Al Nusra, It’s History and Successive Formations as Applied to the War in Syria

The Nasra Front is a Salafist jihadist organization affiliated to al-Qaeda, which seeks to overthrow the Assad regime and establish an Islamic regime in the Levant. This study, conducted by the Middle East and North Africa Media Center, focuses on organization as the most important of the jihadi organizations operating in Syria. It includes several sections that paint a complete picture of the Nasra Front since its founding until today. Of which:

• Introduction to understanding the identity and objectives of the victory front.
• Circumcision.
• The ideological reference of the Front of Victory.
• Front of victory and foundation.
• Its founding statement.
• The truth of Jolani prince of the victory front.
• Affiliation to causes and motives.
• From the victory to the conquest of the Levant and between them.
• The Editorial Board of the Sham and its Affiliates.
• The Structure of the Sham Liberation Organization.
• Development of the structural structure of the Sham Liberation Organization.
• Sources of funding.
• Organizing the largest disabled religious guards in the path of stability of the Sham Liberation Organization.
• Future Scenarios of the Sham Editorial.
• References

Entrance

Since the outbreak of the Syrian revolution in mid-March 2011, the most important challenge faced by the Jihadist organizations such as the Front of Victory and other organizations, which collided with the groups of the revolutionary forces, on the process of political consensus to provide a national model different from the authoritarian sectarian system in building The future of the state, where the exclusive front of the victory to maintain the strategy of Al Qaeda based on the idea of ​​jihad and advocacy without taking into account the political and economic challenges in areas beyond the influence of the Assad regime.

The beginning of the Syrian revolution was a turning point for al-Qaeda, where it was immersed in the Syrian situation through its military arm, the Nasra Front, which isolated itself from the rest of the armed opposition factions through its agendas, strategies and tools. Syria, as it sought to define its role in the Syrian revolution.

As a response to the fact that the Frente Front is a security threat in the region because of its basic dimension, international and regional actors have taken various measures to ensure that the victory remains under control, being classified as an American on terrorist lists. Each country has set its own strategy to deal with it, based on internal circumstances and political balances.

In the autumn of 2015, the Russian military intervention faced internal and external challenges. This was the internal dialogue led by al-Qaeda leader Dr. Ayman al-Zawahiri to change its structure. While the conservative wing in Nasra seized the office of the Shura, and remained “Julani” general commander of “Fatah al-Sham,” the former victory.

The Fatah al-Sham organization was an entity created by the conservative constituency of al-Qaeda after the international pressure on it, rather than as a result of pressing popular demands that considered the victory a pretext for aggression. This led to the internal structure of the organization. The majority of its Syrian constituents, failed to present it as a popular revolutionary organization, adopting a comprehensive approach to society, and remained a classic model for al-Qaeda.

However, the reasons behind the failure of the “Sham Liberation Organization, the former Nasra” are attributed to the imbalance in its structural structure, such as presenting itself as a basic jihadist organization, and then its involvement in political action to confront other local players in the geographical area of ​​the influence of the Syrian opposition, Jihadi seeks to change the secular system to a group seeking to gain power through a network of regional and international alliances.

When the “Victory Front” managed to invade the liberated areas since 2014, and later controlled most of its strategic joints, with the support or silence of Islamic factions known as loyalty and subordination, the Nasra began to pursue other ways to impose its presence on the remaining liberated areas through expansion and spread Armed, or so-called “soft methods”, a deliberate step, based on the progress made on the ground, did not prevent this strategy, as well as resort to the option of “excessive force,” followed in subjugating major factions of the Free Army ” And the brigade of the martyrs of Syria, a right brigade, “and so on And the military battalions operating in the north of Syria, and the seizure of its camps containing ammunition and military equipment, taking advantage of the state of rupture and dispersion that gnawed the Free Syrian Army at all levels,

Political and military researchers are following up the Syrian issue in their handling of the “Nasra” front line at stations located on the margins of the conflict in Syria, without looking into the depth of the issue and its contents, given their prejudices about the negative or positive jihadist organizations, or keeping them away from wading. In subjects that have social implications that are stigmatized by sectarianism. These are obstacles that prevent access to the facts, so that the research is an analysis that is dominated by preferring interpretations and unreasonable speculation.

What can be referred to in this paper is to contribute to the clarification of the image of “the front of the victory, or the opening of the Sham, or the Liberation of the Sham” without condemnation or glorification, but by presenting it as it is.

Conditions of origin

Over the years since its inception, the Front has managed to achieve the goals of its founder, “Gulani”, as a result of the elimination of the “Baghdadi” who was running the jihadists in Iraq and Syria, as well as the announcement of his departure from the parent organization “Al Qaeda” The events of the Syrian revolution in 2011 A valuable opportunity, to declare Golani revolutions against all, jihadists and revolutionaries in stages, aware that the circumstances waiting for him to be unique to power, or in what is called “the arena of Shamia”, and then tried to show flexibility with the armed factions, to work to achieve the objectives of its organization, By expanding the circle of inclusion of youth groups within the liberated regions with a majority Sunni.

