Abu Ali Bard ابو علي برد | |
---|---|
Born | [1] Taftanaz [1] | January 1, 1987
Allegiance | Free Syrian Army Syrian Democratic Forces |
Years of service | 2011–present [1] |
Battles/wars | Syrian Civil War |
Abu Ali Bard, whose birth name is Abdul-Malik Bard, is a Syrian rebel leader and commander of Jaysh al-Thuwar, a Free Syrian Army-aligned group operating as part of the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces coalition that is largely made up of Kurdish fighters from the People's Protection Units (YPG).
He had been described as dedicated to the cause of the Syrian opposition, and would carry himself as an "Islamic Mujahid" while also singing traditional Ataaba music and enjoy smoking cigarettes, also criticizing Chechen foreign fighters calling them "Chechen dogs", and participating in several battles against the Syrian government according to activists. [2]
Abu Ali Bard is from the town of Taftanaz in the Idlib Governorate in northwestern Syria, he has been described as one of the first civilians to take up arms against the Syrian government led by Bashar al-Assad and joined the Syrian Martyrs' Brigade that was founded by the rebel commander Jamal Maarouf in 2012. From 2012 to 2015 he took part in several battles alongside rebel forces including the al-Nusra Front, in 2013 he became a member of the Syrian Revolutionaries Front led by Maarouf and was made head of the group's special forces unit. [3]
In an interview explaining why he decided to join the Syrian Democratic Forces, he said it was after the battles in Kobani and in Tel Abyad that he was impressed with the military unity and organization among the groups that took part in those battles that went on to form SDF, in comparison to the disunity and infighting among the rest of the rebels. [2]
After the formation of Jaysh al-Thuwar in 2016 he commanded the group in its assault against other rebel groups in northern Aleppo alongside the Kurdish YPG under the then newly formed SDF coalition, taking control of the Menagh Military Airbase that had been held by the rebels since capturing it from the Syrian government in 2013. [2]
In March 2018, in response to the Turkish military and allied rebel groups launching a military operation in Afrin, which at the time was held by the Syrian Democratic Forces, Abu Ali announced that Jaysh al-Thuwar would redeploy fighters from fronts with ISIL to fight Turkey and allied forces in Afrin, saying that the decision was made “at a time of international silence in the face of the barbarism of the Turks against civilians.” [4]
In May 2019, in response to the beginning of a Syrian government offensive backed by Russia and Iran, Jaysh al-Thuwar released a statement saying the group would take part in the defense of Idlib, where Bard originates from and fight against an Iranian-Shiite invasion. [5]
The Kurdish Front is a predominantly Kurdish Syrian rebel faction participating in the Syrian Civil War.
The inter-rebel conflict during the Syrian Civil War has continued throughout the Syrian Civil War as factions of the Syrian opposition and Free Syrian Army have fought each other, with shifting alliances among various Islamist factions such as Jabhat al Nusra, Ahrar al-Sham, Jaysh al-Islam and the Islamic Front.
Liwa Thuwar al-Raqqa was a rebel group in the Syrian Civil War. It was formed in September 2012 in the Raqqa Governorate. Aligned with jihadist factions for its first years, at the end of 2015, it joined the Syrian Democratic Forces. During an interview by Aymenn Jawad Al-Tamimi in 2015, Liwa Thuwar al-Raqqa's media director stated that the group wants a "civil democratic state". He also claimed that the group had no relations with the Syrian National Coalition based in Turkey.
The Northern Sun Battalion is an armed rebel group affiliated with the Free Syrian Army and part of the Syrian Democratic Forces that has been active during the Syrian Civil War.
The Levant Front is a Syrian rebel group based around Aleppo involved in the Syrian Civil War. It was formed in December 2014.
The Army of Revolutionaries, or Jaysh al-Thuwar, is a multi-ethnic armed Syrian rebel coalition that is allied with the primarily Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) and participating in the Syrian Civil War as part of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).
Relations between the People's Protection Units (YPG) and the Free Syrian Army (FSA) are unclear and varied among the different FSA factions. Both are opposed to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. However, several clashes between the two have taken place. Under pressure from the United States, some FSA groups coordinate with the YPG to battle ISIL under the name of the Syrian Democratic Forces, although some other FSA groups remained in conflict with the YPG and the SDF, including FSA groups in the SDF.
