Kurdish Front

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"Kurdish Front" redirects here. For Kurdish Islamist group that was merged into Ahrar ash-Sham, see Kurdish Islamic Front.

Kurdish Front
جبهة الأكراد
Jabhat al-Akrad
Leaders
Dates of operation22 January 2013 – present
Group(s)
  • Shahba Women's Protection Front[9][10][11]
  • Tel Rifaat Revolutionaries Battalion[12]
HeadquartersAfrin District and Sheikh Maqsood, Aleppo Governorate
Active regions
IdeologyDemocracy[5]
Part of
Allies
Opponents
Battles and warsSyrian Civil War
Websitehttp://jabhetakrad.com/

Jabhat al-Akrad (Arabic: جبهة الأكراد; Kurdish: Eniya Kurdan, lit. 'Kurdish Front'), full name: (Template:Rtl-lang Liwa' Jabhat al-'Akrad l-Nusra Shaʿbnā al-Sūrī, "Kurdish Front Brigade for the Victory of the Syrian People"), is a predominantly Kurdish Syrian rebel faction participating in the Syrian civil war.

Jabhat al-Akrad operates in Kurdish and ethnically-mixed areas in northern Syria, such as Sheikh Maqsood and Ashrafiyeh district of Aleppo city, Afrin Canton, the Shahba region, and the northern Raqqa Governorate.[15]

History

Muhammad Mustafa "Abu Adel" (left) and Shervan Derwish (right), two commanders of the Kurdish Front, in Qabasin during the signing of an agreement with other rebel groups in July 2013

The Kurdish Front Brigade was originally formed as a brigade of the Free Syrian Army by Kurdish and Arab defectors from the Syrian Army. It was originally formed as a subgroup of the Brigade of Free Syrians in the Raqqa Governorate on 22 January 2013.[16] Since its founding members of the group also maintained close ties to the Democratic Union Party (PYD), including military coordination with its armed wing, the People's Protection Units (YPG).[citation needed] Some members of the Kurdish Democratic Progressive Party also joined Jabhat al-Akrad.[17]

During the Battle of Tell Abyad in July 2013, the al-Nusra Front and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) captured the border town of Tell Abyad from Jabhat al-Akrad and the YPG.[18]

In early 2014, following several months of inactivity, Jabhat al-Akrad re-emerged to collaborate with other Free Syrian Army groups and other rebel factions in attacks on ISIL. During the fighting with ISIL, on 17 February, Jabhat al-Akrad's general commander, Alaa Ajabu, also known as Haji Ahmed Kurdi or by his nom de guerre Abu Satif, was killed in action.[6] On 28 February, ISIL withdrew from the strategic border town of Azaz, which was then taken by Jabhat al-Akrad, the Northern Storm Brigade, and al-Tawhid Brigade.[13]

In July 2014, Jabhat al-Akrad and 10 other groups threatened to leave the frontlines in the Aleppo and Raqqa governorates if they are not aided by other rebels.[14] Jabhat al-Akrad, as part of Euphrates Volcano, re-entered the Raqqa province after they broke the Siege of Kobanî in February 2015.[19]

Army of Revolutionaries and Syrian Democratic Forces

On 3 May 2015, some of the former members of the northern branches of the Hazzm Movement, including the Atarib Martyrs Brigade, and the Syrian Revolutionaries Front along with Jabhat al-Akrad, the Dawn of Freedom Brigades main component group the Northern Sun Battalion (making the Dawn of Freedom Brigades defunct in the process) and smaller FSA groups formed the Army of Revolutionaries.[20][21] Many of the northern members of the Syrian Revolutionaries Front and Hazzm Movement also joined the Levant Front.

On 8 June 2016, Jabhat al-Akrad established an all-female unit called the Shahba Women's Protection Front.[9][10][11]

In August 2016, Jabhat al-Akrad changed their logo, removing the Syrian independence flag in the process, though they kept the Arabic text. This represents the 4th logo the group has had.[22][23] Their logos for their male and female units are different from the new main logo, as they sometimes employed Kurdish text. Their male unit is referred to in Kurdish as Hêzên Eniya kurdan (HJK) and their female unit asHêzên Jinên Kurdan (HEK).[1][2][3][4]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "تعازينا لأهلنا في الريف الشمالي والنظام المجرم سوف يحاسب على جرائمه".
  2. ^ a b "بيان إلى الرأي العام".
  3. ^ a b "بيان إلى الرأي العام".
  4. ^ a b Partizan, Dr (9 July 2016). "Noticeable change for Jabhat Akrad logo on the right of the photo. FSA flag has been removed in the new logo.pic.twitter.com/1T3AQABfsL".
  5. ^ a b Civiroglu, Mutlu (11 August 2013). "Kurdish Commander: Jihadi Groups in Syria Have Hijacked FSA". Rudaw English. Retrieved 16 May 2014.
  6. ^ a b "Alaa Ajabu". Violations Documentation Center in Syria. 17 February 2014.
  7. ^ "Kurds Front to Shahba residents: be patient, we are coming". Hawar News Agency. 3 September 2016.
  8. ^ "The second course of the Kurdish Front finished". Hawar News Agency. 27 May 2017.
  9. ^ a b "بيان إلى الرأي العام".
  10. ^ a b "تشكيل أول كتيبة عسكرية لنساء مناطق الشهباء" (in Arabic). Hawar News Agency. Retrieved 1 September 2016.
  11. ^ a b ypj mediacenter (12 August 2016). "عفرين- اختتام دورة عسكرية لنساء مناطق الشهباء (كتيبة الشهيدة جيان احرص)". Retrieved 1 September 2016 – via YouTube.
  12. ^ "Kurds Front: we will resist to the last gasp". Hawar News Agency. 24 October 2016.
  13. ^ a b van Wilgenburg, Wladimir (27 March 2014). "Syrian Kurds, rebels find common enemy in ISIS". Al Monitor. Retrieved 16 May 2014.
  14. ^ a b "Rebels demand help as fighting rages against ISIS in Ghouta". The Daily Star. 3 July 2014. Retrieved 9 July 2014.
  15. ^ Genevieve Casagrande (22 November 2016). "THE ROAD TO AR-RAQQAH: BACKGROUND ON THE SYRIAN DEMOCRATIC FORCES" (PDF). Institute for the Study of War. {{cite web}}: line feed character in |title= at position 37 (help)
  16. ^ "22 1 Ar Raqqa, announcement of the establishment of the Kurdish Front Brigade under the leadership of the Free Syrian Army". Zajil Network. 22 January 2013.
  17. ^ "Thousands mourn the body of the martyr Adnan Sheikh Mohammed in Kobani". Kurdish Democratic Progressive Party. 13 June 2013.
  18. ^ "Report on the Recent Events Witnessed in Tal Abyad-Al Raqqa". Violation Documentation Centre in Syria. July 2013.
  19. ^ "Syrian Kurds and rebels 'advance into IS-held Raqqa province'". BBC. 19 February 2015.
  20. ^ "#Syria: Seven FSA groups (incl. Jabhat Akrad, Shams Shamal & Homs Revolutionary Union) form "The Revolutionary Army"". Twitter.
  21. ^ "#SRO - EXCLUSIVE - Former Hazzm and #SRF forces allied with kurds and some #FSA small units to create Jaysh al-Thuwar (in 4 governorates)". Twitter.
  22. ^ "Jabhat al-Akrad". 9 March 2017 – via Wikipedia.
  23. ^ archicivilians (22 February 2015). "Looks like "Jabhat Akrad" recently changed something in their logo - added the Syrian flag again.#Syria #TwitterKurdspic.twitter.com/GIrPh5TnkO".
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