 The “Nasra” has undergone various developments that explain the circumstances of its inception, and can be summed up in two ways:

The social aspect of corruption and unemployment and the decline in the level of education, health and judiciary to the lowest degree, and the political side, there is an Alawalawi system inherited in addition to the exclusivity of power all forms of tyranny, historical record of half a century of destruction and killings and detention and exile and torture Syrians. In this climate, the Front of Victory emerged in a complex context between the text of Jihad and the painful reality by playing the doctrinal tendencies and exploiting the suffering and legitimate aspirations of the people. It found a social, economic and political bottom in the marginal Syrian countryside, As well as to attract Salafist groups that are ideologically aligned with the position of Al Qaeda.

In addition, the emergence of jihadi and Islamist organizations such as al-Ansara and others has found a social, economic and political bottom in the Syrian countryside marginalized by the authoritarian regime and the tolerance of the Syrian revolution at the beginning of the Syrian revolution. .

Ideological reference to the Front of victory

The “Nasra Front” is based on the rules of the global jihadist ideology, with its origins and branches, which includes “the establishment of Islamic rule” according to the law of God, which comes only through jihad.

In the context of the illegal use of force, the Salafi movement, which has been associated with the conditions of its activity in Syria, has emerged as a result of the violence practiced by the successive authorities in order to confront the state of tyranny and underdevelopment inherited from the Ottoman era. The movement was divided into three Salafist currents, Al-Kawakibi, Sheikh Jamal Al-Din Al-Qasimi and Sheikh Mohammed Rashid Rida.

The second is a traditional conservative who devotes his ideological legitimacy to Sheikh Ibn Taymiyyah, Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya and Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab. He established his foundations in Syria and worked to revive him. Sheikh Nasser al-Din al-Albani and Sheikh Abdul Qadir al-Arnaout and their disciples Sheikh Mohammed Eid al-Abbasi and Sheikh Muhammad Nafie Shami. Who took from the Salafist scientific basis for their activity within the institutes of Sharia and focused on the dissemination of the call and ideas of the Salafi trend without indulging in political or military action.

The third trend was embodied in the “militant vanguard” founded by Sheikh Marwan Hadid, a radical wing of the Muslim Brotherhood movement from Egypt to Syria in 1935. Sheikh Marwan Hadid, influenced by Sayyid Qutb’s ideas, was convinced that “jihad” is the only way To get rid of “the scourge of the Baath Party.” To that end, he tried to convince the general organization of the Muslim Brotherhood to prepare for confrontation with the Authority and to form a military arm of the group. The organization of the vanguard of fighting was the first jihadist experience in Syria that took “militarization” as the only way to change by armed force. The 1970s and 1980s witnessed armed confrontations between this organization, which was joined by the General Organization of the Muslim Brotherhood in 1980, and the Authority; it ended with the departure of most of the leaders of the Islamic trend after the massacre of Hama in 1982.

It can be said that the experience of the vanguard of fighting provided fertile ground for the birth of the jihadi movement in Syria; and the Syrian jihadis who “migrated” to the various jihad areas grew up mostly in the forefront of the fighting.

Perhaps one of the most striking aspects of the experience of Marwan Hadid is Abu Musab al-Suri; Omar Abdel Hakim, which will become the scene of jihadist movements in Afghanistan, Algeria, Iraq and Syria.

“Zarqawi’s group trained the majority of foreign fighters coming to Iraq and organized their ranks, 2 including a large number of Syrian nationality. The Assad regime was active with the advent of the US invasion of Iraq in 2003, moving to a new phase of dealing with jihadists, Where “the atmosphere in Syria was charged at all levels towards the preparation of jihadists to fight in Iraq and receive them under various headings, including the West’s” infidel “infidelity of Muslim territories; an unusual speech to secular systems that are considered extremist in their vision and deal with the religious issue.

The late Mufti of Syria, Sheikh Ahmed Kftaru, called on Muslims, for example, to jihad and to “use all possible means to defeat aggression, including martyrdom operations, against invaders, American and British Zionist warriors.” The late Sheikh Mohammed Saeed Ramadan Al-Bouti returned the invitation in a Friday sermon on June 13, 2003 and urged young Muslims to go to “Jihad the obligatory”, which did not “reveal the reasons of its rite in an era of the ages as manifested in this era on the land of Islamic Iraq” 3).

It can be said that the conditions of the Iraq war in 2003 made Syria a safe passage for jihadists to Iraq. Much evidence suggests that Assad’s regime considered the influx of jihadists a real interest in fighting US forces as well as fighting jihadists and al Qaeda in Iraq. The United States, which at the time wanted security in Iraq, had to open channels of communication and cooperation with the Assad regime.

Assad’s regime invested al-Qaeda and jihadists well in Iraq in 2005-2008, out of its international isolation. The crackdown on jihadist movements, border control and intelligence cooperation were the opposite.

Thus, he was at the level of “theoretical reference”, based on the theses of “Abu Musab al-Syrian” based on “decentralization” and “wars of the vulnerable” and the creation of cells that combine thought and doctrine without a coherent structural organization, and adopted by the latter and confirmed in his most famous book ” (5), and applied by the Golani practically to his conviction and validity in Syria, in line with the pragmatism and adjustment policies in the character of the Golani, as well as their belonging to the common Syrian identity, which is keen on the victory of the “Sorneh” organization first, and then “Shomnth” (Relative to Syria and Syria), a What is the universal dimension of the world?

