orontes River in west-central Syria. It is located north of Damascus and north of Homs. It is the provincial capital of the Hama Governorate. With a population of 996,000 (2023 census), Hama is one o ...

to Aleppo in order to support the pro-government forces during the 2016 Aleppo campaign. In course of the campaign, they were deployed both in the northern city at the Castello road front, as well as in the south where rebel forces launched a counter-offensive. At some point, the "Falcons of the Jazira and Euphrates", a militia of

Deir ez-Zor Governorate Deir ez-Zor Governorate ( / ALA-LC: ''Muḥāfaẓat Dayr az-Zawr,'' Kurdish'':'' ''Parêzgeha Dêrezor'') is one of the fourteen governorates (provinces) of Syria. It is situated in eastern Syria, bordering Iraq. It has an area of 33,060 k ...

natives, officially joined the Syrian Resistance, though it remained operationally fully autonomous. Under the Syrian Resistance's flag, this unit took part in the central Syria campaign of mid-2017. Jamal Trabelsi, director of the Syrian Resistance's information office, was targeted by an

improvised explosive device An improvised explosive device (IED) is a bomb constructed and deployed in ways other than in conventional warfare, conventional military action. It may be constructed of conventional military explosives, such as an artillery shell, attached t ...

(IED) in

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 ...

in July 2017, though he survived. The group accused "

-backed & hired gangs" of being behind the attack. A few days later, a female media officer of the Syrian Resistance, Duaa Hayel Sulaiman, was assassinated in

Damascus Damascus ( , ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in the Levant region by population, largest city of Syria. It is the oldest capital in the world and, according to some, the fourth Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. Kno ...

References

External links

*
THKP-C ''Acilciler'' blog
{{Authority control 2011 establishments in Syria Anti-ISIL factions in Syria Communism in Syria Communist militant groups Leninism Military units and formations established in 2011 Pro-Assad factions of the Syrian civil war Syrian nationalism Axis of Resistance

Background

History

See also

References

External links