The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) is a coalition of ethnic militias and rebel groups in North and East Syria (AANES). An alliance of forces formed during the Syrian civil war composed primarily of Kurdish, Arab, and Assyrian/Syriac, as well as some smaller Armenian, Turkmen and Chechen forces. It is militarily led by the People's Protection Units (YPG), a Kurdish militia recognized as a terrorist group by Turkey, and also includes several ethnic militias, as well as elements of the Syrian opposition's Free Syrian Army. Founded in October 2015, the SDF states its mission as fighting to create a secular, democratic and federalised Syria. According to Turkey, the Syrian Democratic Forces has direct links to the PKK.
The Northern Aleppo offensive refers to a military operation launched northwest of Aleppo in early February 2016 by the Syrian Arab Army and its allies. The offensive successfully broke the three-year Siege of Nubl and Al-Zahraa, effectively cutting off the main supply route of the Syrian rebels from Turkey.
The Sultan Murad Division is an armed rebel group in the Syrian Civil War, created around a Syrian Turkmen identity. It is aligned with the Syrian opposition and are heavily supported by Turkey, who provides funding and military training along with artillery and aerial support. It is the most notable group among Syrian Turkmen Brigades supported by Turkey.
The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) has many military councils for local security and defense, each being accountable to the civil council of the area they operate in.
The Syrian National Army (SNA), previously the Free Syrian Army (FSA) and also known as the Turkish-backed Free Syrian Army (TFSA), is a coalition of armed Syrian opposition groups in the Syrian Civil War. Comprising various rebel factions that emerged at the onset of the war in July 2011, it was officially established in 2017 under the auspices of Turkey, which provides funding, training, and military support.
The Northern Democratic Brigade is a Free Syrian Army unit that is closely allied to the Syrian Kurdish YPG and YPJ in Afrin Region since 2014. Led by Absi Taha, Alexander Khalil, and Alexander Alaa, it also joined the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in November 2015. The initial members of the group originated from Jabal Zawiya in Idlib, and it has recruited Arabs from Idlib, Aleppo, and other cities in northern Syria since allying with the YPG. Since joining the SDF, the unit has begun to operate across much of northern and eastern Syria, participating in operations against anti-SDF Syrian opposition factions, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, the Turkish Armed Forces, and the Syrian National Army.
The following is a timeline of the Syrian Civil War from January to April 2018. Information about aggregated casualty counts is found at Casualties of the Syrian Civil War.
The Afrin offensive was a military operation launched by the Turkish Armed Forces and the Turkish-backed Free Syrian Army against the Syrian Democratic Forces in Afrin District in northwestern Syria as the initial phase of Operation Olive Branch. At the end of military operations, the UN had registered 150,000 Kurdish refugees in camps in the area of Tel Rifaat; the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) estimated that 300,000 people had been expelled in total. By May, SOHR estimated that 40,000 settlers had been moved into Afrin, some of them Arabs displaced from eastern Ghouta, but mostly families of the mixed Arab and Syrian Turkmen militias.
This is the order of battle for the Operation Olive Branch, a joint Turkish Armed Forces/Syrian National Army attack on the People's Protection Units-held Afrin Canton.
The National Front for Liberation is a Syrian rebel coalition that is part of the Syrian National Army (SNA) fighting in the Syrian Civil War. The group was formed by 11 rebel factions in northwestern Syria in May 2018, and was officially announced on 28 May 2018. The formation receives major support from Turkey. The group joined the SNA on 4 October 2019.
Tajammu Ahrar al-Sharqiya, commonly referred to as Ahrar al-Sharqiya, is an active armed Syrian rebel group founded in 2016 by individuals exiled and displaced mostly from the Deir ez-Zor Governorate and other eastern provinces, such as the Hasakah Governorate, by ISIL, YPG and the Syrian government due to fighting that took place there between 2011 and 2014. Many fighters in Ahrar al-Sharqiya are former al-Nusra and Ahrar al-Sham members. It is accused of integrating many former ISIS members into its ranks.
The SDF insurgency in Northern Aleppo refers to a campaign of armed attacks carried out by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), following the expansion of the Turkish occupation of northern Syria after the early 2018 Operation Olive Branch carried out by the Turkish Armed Forces (TAF) and the Turkish-backed Free Syrian Army (TFSA).
The Glory Corps is a Turkish-backed rebel group that operates under the Syrian National Army's 3rd Legion during the Syrian Civil War. Formed in 2017, the group works closely with the Levant Front, the main faction in the 3rd Legion, and included fighters that defected from the Sham Legion. The Glory Corps fought against Syrian government forces, and participated in the Turkish-led Operation Olive Branch against the People's Protection Units (YPG)-led Syrian Democratic Forces in the Afrin Region in 2018. It was targeted by a YPG insurgency in the aftermath of the offensive, when it became based in Afrin.