Front of Victory Foundation

The founders of the Nasra Front are part of the “Jihad in Mesopotamia” organization led by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, and a group of them moved under the command of an obscure young man named Usam al-Musli, a name known to the Jolani in the Boca prison. He is known for anything but his time, except that he was a former fighter in Iraq, unlike his fellow Arab terrorists, such as Jordanians Abu Jalibib and Abu Anas al-Sahaba, the brother-in-law of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, Mariah al-Qahtani, “and it was the organization that sent them to establish an al Qaeda branch in Su Ria, and then became part of the organization of the “Islamic State of Iraq,” under the leadership of Abu Omar Baghdadi. However, none of them may have been under the leadership of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. However, it was found that Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi shared money and arms with the leader of the Nasserah Front, Abu Muhammad al-Julani, on the basis that he was under his command, as was announced after the disagreement between them.

First founding statement

On January 24, 2012, Abu Muhammad al-Julani issued a statement announcing the formation of a “front to support the people of Syria from the Mujahideen of the Levant.” The statement defined the aim of the establishment of the Front by saying that it came from an attempt by its founders “to restore God’s dominion to its land and to avenge the humiliating display and the bleeding blood and to return the smile to the babies and the sand women.” The statement condemned the call by some to resort to Western powers to escape the regime of the ruling Baath Party, describing it as “an erroneous and erroneous call, a major crime and a great calamity that God will not forgive and will never have mercy on history.” The statement was strongly blamed on the Turkish state and on the Arab League project, which was condemned to failure before it began.

The first founding statement of the Nasra Front was dated January 24, 2012, and was published on 25 May 2012. However, when Abu Muhammad al-Julani was asked about the establishment of the front in an interview conducted by Tayseer Alouni with him on Al-Jazeera, he said that it was founded in February 2012. The first statement on behalf of the Nasser Front in Syria coincided with the bombing of the State Security headquarters in Kafr Sousa and the Military Security Branch of Customs in December 2011. The statement was posted on a website that was established a day ago and then disappeared. It was assumed that the establishment of the front was before that. It then announced a suicide bombing in the Maidan district on January 6, 2012, and another against the Air Force Intelligence in Tahrir Square on 17 February 2012 and in the Sulaymaniyah district of Aleppo on 18 March 2012. Note that all the bombings of the Nasser front in Damascus hit the outer walls only to buildings of the security system, but the victims were full of civilians.

The United States announced at the end of 2012 that the elements of the “Front” carried out more than 600 attacks (10) to be classified as a “terrorist organization”, a US decision condemned by the majority of the Syrian opposition, indicating the strength of “victory” in the battlefields against the Assad regime in general The first of its founding.

On the same dramatic dramatic scene, the Nasserist Front emerged in Syria. It managed to impose its will and control over large areas in the Syrian north and became a significant military force, forcing most of the armed opposition factions to take a neutral position, while expanding their leverage from day to day. During bloody debates against the “Free Army factions” in 2014, and then later the Islamic factions as “Ahrar Al Sham” movement, and all the warriors suffered heavy human and material losses, to put the same victory between two covenants; an era in which the faction of the base faced by the power of the factions, It is in control of all regions Editor.

Who is the “Golani”?

It may be useful to stop at Golani, the most important figure in the history of al-Qaeda. Although various sources have published a brief about him, many details remain ambiguous, especially since each source provides different information.

Al-Julani is a Syrian-born field fighter who is known as Abu Muhammad al-Julani. He fought in Iraq in the war against the United States and its allies and was one of the arms of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the al-Qaeda chief in Iraq after the US invasion. Al-Qaeda in Iraq sent Abu Muhammad al-Julani to Syria to establish the front of the victory. There are many versions of his real name contradicting one another, but it is hard to say that he was not Uss Al-Musli, nor Usama al-Absi Wahidi, nor born in the town of Shuhil, in the province of Deir al-Zour, according to the Iraqi intelligence squadron, and turned into something like the truth confirmed in the minds of people.

The sources point out that al-Julani, Ahmad Hussein Ali al-Shara, was born in the early 1980s, according to the information in circulation in Damascus and lived most of his life, but his roots are from Daraa. “State Organization” in that Julani studied for one year in the College of Information, and then went to Iraq to join the ranks of “Islamic State of Iraq,” and was arrested only three months after his entry into Iraq, and released after the start of the Syrian revolution.

Some of the information of the supporters of the state organization coincided with the information of the British researcher, who is a follower and specialist of the Nasserite Front, Charles Leicester, who quoted it from four sources. He said that he is Ahmed Farouk al-Sharaa, born in 1984 in Daraa, and lived in Damascus.

Perhaps the first time the Criminal Court in Damascus confirmed that the name of the real Golani is “Muhammad Hussein al-Shara” (11).

“One of the young Syrians who wanted the Assad regime to get rid of them in the holocaust of Iraq, and succeeded in accordance with the Iranian vision to make Syria a conduit and recruiting center for al-Qaeda fighters and leaders, including Zarqawi, Abu Ghadiyah, Abu Anas al-Sahaba and Shaker al-Absi, ” Gulani is not one of the few Golan refugees who have forgotten their family order, because he was one of the Americans who fought in the Golan neighborhood of Fallujah.“(12). Members belonging to global jihadi organizations are often referred to as belonging to their original places. In 2006, al-Julani left Iraq for Lebanon, where he is believed to have overseen the training of al Qaeda-linked Jund al-Sham. From Lebanon, Gulani returned to Iraq and was arrested by the Americans and placed in the “Boca Prison” they ran in the south of the country. They released him in 2008 under the name of “Aws Al-Moussalli”. He resumed his military activities with the so-called “Islamic State in Iraq” Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, who soon became head of operations in the province of Mosul, and months after the outbreak of civil war in Syria, Gulani returned to Syria in August 2011 an al-Qaeda envoy to establish a branch in the country can participate in fighting against the regime in Syria.

