Rashid Abu Khawla
Rashid Abu Khawla أبو خولة | |
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Syrian Civil War
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Rashid Abu Khawla, also known as Ahmed al-Khbeil, is a former commander in the
Background
Prior to the
Biography
Prior to SDF
In 2013 he and his group assisted the Syrian rebels in besieging the 113th Brigade of the Syrian army in Deir ez-Zor.
In 2014 after the rise of the
After joining SDF
By February 2016 he had returned to Syria and claimed to have established a new group allied with the Syrian Democratic Forces, opposed to ISIL.
In March 2016, he formally announced that he and his group had joined SDF, and he would later become the spokesman of SDF's Deir ez-Zor Military Council.
On 24 March 2016, he announced that the Deir ez-Zor Military Council had captured several villages from ISIL in northwestern Deir ez-Zor.[3]
In February 2017, he was arrested by the SDF which accused him and his group known as the "Gathering of the Baggara Youth" of not effectively participating in SDF's offensive against ISIL, however activists and individuals linked to him and his group claimed SDF arrested him for his desire to integrate fighters who had defected from groups that took part in Operation Euphrates Shield into his ranks. He was held for at least four days and later released.[4]
In April 2019, activists reported that he became involved with oil smuggling from Deir ez-Zor with an individual known as "Abu Bakr al-Homsi", that reportedly served as a broker on behalf of a company, between the SDF and the Syrian government, and he had also previously organized oil sales on behalf of ISIL.[5]
In July 2019, during an interview Khawla stated that he and his groups cooperated with the governments of
Arrest and dismissal from the SDF
On August 27, 2023, Abu Khawla was arrested by the SDF in Al-Hasakah and dismissed from his position as commander of the Deir ez-Zor Military Council.
Following Abu Khawla's arrest and dismissal, large-scale
See also
References
- ^ "What happened between the coalition and the regime in the countryside of Deir Ezzor .. And what is the importance of the region that witnessed the biggest confrontation between them?". February 8, 2018.
- Al Monitor. Retrieved 27 October 2023.
- ^ "Managing Washington's Flawed Partners in Eastern Syria". www.washingtoninstitute.org.
- ^ "Military police of SDF arrest leader of al-Bakkara Youth Gathering Yasser al-Dahla, the defected of Syrian Elite Forces – #SOHR". Archived from the original on 2017-10-02. Retrieved 2019-10-01.
- ^ "YPG militia Oil Smuggling network to the Syrian regime-held areas of Deir al-Zour". Call Syria. April 5, 2019.
- ^ "Abu Khawla: We coordinate with Russia and I brought thousands of opposition fighters to our areas". npasyria.com.
- ^ "Deir ez-Zor Military Official: We will attack the Iranian forces that make a demographic change, in case of a green light". npasyria.com.
- ^ "Security operation – SDF arrests "Abo Khola" the head of Deir Ezzor Military Council in Estirahet Al-Wazeer". SyriaHR. SyriaHR. Retrieved 2 September 2023.
- ^ "Statement On Dismissal Of Ahmed Al-Khubail Aka Abu Khawla". SDF Press. Retrieved 2 September 2023.
- ^ "SDF confirms dismissal of top commander in eastern Syria". Rudaw. Retrieved 2 September 2023.
- ^ "Fighting between Arab tribes and SDF spreads to northwest Syria". Al Jazeera. Al Jazeera. Retrieved 2 September 2023.