Lions of the East Army
Lions of the East Army | |
---|---|
جيش أسود الشرقية Jaysh Usud al-Sharqiya | |
Leaders | |
Dates of operation | August 2014 – present |
Active regions | Since April 2018:
Until April 2018: |
Ideology | See ideology section |
Size | |
Part of | Authenticity and Development Front (formerly)[2] Southern Front (formerly) [6] |
Allies | Forces of Martyr Ahmad al-Abdo Syrian Civil War
|
Website | https://asoodalsharqia.wordpress.com/ |
The Lions of the East Army (
History
The origins of the Lions of the East Army trace back to the
Since its formation, the Lions of the East Army has fought alongside other rebel groups against ISIL in the southern Syrian Desert and the Qalamoun Mountains, and despite reversals has managed to capture much territory. To expand its strength, Salama's group has recruited both young men from areas they have taken from ISIL, as well as former ISIL fighters who have surrendered. According to Salama, many ISIL fighters are "simple people and many had no choice" but to cooperate with the Islamist organization. The Lions of the East Army tries to "rehabilitate" ISIL members, with the group's cleric for example explaining to locals and prisoners why ISIL is not "Islamic".
In June 2016, the Lions joined an ultimately unsuccessful
In April 2018, along with other rebel groups in the eastern Qalamoun, fighters of the Lions of the East Army were evacuated to Turkish-occupied areas in the northern Aleppo Governorate, thus leaving the Southern Front coalition.
Ideology
The group appears to have no unifying ideology besides aiming at overthrowing Assad's government and defeating ISIL. Some units within the Lions of the East Army had no ideological commitments at all before merging into the group,
Organization
Structure
The Lions of the East Army is led by Tlass al-Salama (also known as "Abu Faisal"), with his deputy being Abu Barzan al-Sultani. Although the army came into existence as a merger of 12 rebel factions, with more units such as the Lions of Sunna Brigade joining later, these groups have fully integrated into the organization and abandoned their individual identities. The militias that have joined the army are:[2]
- Lions of Sunna Brigade (originally from Deir ez-Zor, not to be mistaken for Daraa based Lions of Sunna Brigade)[10][11]
- Lions of Umayyad Brigade
- Qadisiya Brigade
- Bayariq al-Shaitat
- Descendants of Aisha Battalion
- Abu Ubaidah ibn al-JarrahBattalion
- Hamza Battalion
- Son of al-Qaim Brigade
- Mujahid Omar MukhtarBrigade
- Bashair al-Nasr Brigade
- Ahwaz Brigade
- Shield of the Ummah Brigade
- Conquest Brigade
- Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr Group
- Commandos of the Desert Brigade (former, defected to the Syrian Army)better source needed]
- Lions of the Asima Brigade (former, later joined the 8th Brigade of Jaysh al-Islam)[2]
The Lions of the East Army divides its operations into two sectors, one for Eastern Qalamoun and one for the desert.[2] By August 2017, around 100 fighters of the group were left in the Eastern Qalamoun, surrounded by government forces.[13]
Since its formation, the group has tried to adapt to desert warfare, with its commander noting the great difficulties of controlling territory and organizing logistics in the Syrian Desert. Lions of the East fighters are trained and paid a salary of $150 per month by the Military Operations Center (MOC) based in Amman, Jordan.[1]
Equipment
The army members mostly use
See also
- List of armed groups in the Syrian Civil War
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Shelly Kittleson (21 April 2017). "Syrian rebel group just trying to get home". al-Monitor. Retrieved 22 April 2017.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v Alexander McKeever (17 April 2017). "Jaysh Usud al-Sharqiya: Exiles of the Euphrates". Bellingcat.
- ^ "The Syrian Rebellion Observatory". The Syrian Rebellion Observatory. 28 January 2015. Retrieved 17 March 2015.
- ^ a b c "THE MODERATE REBELS: A GROWING LIST OF VETTED GROUPS FIELDING BGM-71 TOW ANTI-TANK GUIDED MISSILES". Hasan Mustafas. 5 August 2015.
- ^ "News Update 4-20-15". Syria Direct. 2015-04-20. Retrieved 2017-02-23.
- ^ a b c "Russian air strikes kill Syrian refugees on Jordan border: Rebels". Middle East Eye. 13 July 2016.
- ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2020-03-07. Retrieved 2017-01-04.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ "Syrian Rebellion Obs on Twitter: "#SRO | GROUP STUDIES - Most of Jaysh Usud al-Sharqiya fighters joining New Syrian Army (#NSA) as many of their brothers from #Deir_Ezzor."". Twitter. Retrieved 2017-02-23.
- ^ a b "The leader of Jaysh Assud Al-Sharqiyah 'Talass Al-Salama' to DeirEzzor 24: The SDF and Assad's forces are two sides of the same coin". Deir Ezzor 24. 27 July 2017.
- ^ https://017qndpynh-flywheel.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/JUaS-infographic-1200x1011.jpg [bare URL image file]
- ^ hasanmustafas (8 May 2015). "The Moderate Rebels: A Growing List of Vetted Groups Fielding BGM-71 TOW Anti-Tank Guided Missiles".
- ^ "R/Syriancivilwar - All militants of "Commandos of Desert" Brigade, including its Commander "Muhammad Sha'aban" (Al-Dab3), in Dumayr city join Syria Arab Army, defecting from FSA's Jaish Usud Al-Sharqiyah". 16 April 2018.
- ^ Shelly Kittleson (7 August 2017). "Rebel groups weigh options in Syria's east". Al-Monitor.