Al-Golani’s biography appears to be identical to the biography of Amirah al-Baghdadi, in his emergence, the sudden rise to large positions, and the exchange of confidence following the assignment of al-Baghdadi to the Golani followers to establish a footing for organization in Syria.

With the dramatic developments between the Emir and his envoys to Syria, al-Baghdadi became the successor to the Islamic State, as he was named, after changing the name of his organization several times. He also changed his name several times, Gulani “. On May 16, 2013, the US State Department listed Abu Muhammad al-Julani as an international terrorist.

Affiliation (causes and motives)

The Nasra Front was formed from a core group of al-Qaeda members in Iraq, including Syrian leaders, who moved to Syria after the outbreak of the revolution and founded the Nasserist Front together. It has been joined by thousands of volunteers from Syria, the Arab and Muslim world (especially the Middle East), the Western European countries (mainly the United Kingdom and France), the Islamic countries in Central Asia (especially Chechnya) and other countries around the world where there are Muslim societies.

The most important reasons and motives are as follows:

Ideological reasons: Some volunteers have joined the ranks of the Front of the Supporters of the Salafist Jihadists as a result of the activity of the Salafi preachers in the Islamic countries and the young people encouraged them to fight in the Islamic regions that are experiencing unrest.

Religious reasons: The Iranian media machine, and those of the Assad regime played an important role in feeding the sectarian conflict, manifested through the filming and promotion of films on the sites of communication. The first came in Hama when they wrote on the platforms: “No God but Bashar Al Assad” The third is the video of the burial of a Syrian citizen who is alive and asking him to repeat the same words, which means that the Assad regime wanted it by provoking the Sunnis and pushing them towards the jihadi organizations in parallel with the release Jihadists from prison to complete his strategy in it. In addition to the war waged by the Lebanese Shiite Hezbollah against the Sunni areas of Qusayr and the Western Calamoun, it was a major instigator of the jihadists when Iran portrayed Hezbollah’s victory in the Qusayr campaign as a victory for the Shiites in the war against the Sunnis. Sparking strong reactions in the Sunni Muslim world. Sunni clerics, including Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi, Sheikh Mohammed al-Arifi, and Nabil al-Awadhi, and others, called on the Sunni Muslim world to go to Syria and help the jihadists there, but they did not mean that the volunteers would join the ranks of the Nasserist Front, To the Muslim Brotherhood, such as “armor” which later became the “Sham Corps”. However, it is likely that many volunteers eventually found their way to the Nasra and other Salafist jihadist groups because of its superior ideological and attractive ideological power, and the Hezbollah and Hizballah are now portraying the war in Syria as a Sunni-Shiite war. The Assad regime’s use of chemical weapons against Sunni-majority areas was exploited by the Nasserist Front as the Sunnis were subjected to a campaign of genocide by the “Nasirite Army” which led thousands of volunteers to move to Syria. The Sunni Muslim world went to Syria and helped the jihadists there, but they did not mean that the volunteers would join the ranks of the Nasserist Front, but also other factions, especially those of the Muslim Brotherhood, such as the Armored Corps, which later became the Sham Corps. However, it is likely that many volunteers eventually found their way to the Nasra and other Salafist jihadist groups because of its superior ideological and attractive ideological power, and the Hezbollah and Hizballah are now portraying the war in Syria as a Sunni-Shiite war. The Assad regime’s use of chemical weapons against Sunni-majority areas was exploited by the Nasserist Front as the Sunnis were subjected to a campaign of genocide by the “Nasirite Army” which led thousands of volunteers to move to Syria. The Sunni Muslim world went to Syria and helped the jihadists there, but they did not mean that the volunteers would join the ranks of the Nasserist Front, but also other factions, especially those of the Muslim Brotherhood, such as the Armored Corps, which later became the Sham Corps. However, it is likely that many volunteers eventually found their way to the Nasra and other Salafist jihadist groups because of its superior ideological and attractive ideological power, and the Hezbollah and Hizballah are now portraying the war in Syria as a Sunni-Shiite war. The Assad regime’s use of chemical weapons against Sunni-majority areas was exploited by the Nasserist Front as the Sunnis were subjected to a campaign of genocide by the “Nasirite Army” which led thousands of volunteers to move to Syria. However, they did not mean that the volunteers would join the ranks of the Nasserist Front, but other factions, especially those belonging to the Muslim Brotherhood, such as “armor” which later became the “Sham Corps.” However, it is likely that many volunteers eventually found their way to the Nasra and other Salafist jihadist groups because of its superior ideological and attractive ideological power, and the Hezbollah and Hizballah are now portraying the war in Syria as a Sunni-Shiite war. The Assad regime’s use of chemical weapons against Sunni-majority areas was exploited by the Nasserist Front as the Sunnis were subjected to a campaign of genocide by the “Nasirite Army” which led thousands of volunteers to move to Syria. However, they did not mean that the volunteers would join the ranks of the Nasserist Front, but other factions, especially those belonging to the Muslim Brotherhood, such as “armor” which later became the “Sham Corps.” However, it is likely that many volunteers eventually found their way to the Nasra and other Salafist jihadist groups because of its superior ideological and attractive ideological power, and the Hezbollah and Hizballah are now portraying the war in Syria as a Sunni-Shiite war. The Assad regime’s use of chemical weapons against Sunni-majority areas was exploited by the Nasserist Front as the Sunnis were subjected to a campaign of genocide by the “Nasirite Army” which led thousands of volunteers to move to Syria.

