Youth of Sunna Forces | |
---|---|
قوى شباب السنة Quwaa Shabaab al-Sunnah | |
Leaders | First faction: Second faction:
|
Dates of operation | 2014-2018 |
Headquarters | Bosra, Daraa Governorate |
Active regions | Daraa Governorate Quneitra Governorate [4] |
Part of | Free Syrian Army |
Allies | |
Opponents | Syrian Armed Forces Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant |
Battles and wars | Syrian Civil War |
The Youth of Sunna Forces or Sunni Youth Forces, [5] formerly the Youth of Sunna Division and the Youth of Sunna Brigade, was a Syrian rebel group affiliated with the Free Syrian Army's Southern Front that was armed with U.S.-made BGM-71 TOW anti-tank missiles. It operated in the Daraa and Quneitra Governorates [4] until it surrendered and later joined the Syrian Arab Army in 2018.
On 2 August 2016, fighters from the Youth of Sunna Forces raided the house of its deputy leader Mohammad Tohme and proceeded to beat his father and shot his brother. In response, the next day Tohme loyalists stormed its own headquarters in Bosra and deposed Ahmad al-Awda, the leader of the group. al-Awda and his followers fled and was subsequently placed under house arrest, while the military council handed over the group's command to Tohme and his deputy, Bilal Droubi. Some rebel supporters called this a coup d'etat while others declared their support and defended the toppling of corrupt leaders. [1]
On 22 August 2016, additional Southern Front factions joined the Youth of Sunna Division under the new leadership of Colonel Nassim Abu Ezza. [3]
In 2018 after a major rebel defeat in southern Syria, the group surrendered to the government forces and later joined the SAA, supporting an offensive against ISIS affiliate Khalid ibn al-Walid Army in July 2018.
On 28 February 2016, the diplomat for the town of Abtaa, Colonel Zidan Nsierat, was disappeared into a prison in Bosra held by the Youth of Sunna Brigade. Three days later, he was killed being tortured in the prison, and the group refused to hand over his corpse to his family. Similar incidents of deaths due to prisoner abuse by the Youth of Sunna was reported in the town. [6]
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