Youth of Sunna Forces

Youth of Sunna Forces
قوى شباب السنة Quwaa Shabaab al-Sunnah
Leaders	First faction: Mohammad Tohme [1] Bilal al-Droubi [1] Capt. Ziad Abbas [2] Second faction: General commander Ahmad al-Awda [3] [1] Col. Nassim Abu Ezza [3]
Dates of operation	2014–2018
Headquarters	Bosra, Daraa Governorate
Active regions	Daraa Governorate Quneitra Governorate [4]
Part of	Free Syrian Army Southern Front [4]
Allies	Islamic Front Alwiya al-Furqan Al-Nusra Front
Opponents	Syrian Armed Forces National Defense Force   Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant
Battles and wars	Syrian Civil War 2014 Quneitra offensive [4] Battle of Bosra (2015) Battle of Nasib Border Crossing Daraa offensive (February–June 2017)
Preceded by Youth of Sunna Brigade Succeeded by Eighth Brigade [5]

The Youth of Sunna Forces or Sunni Youth Forces, ^[6] 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.

History

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 their 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 al-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 government forces and later joined the SAA as part of the Eighth Brigade of the 5th Corps, ^[7] supporting an offensive against the ISIS affiliate Khalid ibn al-Walid Army in July 2018.^{[ citation needed ]}

Groups

• Hamza Division
• Zaidi Cavalry Division
• Houran Brigade
• Caliph Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz Brigade
• Spears of Alwali Brigade
• Martyr Yousef the Great Brigade
• Martyr Ahmed al-Khalaf Brigade
• Zaidi Knights Brigade
• Shield of Lajat Brigade
• Abu Saddam Brigade
• Martyr Ahmed al-Miqdad
• Banner of the Martyrs of Bosra
• Martyr Abdul Razzaq Azaaba Brigade
• Martyr Zuhair al-Zoubi Brigade
• Martyr Akhawsh Brigade
• Descendants of Ali Brigade
• Martyr Obeida Alissa Brigade
• Medical Battalion
• Mujahideen Houran
• Inkhil Martyrs Brigade

War crimes

See also: Human rights violations during the Syrian Civil War § Free Syrian Army and other armed opposition fighters

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 tortured to death 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. ^[8]

See also

• List of armed groups in the Syrian Civil War

References

1. ""Military coup" in rebel-held Syria town". Now News. 4 August 2016. Archived from the original on 17 May 2017. Retrieved 14 April 2025.
2. "21 military factions merge into "Shabab alSunna Forces"". Yalla Souriya. 22 August 2016. Retrieved 14 April 2025.
3. "اندماج 21 تشكيلًا عسكريًّا بدرعا تحت اسم قوات شباب السنّة" [21 military formations in Daraa unite under the name of the Youth of Sunna Forces]. El-Dorar. 22 August 2016. Archived from the original on 25 August 2016. Retrieved 14 April 2025.
4. "The Moderate Rebels: A Complete and Growing List of Vetted Groups". Democratic Revolution, Syrian Style. 21 October 2014. Retrieved 30 November 2014.
5. Levine, Avraham (19 December 2024). "Rebel factions in southern Syria – Southern Operations Room (SOR)". Alma Research and Education Center. Retrieved 21 April 2025.
6. Tokmajyan, Armenak (14 July 2020). "How Southern Syria has been Transformed into a Regional Powder Keg". Carnegie Middle East Center. Retrieved 14 April 2025.
7. "Ahmed al-Awda..Russia's spoiled boy to form "an army" southern Syria". Enab Baladi . 27 June 2020. Retrieved 21 April 2025.
8. "Detainees Disappeared and Tortured by an Armed Opposition Faction in Daraa". Syrian Network for Human Rights. 12 October 2016. Retrieved 14 April 2025.