Sultan Murad Division
| Sultan Murad Division | |
|---|---|
|
Sultan Murat Tümeni/فرقة السلطان مراد Participant in the Syrian Civil War | |
 Flag used by the division | |
| Active | 23 March 2013[1]—present |
| Ideology | Islamic democracy, Neo-Ottomanism, Turkish nationalism |
| Groups |
|
| Leaders | |
| Headquarters | Bustan al-Basha, Aleppo, Syria (Destroyed in November 2016)[10] |
| Area of operations | |
| Strength | 1,300 (2013) |
| Part of | |
| Allies | |
| Opponents | |
| Battles and wars | |
| Website | http://sultanmurattumeni.com |
The Sultan Murad Division (Arabic: فرقة السلطان مراد; Firqat al-Sultan Murad, Turkish: Sultan Murat Tümeni) is an armed rebel group in the Syrian Civil War, created around Syrian Turkmen identity. They are aligned with the Syrian opposition and are heavily supported by Turkey, who provides funding and military training along with artillery and aerial support. They are the most notable group among Syrian Turkmen Brigades supported by Turkey.
Ideology and structure
Named after Ottoman Sultan Murad II, the flag of the Sultan Murad Division quotes the Shahada to express a political commitment to Islam (Islamism), while the red field symbolizes Turkish nationalism, fusioning in their core ideology of Neo-Ottomanism. Although group uses the Muslim Shahada in their flag, fighters from the group are not classified as hard-line or radical Islamists, and instead defined as an ethnicity with views ranging from secularism to Islamic democracy, in a mostly-common conservatism and Turkish nationalism.[11]
Several commanders of the group are Ahmed Othman,[12] Fehim İsa[13] and Ali Şeyh Salih, who is an ethnic Arab.[14][15]
History
The group was formed in early 2013 and mainly operates in the Aleppo Governorate, claiming to process around 1,300 fighters as of 2016 and as Turkmen participation is growing, the group reports, their numbers are increasing.[16]
The Sultan Murad Division has been most notable for shelling and unsuccessfully attacking the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in the Sheikh Maqsood neighbourhood of Aleppo and for its participation in the summer 2016 Jarabulus offensive.
War crime allegations
On 25 October 2013, the Sultan Murad Division shelled a monastery in Aleppo.[17] The Sultan Murad Division also is one of the rebel groups involved in the shelling of the Aleppo neighborhood of Sheikh Maqsood, killing up to an accumulated 1,000 civilians from November 2015 to March 2016.[18][19][20][21][22][23] In May 2016, Amnesty International's regional director suggested that the attacks on Sheikh Maqsood constitute "war crimes".[24]
In February 2016, some of the group's fighters also uploaded a video of them torturing prisoners from the Army of Revolutionaries.[25][26] After their capture of the town of Jarabulus from ISIL in September 2016, opposition militias of the FSA labeled Sultan Murad Division published pictures of themselves torturing four People's Protection Units (YPG) members prisoners of war, who were captured by the rebel group while, according to YPG claims, trying to evacuate civilians.[27]
See also
References
- ↑ "Sultan Murat Tümeni".
- ↑ https://yallasouriya.wordpress.com/2016/03/31/syria-infographic-fsa-sultan-murad-division/
- ↑ https://yallasouriya.wordpress.com/2016/03/31/syria-infographic-fsa-sultan-murad-division/
- ↑ "Cerablus'taki Durumu, Suriye Türkmen Meclisi Bşk. Anlatıyor - Detay 13 - TRT Avaz". 7 September 2016.
- ↑ "Liwa Sultan Süleyman Şah - a new turkmen asayish force for Jarablus". Ömer Özkizilcik on Twitter (in Turkish). 30 September 2016.
- ↑ "Syrian Turkmen Assembly Inside "Free" Jarablus". Syrian Turkmen Assembly. 2 October 2016. Retrieved 5 October 2016.
- ↑ "Turkish Forces and Rebels Storm Into Syria, Taking IS Stronghold of Jarablus". VOA. 24 August 2016.
- ↑ "SULTAN MURAT TÜMENİ KOMUTANI FEHİM İSA TATHAMUS TÜRKMEN KÖYÜNÜN DEAŞ TERÖR ÖRGÜTÜNDEN TEMİZLENDİĞİNİ AÇIKLADI". 24 August 2016.
- ↑ "TÜRKMEN KOMUTANIMIZ ALİ SALİH ŞEHİT DÜŞTÜ". 4 October 2016.
- ↑ Suriye Türkmen Meclisi المجلس التركماني السوري
- ↑ ORSAM 2013, p. 14.
- ↑ "Turkish Forces and Rebels Storm Into Syria, Taking IS Stronghold of Jarablus". VOA. 24 August 2016.
- ↑ "SULTAN MURAT TÜMENİ KOMUTANI FEHİM İSA TATHAMUS TÜRKMEN KÖYÜNÜN DEAŞ TERÖR ÖRGÜTÜNDEN TEMİZLENDİĞİNİ AÇIKLADI". 24 August 2016.
- ↑ IŞİD Tarafından Öldürülen Komutan: Ali Şeyh Salih
- ↑ "Sultan Murat Tugayları: Önce Çobanbey ardından Menbiç'e ilerleyeceğiz". 25 August 2016.
- ↑ "Sultan Murat Tümeni". 16 August 2016.
- ↑ "Targeting Christian Places of Worship in Syria" (PDF). Syrian Network for Human Rights.
- ↑ "Syrian Islamist rebels renew chemical attack on Kurdish district in Aleppo". Ara News. 2016-03-14. Retrieved 2016-06-11.
- ↑ "Syrian rebels massacre Kurdish civilians in Aleppo". Ara News. 2016-04-06. Retrieved 2016-06-11.
- ↑ "Rebels strike Kurdish neighborhood in Aleppo with chemical gas". Al-Masdar News. 2016-04-07. Retrieved 2016-06-11.
- ↑ "Aleppo district shelled with chemical gas – local journalist". RT. 2016-04-07. Retrieved 2016-06-11.
- ↑ "About 65 casualties and injuries in shelling and launching explosive cylinders on Sheikh Maqsood neighborhood". SOHR. 2016-04-16. Retrieved 2016-06-11.
- ↑ "Russia shows support to Kurdish-led SDF north Syria". ARA News. 2016-06-14. Retrieved 2016-06-14.
- ↑ "Amnesty: Attacks on Aleppo's Kurdish section amount to 'war crimes'". Rudaw. 2016-05-13. Retrieved 2016-06-19.
- ↑ "Organization documented massacre of Sheikh Maksoud". PUK Media. 28 March 2016.
- ↑ "+18 Prisoners of democratic forces to Syria in the grip of rebels after trying to sneak into the Hulk neighborhood of Aleppo 2-16-2016". Aleppo Media Center. 16 February 2016.
- ↑ "YPG holds Turkey-backed rebels accountable for torturing Kurdish fighters". ARA News. 1 September 2016.