The media has benefited from the news from Al-Jazeera, especially when it was reviewing the suicide bombings and trying to portray a heroic role in these acts. Therefore, the overwhelming sense of adventure on the minds of Salafis is added to the other reasons for volunteering in the ranks of the victory.

Nasra, from al-Qaeda to the front of the Fatah al-Sham “July 2016 – January 2017”

The Nasra Front has experimented with changing its ideological structure. People under the shadow of violence and “organized international terrorism” are concerned, along with essential services, with the ideology of the Frente Front. Therefore, al-Julani announced, in the presence of al-Qaeda leaders, the abolition of the Nasra Front and the formation of a new entity called the Fatah al-Sham Front without subordinating it to al-Qaeda, whose leaders understand the necessity of disengagement. International community “as he put it. Gulani stressed that the new front “will not have links with any outside parties.” Al-Golani has set several goals for the formation of the Fatah al-Sham front:

The announcement of “Fatah al-Sham” was not only formal but also problematic, as revealed by a number of internal testimonies later to some of the personalities associated with the event. From the first moment, a number of members of the organization’s Shura Council, headed by Abu Jalibib Rafiq al-Julani, , And the “Abu Khadija Jordanian” and “Abu Hammam Shami,” with the suspension of the general legitimacy of the Fatah al-Sham “Sami al-Aridi” for his tasks, and worse is the “anger” of al-Qaeda leader “Ayman al-Zawahiri,” which sent two separate letters announcing the refusal to secede, Can only be made with the approval of all the members of the Al-Qaeda Shura Council or after the formation of the State of Esl “Zawahri himself,” the Egyptian father of good, “announced his blessing to what had happened before the announcement a day to expect Zawahiri’s approval apparently, while interpreted the latter’s rejection as an influence from the rest of the members of the al-Qaeda’s Shura Council, especially those in Iran, “Saif al-Adl” and “Abu Muhammad al-Masri” (14), who were expecting that the Golani would retreat, but the Golani

Analysts say Nasra has decided to re-market itself after the United States and Russia stepped up military efforts against them and against the Islamic state. Al-Joulani sought through the new formation to manage the tense relationship with the international community by declaring an independent entity from al-Qaeda and more local, as well as seeking to rehabilitate the position of the popular incubator against its jihadist project. , As a result of its approach to overcoming and its gross interference in the affairs of the local population.

The “Fatah al-Sham” Front did not survive much, to be bypassed in favor of a dynamic structure called the “Sham Liberation Organization” in early 2017, showing the size and acceleration of internal and external pressures on the leaders of the “Fatah al-Sham” Front and their attempts to find a new dynamic exit.

Editorial Board of the Sham “January 2017”

The “Sham Liberation Organization” was formed following the merger of a number of factions operating in the north of Syria at the end of January 2017, foremost among them: the movement of Nur al-Din al-Zanki, the “Front of the Fatah al-Sham”, the Front of Ansar al-Din, the army of immigrants and supporters, From the sheikhs and preachers of “Salafi Jihadism” as: Abdul Razzaq al-Mahdi, Abu al-Harith al-Masri, Abu Yousef al-Hamawi, Abdullah al-Muhaisni, Abu al-Tahir al-Hamawi, and Musallah al-Ulayani (16).

The political meetings of the revolutionary forces intensified with the retreat in the field since the exit agreement from Aleppo, December 13, 2016, then the Ankara Ceasefire Agreement of 30 December 2016, and the Istana Conference on January 23, 2017, On July 24, 2017, as a retaliation for the imposition of his authority as a de facto reality for the countries or local revolutionary factions, and to declare the dissolution of the front of the Fatah al-Sham and the formation of the “Sham Liberation Organization” July 28, July 2017, as a merger between c Bahat Fatah al-Sham and the Zanki movement and smaller groups, but within the slogan of autism and inviting everyone to join it targeting the elements and leaders of Ahrar Cham mainly.

In parallel with the hardening of the field towards the local factions, the liberation of Syria showed rapid flexibility in the media discourse, conditional acceptance of the political and negotiating process and a focus on slogans belonging to the local revolutionary discourse, which it had previously fought and accused of “secularism” or “dilution” “In the fight against” extremism “and” Kharijis “in an attempt to confirm moderation, the Sham Liberation Organization shows time to be more flexible to save its project from the isolation of the people or the external, but also able to renew the violent clash, which has not stopped. As well as the use of slogans belonging to the local revolutionary discourse, or recently retreated from the promotion of ideological slogans, which meant a complete and complete separation from the rule, agreed to describe it by “Atoon,” legitimate Fatah Sham, and ” Which announced the split from the moment of the Declaration,The dispute escalated and culminated in a security crackdown launched by the Commission on November 29, 2017, in which al-Aridi himself and a number of senior al-Qaeda leaders in Syria, notably Abu Ghalibib and al-Zawahiri deputy Abu al-Qassam, Said that these figures “were seeking to undermine the body of the body and spread sedition and rumors,” she said, and provoked a wave of criticism and imbalance within it, and in the center of the jihad in general, a wave that prompted Zawahiri the same evening to issue a lengthy voice word attacked by the body, The presence of an al Qaeda branch in Syria, without further Details (18).

