Raji Falhout group Dawn Forces [1] Atil group [2] | |
---|---|
Leaders | Raji Falhout |
Dates of operation | 2015 [2] -17 August 2022[ citation needed ] |
Headquarters | Slaim, Syria Atil, Syria [3] |
Active regions | Al-Suwayda Governorate, Syria [4] |
Size | 30 [5] |
Opponents | Al-Jabal Brigade [6] Men of Dignity [1] Anti-Terrorism Force [7] |
Battles and wars | Syrian civil war |
The Raji Falhout group, named after its leader, Raji Falhout, was a government-aligned faction in Syria that was dissolved during the Syrian civil war.
The group was established in 2015 with the support of Military Intelligence. [2]
There were clashes between the Raji Falhout group and other groups, following the seizure of a seller and a university student in September 2021, in an attempt by the Raji Falhout group to force the release of a member of Military Intelligence who had been taken by the Anti-Terrorism Force (ATF). [8] A member of the Falhout group was captured by the ATF and his confession was aired on Facebook. [7]
Members of the group clashed with the Men of Dignity in Suwayda and Atil that same month. [9]
The Raji Falhout group kidnapped university students from the town of Shahba on 26 July 2022. [10] They were arrested and charged with being members of the Syrian Brigade Party [11] and were all members of the Tawil family. Members of the family took four hostages of their own. [12] The Falhout group's headquarters in Slaim was taken over in response. Anti-government fighters additionally took control of the groups headquarters in Atil, where the student hostages were found and freed. [10] 13 fighters were reported killed, including nine fighters from Falhout group and four anti-government fighters, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. [13] The total number of dead increased to ten government loyalists and seven opposition fighters, with 40 wounded by the next day. [14]
After numerous Raji Falhout group prisoners were tortured and killed by unknown forces, Laith al-Balous, a Druze leader, announced the release of six prisoners. His group also participated in the raids on the Falhout group headquarters in Slaim [15] and Atil. [16]
Another pro-regime faction, Salim Hamed's Al-Fahd Forces, which operated from Qanawat, was targeted the following month. [17]