Sultan Murad Division

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Sultan Murad Division
لواء السلطان مراد / Sultan Murat Tümeni
Leaders
Dates of operation28 March 2013[7]–present
Group(s)
  • Sultan Murad Brigade
    • Sultan Murad Battalion
  • Martyr Zaki Turkmani Brigade
  • Ashbal Akida Brigade
  • Sultan Malik-Shah Brigade[8]
  • Homs Revolutionary Union[5]
  • Homs al-Adiya Brigades (former)[9]
Headquarters
Active regionsSyria
Libya (since 2019)
Azerbaijan (2020)
Niger (since 2024)[11][12]
Togo (since 2024)[11]
Burkina Faso (since 2024)[12]
IdeologyPan-Turkism[13]
Size1,300 (2013)
550+ (2016)
9000 (2021, claimed)
Part ofSyrian opposition Free Syrian Army
Syrian opposition Syrian National Army Ansar al-Sharia (Syria) (2015–16)
Fatah Halab (2015–16)
Mare' Operations Room (2015-2016)
Hawar Kilis Operations Room (2016-)
Allies
Opponents
Battles and wars
Websitehttp://sultanmurattumeni.com

The Sultan Murad Division (

Syrian Civil War. It is aligned with the Syrian Interim Government and heavily supported by Turkey, who provides funding and military training along with artillery and aerial support. It is the most notable group among Syrian Turkmen Brigades
also supported by Turkey.

Ideology and structure

The Sultan Murad Division is one of several Syrian rebel groups that support or at least tolerate Islamist, Turkish nationalist or pan-Turkic ideologies like Neo-Ottomanism and Turanism.[21]

Among the commanders of the group are Ahmed Othman,[1] Fahim Issa[2] and Ali Şeyh Salih, who is an ethnic Arab.[22][23]

Equipment

Among the Syrian rebel groups participating in the

Turkish military intervention in Syria, the Sultan Murad Division is the group that receives the most support from the Turkish Armed Forces. It operates at least 8 FNSS ACV-15 armoured personnel carriers during the operation. The group also operate Milkor MGL grenade launchers.[citation needed
]

The main heavy weapons of the group consist of

anti-tank missiles from the United States
, although more support is given by Turkey than the US since the former's intervention.

History

The Sultan Murad Brigade was formed in early 2013 and mainly operated in the Aleppo Governorate. By 2016, the group claimed to have around 1,300 fighters.[24]

In February 2016, it joined the

Jaysh al-Thuwar (JaT), an FSA group affiliated to the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces.[25] A high-ranking military JaT commander "Abu Udai Menagh" was reported to have defected to the Sultan Murad Division in August 2016.[26]

It fought against ISIL in the

ISIL in the Battle of al-Rai (August 2016).[28] In February 2017, it captured al-Bab from ISIL.[29]

Syrian National Army

It took part in the

Turkish military intervention in Syria. In mid-2017, it was under the command of Fahim Issa and was part of the Hawar Kilis Operations Room, which received ground support from Turkish artillery.[3] It formed the "Sultan Murad Bloc" with other units within the Syrian National Army (SNA).[30] In November 2017, it was reported that Sultan Murad's commander Fahim Issa was appointed as the overall commander of the Hawar Kilis Operation Room, as well as of the Sultan Murad Bloc within it. The Bloc consisted of Turkmen and Arab units including Jabhat Turkmen Souriya.[31]

Between 4 and 15 June 2017, heavy fighting broke out between SNA factions led by the Sultan Murad Division and Ahrar al-Sham and its allies in and near al-Bab. By 15 June 33 people were killed and 55 injured in the infighting. On 8 June, between 60 and 70 SNA fighters, including several Sultan Murad Division commanders, defected to the Syrian Army and the Syrian Democratic Forces during the clashes.[32] According to the Hawar Kilis Operations Room, the unit led by Abu al-Kheir al-Munbaji that defected to the government had run criminal activities and was supposed to be arrested when it deserted.[33]

In June 2019, it captured Australian ISIL member Mohamed Zuhbi near Afrin, holding him for three months before handing him to Turkey for trial.[34]

In late 2019, it took part in Operation Peace Spring, a Turkish-led offensive against the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).[35]

In early November 2019, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, the Homs al-Adiyyeh Brigade of the Sultan Murad Division defected to Jaysh al-Izza after the unilateral release of several Syrian Army prisoners of war by the Turkish government in the context of the Second Northern Syria Buffer Zone.[36]

Fighting outside Syria

According to Turkish sources and an activist in Afrin, the Sultan Murad Division was one of the groups which volunteered to send fighters to

Syrian Observatory on Human Rights says these fighters include minors.[41] One Sultan Murad squad leader, Murad Abu Hamoud Al-Azizi, was reported by Egypt Today as killed in Tripoli in fighting that month.[42]

Sultan Murad Division fighters have also been reported to have been deployed by Turkey in Azerbaijan in 2020.[43][44][45][46]

In 2024, 550 fighters from the Sultan Murad Division were reportedly deployed to

anti-ISIS campaign on behalf of the Nigerien government.[47][48]

War crimes

See also:
Human rights violations during the Syrian Civil War § Free Syrian Army and other armed opposition fighters

Alleged torture of POWs

After Turkish-backed rebels captured the town of

Jarabulus Military Council and questioned by Kurdish Anti-Terror Units, confessing to torturing the YPG prisoners. The Sultan Murad prisoners reportedly said the YPG prisoners were handed by the Division to Turkey.[49]

Shelling of civilian areas

On 25 October 2013, the Sultan Murad Division shelled a monastery in Aleppo.[50]

According to an

Sheikh Maqsoud during the Battle of Aleppo by the Fatah Halab joint operations room, which included the Sultan Murad Division, killed between February and April 2016 at least 83 civilians, including 30 children, and injured more than 700 civilians.[51] Amnesty International's regional director suggested that these repeated indiscriminate attacks constitute war crimes.[51]

A February 2017 report by the

Sheikh Maqsoud and then intentionally attacked civilian inhabited neighbourhoods of the Kurdish enclave, killing and maiming dozens of civilians, and that these acts constitute the war crime of directing attacks against a civilian population.[52][53][verification needed
].