The slogans, some of which were preaching Jihad to men and wearing hijab for women, disappeared behind a new color interpreted by activists as a prelude to the emergence of a new face of the “Editorial Board of the Sham” Turkish efforts to rehabilitate the jihadist formation, which changed its name three times, the first when he announced his separation from the organization “Al-Qaeda”, and replaced the name “Front victory” with the “front of the Fatah al-Sham” before changing to “the Liberation of the Sham,” after the expansion and the inclusion of other formations to his side.

Structure of the “Sham Liberation Organization” Front Nasra previously

He stands at the head of the structure of the “Sham Liberation Organization” (Amir), as is the case in all the organizational structures of the Jihadist movements. The name Amir, and all those princes, pledge allegiance to the general prince, and the province of Idlib is distinguished by the existence of a general standing at the top of the administrative hierarchy. A special ruler is responsible for the Badia sector, and they are independent of each other in jurisdiction.

Nasra’s publications indicate that its administrative body is called the Mujahideen Shura Council or the Shura Council, a group of princes who distribute administrative functions within specialized offices (the military, economic, security, legal and public relations offices). The “Nasra Front” has introduced military divisions other than the traditional military division known to the armies, as follows:

Groups: also called additive, consisting of (20-40) persons, led by a military prince, who are obeyed by the members of the group to hear and obey and carry out the tasks entrusted to the element without objection.

Second: Al-Saraya: It includes several groups. The number of members of each company is between 100-250, led by a military emir, who is sworn by the princes of the groups and has a margin of independence in making military decisions in his sphere of influence without reference to the supreme leadership, Groups in case of offense “.

Third, the cutters divided the victory areas of influence into sectors, each sector Amir oversees the military action and advocacy and relief and judicial, and Amir of the cutter wide powers within the segment, including the Idlib and Hama and Aleppo and the coast and borders and the rest of the areas under their control and head of each sector Amir, Until 2016, where most of the princes of the cutters of Syrian nationality (22).

Mujahideen Shura Council: The number of members of the Mujahideen Shura Council increased from 12 to 18, and their faces changed with the political and military developments in the structure of the organization. The most prominent of them were until 2013. Al-Jawlani, Zawahiri, Baghdadi, Abu Ali Al-‘Ara, Abu Muhammad Al-Adnani, Abu Mariya Al-Qahtani Al-Julani, Abu Firas al-Suri, Abu al-Faraj al-Farghali, Abu al-Yigazan al-Masri and Abu Jalibib of Jordan. “After the disagreement between al-Julani and al-Qaeda figures in the Shura Council, some were killed and others announced his resignation from the council. He remained from the first Shura Council (Al-Julani, Abu Mariah Al-Qahtani and Abu Al Faraj Al-Farghali).

The “Nasra Army,” an army of battles and support, represents the central force of the Front and the military wing of its leadership, which is an additional piece of paper in the rest of the sections in northern Syria. One of the objectives of establishing this military formation is to establish loyalty to the leadership of Nasra, And the support of leaders of some factions such as Ahrar al-Sham, the Sham Force and others. In addition, the presence of a central force with high readiness in northern Syria gives the victory a kind of immunity and immunity against any attempt aimed at their presence and the timing of the incursion E This army refers to the apprehension and warned the leadership of the Front victory of the coming period (24).

Al-Julani ordered the establishment, organization and training of this unit for Blackwater Islamic Company, “Tactical Epics”. 25 “The Red Brigades are characterized by heavy military and physical training. And the necessary legal guidance, as well as in most liberated areas and receive the special support and attention of the Commission as a main pillar in military operations. The groups were named “red bands” like the great companions Abu Dujana – may Allah be pleased with him – who was known for his courage and courage and had a red band worn and distinguished in the battles.

The Red Brigades carried out many of the offensive operations of the criminal regime, the most recent of which was the intensive operation of the village of Taraba in the countryside of Hama, in which 18 soldiers of the criminal regime were killed, including four officers and seven soldiers. ”

Military planning: The Golani and the commanders of the cutters place the military plans of the battles within the “military operations rooms” located in the rear lines of the battles. The rooms are usually shared with the other armed military factions such as the Fatah army in the battle of Idlib, In battles against the Assad regime, or in battles against opposition factions.

Shariah, a religious institution that oversees the conduct of military leaders and their adherence to Islamic law. And give them legitimate lectures and head of the religious institution in the Front of victory a large religious reference called (the judge general). He is accompanied by legitimate supervisors who serve in all the branches of the victory and perform other tasks, such as inculcating the religious ideology of the young or newly affiliated to the organization. Some of the extensions of the organization’s organizational structure are:

The local councils in the area of ​​influence in Idlb: listed under the name of “civil administration of services” affiliated to it, and after controlling the great opponent, “Ahrar Cham” and the extraction of some of its strongholds important, in addition to its control of the “Bab al-Hawa” strategic with Turkey, and expanded its capabilities and administrative ambitions to form a government Affiliated to it.

