Descendants of Saladin Brigade
| Descendants of Saladin Brigade | |
|---|---|
| لواء أحفاد صلاح الدين Liwa Ahfad Saladin | |
 A variant of the Syrian opposition flag used by Liwa Ahfad Saladin, in addition to the flag of Kurdistan and the regular independence flag | |
| Leaders | Mahmoud Abu Hamza[1] |
| Dates of operation | 2016–present |
| Headquarters | Azaz |
| Active regions | Aleppo Governorate |
| Ideology | Syrian nationalism Islamic democracy |
| Part of |  Free Syrian Army
Hawar Kilis Operations Room |
| Allies |  Fatah Halab |
| Opponents |  Syrian Arab Army Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant Syrian Democratic Forces |
| Battles and wars | Syrian Civil War |
The Descendants of Saladin Brigade (Template:Lang-ar; Liwa Ahfad Saladin), is a Free Syrian Army group active in the northern Aleppo Governorate. The groups is claiming to being supported by Turkey and armed by the United States. The group opposes the Syrian government, the Syrian Democratic Forces, led by the People's Protection Units and including the Army of Revolutionaries (rebels).[1]
Named after the Kurdish founder of the Ayyubid dynasty, Saladin, the group claims to have 600 members, with one third of its fighters being Arabs and Syrian Turkmen, in addition to one Christian and one Alawite fighter. They along with the Dhi Qar Brigade are a part of the Division 99.[2] Although Dhi Qar later left to join the Hamza Division.
Liwa Ahfad Saladin members are described as "gangs" by the Syrian Democratic Forces, Syrian government forces and also by some Syrian opposition groups.[3][4]
Ideology
The group opposes the Federation of Northern Syria declared by the Syrian Democratic Forces and claims not to be secular, instead supporting civil democracy with equal rights for all ethnicities. It also claim the Democratic Union Party to be a proxy of the Syrian government.[2]
History
In March 2016 Ahrar ash-Sham ordered the group to take down the flag of Iraqi Kurdistan from its headquarters and threatened military force.[5] However, Liwa Ahfad Saladin's commander denied the incident ever occurred and claimed Ahrar ash-Sham to be its ally.[2]
See also
References
- ^ a b "Kurd turns on Kurd as Turkey backs new faction in Syria". Middle East Eye. 16 March 2016.
- ^ a b c "Commander of Kurdish FSA brigade: 'Federalism is not an effective system for Syria'". Syria:direct. 11 April 2016.
- ^ "BARZAN'İ DESTEKLİ ENKS ÇETELERİ 10'DAN FAZLA KÜRDÜ KATLETTİ". AmedToday Haber. Retrieved 15 November 2016.
- ^ "SUK ve ENKS çeteleri YPG mevzisine saldırdı | ANHA". tr.hawarnews.com. Retrieved 15 November 2016.
- ^ "Syrian rebels ban Kurdish flag in Aleppo". ARA News. 27 March 2016.