Pillage

In September 2020, the United Nations

Office for the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) and the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic reported on human rights abuses by Syrian National Army fighters in NW Syria. Among these were "Division 24 (the Sultan Murad Brigade), repeatedly perpetrated the war crime of pillage in both the Afrin and Ra’s al-Ayn regions [of Aleppo and Hasakah Governorates]... and may also be responsible for the war crime of destroying or seizing the property of an adversary."[54][55] In one case, a civilian from Tel al-Arisha village displaced by fighting had to buy back his own looted possessions from a Sultan Murad officer.[56][55] The commission received reports of forced marriage and abduction of Kurdish women involving members of the Division.[56]

Child soldiers

In a 2021 Trafficking in Persons (TIP) report by the United States Department of State Turkey was implicated in using child soldiers by providing support to Sultan Murad Division which have been found to be recruiting minors in Syria, and also sending them to Libya to fight.[57][58][59][60]

Kidnap and torture of civilians

Afrin Post reported that the group kidnapped a civilian, named Khalil Manla, after he filed a complaint against them and detained him to their headquarters. They beat and tortured him before released him on a ransom of 1,000 Turkish liras.[61]

See also

References

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  2. ^ a b "SULTAN MURAT TÜMENİ KOMUTANI FEHİM İSA TATHAMUS TÜRKMEN KÖYÜNÜN DEAŞ TERÖR ÖRGÜTÜNDEN TEMİZLENDİĞİNİ AÇIKLADI". 24 August 2016.
  3. ^ a b "How Turkey intends to secure return of Syrian refugees". Al-Monitor. 9 March 2016. Retrieved 27 May 2021.
  4. ^ "TÜRKMEN KOMUTANIMIZ ALİ SALİH ŞEHİT DÜŞTÜ". 4 October 2016. Archived from the original on 6 October 2016.
  5. ^ a b "Commander of the "rebels Khalidiya" .. fought in Homs and Idlib and was assassinated in the door". Enab Baladi. 20 June 2017.
  6. ^ Çelik, Mehmet (13 October 2015). "US-equipped YPG commits war crimes, human rights watchdogs say". Daily Sabah. Retrieved 27 May 2021.
  7. ^ "Sultan Murat Tümeni".
  8. ^ "Cerablus'taki Durumu, Suriye Türkmen Meclisi Bşk. Anlatıyor - Detay 13 - TRT Avaz". YouTube. 7 September 2016.
  9. ^ "The "free" handover of regime's prisoners and violations of the Turkey-loyal factions open doors of anger and resentment in the ranks of the "National Army," leaked recordings of members of "Ahrar al-Sharqiyyah": The blame is on the minister of defense and faction leaders, not Turkey, and mercenaries now steal their parents and consider it as spoils of war • the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights". 2 November 2019.
  10. ^ "Halep'te Türkmen mahalleleri tamamen yıkıldı!". Yeniçağ Gazetesi (in Turkish). 29 November 2016. Retrieved 2 December 2024.
  11. ^ a b c d "Pro-Turkey Syria mercenaries head to Niger to earn cash". Agence France-Presse. 16 May 2024.
  12. ^ a b c Hassan Ibrahim (13 May 2024). "Turkey recruits Syrians to fight in Africa under supervision of Sultan Murad Division". Enab Baladi.
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  14. ^ Khatib, Khaled (26 May 2017). "Aleppo: opposition to end "the Knights of the Revolution"". Al-Modon.
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  18. ^ SOHR: 13,000 Pro-Turkey Mercenaries Arrive in Libya See.news, 19 May 2020
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  22. ^ http://www.suriyegundemi.com/2016/10/10/isid-tarafindan-oldurulen-komutan-ali-seyh-salih/ Archived 20 February 2020 at the Wayback Machine IŞİD Tarafından Öldürülen Komutan: Ali Şeyh Salih
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  34. ^ Welch, Dylan (8 May 2021). "Accused Islamic State supporter Mohamed Zuhbi arrives in Australia after being deported from Turkey". ABC News. Retrieved 27 May 2021.
  35. ^ Kajjo, Sirwan (9 October 2019). "Which Syrian Groups Are Involved in Turkey's Syria Offensive?". Voice of America. Retrieved 27 May 2021.
  36. ^ "The "free" handover of regime's prisoners and violations of the Turkey-loyal factions open doors of anger and resentment in the ranks of the "National Army," leaked recordings of members of "Ahrar al-Sharqiyyah": the blame is on the minister of defense and faction leaders, not Turkey, and mercenaries now steal their parents and consider it as spoils of war • The Syrian Observatory For Human Rights". The Syrian Observatory For Human Rights. 2 November 2019. Retrieved 3 November 2019.
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  60. ^ "Report: Child soldiers deployed to Libya by Turkish-backed Syrian National Army". Al-Monitor. 8 May 2020. Retrieved 27 August 2021.
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