The Government of Salvation: The formation of the “Salvation Government” was announced in the north of Syria on November 2, 2017. It is the political, administrative and civil wing of the Commission. It was formed of 11 ministerial portfolios headed by Mohammed Al-Shaikh, in addition to the Ministries of Interior, Justice, Awqaf, Higher Education, Health, Agriculture, Economy, Social Affairs and Displaced Persons, Housing and Construction, and Local Administration. The Civil Administration of Services, affiliated to the Sham Liberation Organization, handed over its services to the “Government of Salvation” from water, electricity, transportation and others. The government began to impose its control over the area and on December 12, 2017, issued a warning to the “temporary Syrian government” of 72 hours to close its offices in the northern province of Idlib and exit the area. Last year saw the expansion of the “rescue” of its control over the joints of the region service and administrative, and created agricultural offices, educational and economic, and began to establish service projects in the city of Idlib. The government went to the Directorate of the crossings, either with Turkey or with the regions of the system, to obtain financial resources, including Bab Al-Hawa crossing and Mabri Al-Ais in the southern countryside of Aleppo and the Moork crossing in the northern countryside of Hama, and with the first annual conference of the constituent body, on 11 December 2018 The meeting resulted in the appointment of Fawaz Hilal as the new head of the “Government of Salvation” replacing Sheikh Al-Sheikh, in addition to merging the Ministry of Housing and Reconstruction within the Ministry of Local Administration and Services and integrating the Ministry of Agriculture within the Ministry of Economy.

The area witnessed clashes between the Sham Liberation Organization and the National Liberation Front (FNL), in which the organization managed to control the western countryside of Aleppo and large areas in the southern countryside of Idlib and the plain of El Ghab in the countryside of Hama. The “Salvation Government” immediately intervened in the areas controlled by the “Liberation of the Sham” to be managed by the service and organizational, in a scene that confirms the prior coordination of the “liberation of the Sham” in the control of the region as a whole to manage militarily and civilian. The “Rescue Government” oversees:

The role of the judiciary, which is civil courts aimed at separating people from disputes, has filled the void left by the authority of the Assad regime in the “liberated areas.” The court is presided over by a legal magistrate and a number of lawyers, along with a number of lawyers, , And each region has a court of law.

– Islamic police, an executive force whose functions are to maintain order and organize traffic, monitor public roads and supervise civil prisons, such as Idlib Central Prison, Sarmada Prison, and detention centers located in court buildings.

Numbers of fighters

There are no accurate statistics for the number of fighters of the Front Nasra, but there are statistical approaches from different sources that it has about 10 thousand fighters, as of January 2012, distributed in the following areas of deployment:

Arab fighters constitute one third of them, according to Abu Muhammed al-Julani, commander-in-chief of Al-Ansara, 28 who came from various Arab countries between 2012 and 2013. According to the British Quilliam Foundation, 29 Al- Nasra had about 5,000 workers in late 2012 , While the Syrian Free Army estimates for the number of elements of the victory front range between (6000 – 10000), according to a report in the Washington Post, November 30, 2012. Prepared by the Free Syrian Army and handed over to the US State Department.

These estimates do not take into consideration the split that took place in the Nasra Front, nor in its transformation into the Sham Liberation Organization. The Syrian Liberation Organization currently has some 25,000 fighters, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. “About 20 percent of its foreign fighters are mainly from Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia and Egypt, For countries in South Asia.

Chart 1: The organizational structure of the Nasra Front

The development of the structural structure of the Sham al-Nasra Liberation Organization

As for the structure of the Commission, it is noticed that through the boycott of several sources of information, it has an administrative structure that is divided into a number of main sections covering the following aspects: military, security, service, legal, judicial, media, economic and political. With a structure and structure that organizes its work, all of which are linked to the Shura Council as shown in the following form:

Chart 2: Structure of the Sham Liberation Organization

A review of the structure of the Sham’s editorial board reveals its comprehensiveness and its connection to central leadership, which illustrates the Authority’s efforts to establish a long-term Islamic rule and threatens the local councils, which are the main nucleus of rebuilding the national state.

Sources of funding

At the beginning of its establishment, the Nasra Front relied on financial aid from al-Qaeda in Iraq, before Baghdadi announced the birth of the “Islamic State.” Prior to the allegation of al-Julani, the founder of the al-Nasra Front, al-Zawahiri leader Al-Zawahiri received substantial financial aid from the international jihadist organization , Salafist jihadist charities, Salafist clerics, and wealthy Al-Qaeda supporters in Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and even Egypt. Having strengthened their stature in Syria, they began to rely on spoils for their funding. Before participating in any battle with other opposition factions, The lion’s share is its share of the spoils. This happened during the attack on all military bases in the north of Syria, such as the base of Sheikh Suleiman and the regiment 46 and the warehouses of Khan Toman and others, making it the only military faction in Syria who does not complain about the lack of ammunition, In addition, the front placed its hand on grain silos in Aleppo and protected the factories in it. The traders were afraid of their factories for theft and looting. They also seized several oil wells in the Eastern Province and used them to finance their activities. And set up service projects such as the “public transport buses” project in Aleppo and its countryside, which returned on the front with great financial rewards.

As for the “Sham Liberation Organization”, the sources of funding can be divided into several branches, including “military, financial and relief”. The first is the principle of swallowing the other factions, achieving two goals: first, removing it from its rival on the editor and control capabilities; And the capabilities and capabilities of the faction to its custody, would enable them militarily and adequately in terms of weapons and ammunition, and began this work since 2014, where it took control of the capabilities of more than 20 factions, the first front of the Syrian rebels and not the last Ahrar Sham.

The most prominent resources of the liberation of the Sham at the present time lies in:

According to the information provided by the sources, the revenues of the Bab al-Hawa crossing reached monthly more than 4 million US dollars per month through the introduction of goods by merchants and relief materials by the organizations, not to mention the movements Transit and transit through the crossing. After the opening of the Morak crossing on the international highway, the Sham Editorial Commission imposed fees and royalties on all incoming and outgoing goods and estimated the minimum fee imposed on each car $ 100, bringing the total income of the crossing daily at least $ 20000-25000 per day.

The company was established in the year 2018 in Idlib, to import European oil, which belongs to the “Editorial Board of the Sham”, and has since the establishment of hundreds of trucks containing Ukrainian gasoline, and introduced to the province of Idlib, through the crossing Hwa) border, after the interruption of gasoline imported from the areas of the system, no later than seven days then. It has gas stations, refineries and centers for the import of European fuel, as well as fuel markets. It has been approved by the Turkish government to be a European fuel supplier through the Government of Salvation in Idlib Province.

Later, the company added other quantities of European fuel oil, and put it on the market at high prices, coinciding with the interruption of the arrival of diesel fuel from the eastern provinces to Idlib, during the battle of the “armor of the Euphrates,” then to buy all shipments of oil Coming from the eastern regions to Idleb governorate (35).

Kidnapping and ransom: Various sources indicate that leaders of the Sham Liberation Organization have been involved in kidnappings and exchange for ransoms in the liberated areas run by security officials through corrupt figures, thieves and bandits, who rely on their guidance to kidnap traffickers and financiers, officials of international organizations and journalists, And then negotiate the swap for huge sums ranging from $ 25,000 to $ 1 million per person according to his position and social and family status, as in the case of Japanese journalist Jumbi Yasuda, after being detained by the Sham Liberation Organization, which was seeking P Yeh US $ 10 million, in exchange for his release. [36], without any details of the deal that brought the agreement and acceptance of the Qatari mediation body size. In addition to other sources such as real estate, financial investments, internet networks and space devices, antiquities trade and exploration, ovens, bakeries and flour.

“Organizing the Guardians of Religion” the largest disabled in the path of stability of the Liberation of the Sham in the liberated region

The existence of a large number of obstacles can not be overemphasized. The military and political superiority of the organization and other supporting factors can overcome most of the obstacles. The most important of these obstacles is what appeared on the channels of the factions close to the “base” in Syria from a joint statement entitled “Save the factions of Muslims” under the name of a new organization is “Guardians of religion,” guarding the flame of al-Qaeda, 37, which collected under his banner several small battalions of Foreign fighters and former al-Qaeda figures, most notably “Abu Hamam al-Shami” Who is said to be the organization’s emir, accompanied by “Abu Gleibib” who was killed in Daraa under mysterious circumstances, 38 “Abu Khadija the Jordanian”, “Sami al-Aridi” and “Abu al-Qassam” Was arrested in Iran, and recently joined by Abu al-Yazzan, a legitimate military officer in the former Sham liberation. The new formation emerges as an obstacle to ensuring the stability of the body in its areas of influence, and refuses to comply with the decisions of the Commission, Which led to the spread of the security chaos and the extension of its effects to affect the security and safety of the leaders of the body and its components, as a series of assassinations of mysterious recent intensification of convulsions in areas controlled by the Syrian opposition and the Liberation of the Sham. A large number of people blamed the sleeping cells of the religious guards. The assassinations targeted cadres and fighters in the Sham Liberation Organization and the Islamic Party of Turkestan. The last of these assassinations was the field execution carried out by the guards of religion against the military commander in the Sham Liberation, Abu Ibrahim al-Askari.

summary

Scenarios of the Future of the “Sham Liberation”

In the light of the previous determinants, three scenarios can be drawn up for the future of the Sham Liberation Organization. The first scenario is likely to keep the Russian-Turkish coalition in the province of Idlib under the control of the Liberation of the Sham for a limited period required by a certain plan that has not yet crystallized. There are those who believe that breaking into the city of Idlib and its liberated surroundings could have serious consequences for the country. The population may be concentrated in a densely populated center. The region may also experience large population displacements towards Turkey and then to Europe, as well as encourage both sides to continue armed confrontation, further exacerbating the situation. So, the recent Sochi statement, which brought together the leaders of Russia, Turkey and Iran,

The second is that the greatest threat to the “liberation of the Levant” carries an ideological dimension, the nascent organization of the “guardians of religion” of the Al-Qaeda organization, whose hard core is the remnants of the “Jund Al-Aqsa” and led by the military leadership. They have great experiences in the organization that is compatible with the global jihadist movement, while Al-Joulani stumbles on finding strong pillars for his project in integrating all the factions in the liberated region under one umbrella. If no strategic measures are taken, he will face the dilemma of dismantling the structure of his organization in favor of his former “brothers” in the curriculum.

The third scenario is the possibility of starting the implementation of the project of organizing the liberated area with a unified army comprising all the factions in one operating room led by the Sham Corps and supporting the government of rescue, in addition to the implementation of the Idlib agreement, including the reopening of international roads. Turkish policy on the administration of the liberated area.

References

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