Armed groups operating under the Syrian Interim Government and affiliated with the occupying Turkish state continue their attacks and attempts to enter the Sheikh Maqsoud (Şêxmeqsûd), Ashrafieh (Eşrefiye), and Bani Zeid neighborhoods of Aleppo.
The Aleppo Internal Security Forces are responding to the attacks based on legitimate self-defense. Since Tuesday, 6 January, seven people have been killed and more than 50 others injured in the ongoing assaults.
According to ANHA, the main armed groups, listed under international sanctions and carrying out attacks on these neighborhoods under the umbrella of the interim government, are as follows:
Nureddin al-Zenki
The Nureddin al-Zenki Movement was established on 1 November 2011. The group, affiliated with the occupying Turkish army, took part in attacks on the Sheikh Maqsoud neighborhood between 2012 and 2016 and committed numerous crimes against civilians during this period.
Although the group’s leaders described their ideology as “moderate Islam,” its practices on the ground and its actions followed an ethnic, sectarian, and Salafi line. A notable example was the beheading of a Palestinian child in the Shaar neighborhood of Aleppo on 19 July 2019.
Following this incident, the United States canceled the “Timber Sycamore” program, which had provided funding to armed groups affiliated with the Turkish state. According to numerous reports, these groups were financed by Turkey through the Ministry of Transport.
The Nureddin al-Zenki Movement was placed on terrorism lists in 2015 during the peace talks held in Vienna. During this period, Jordan (Jordanian authorities) served as the country authorized to classify and list terrorist organizations.
According to reports by human rights organizations, Nureddin al-Zenki, together with the 16th Division (16th Division), the Levant Front (al-Jabha al-Shamiya), and Ahrar al-Sham, abducted journalists and humanitarian aid workers and subjected them to torture in areas under their control between 2014 and 2015. The reports also state that opponents were executed by being thrown from buildings.
Heavy clashes with Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) in 2019 led to the dissolution of the Nureddin al-Zenki group, which later joined Faylaq al-Majd under the name “Liwa al-Thalith.”
Faylaq al-Majd
Faylaq al-Majd was established in 2017 by Turkish intelligence. The group first took part in attacks on Afrin (Efrîn) in 2018, after which the city was occupied. While most of Faylaq al-Majd’s attacks have targeted areas of North and East Syria, the group did not engage in direct confrontation with the former Syrian regime. This stands in clear contradiction to its declared rhetoric of “fighting the regime.”
Despite being a relatively newly formed group, its leader Yasir Ebdurehîm is widely known for crimes committed against the Syrian people, particularly Kurds. It is also known that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has publicly praised Ebdurehîm on multiple occasions.
Originally from the village of Tirmenin in Idlib, Ebdurehîm is alleged, according to numerous video recordings, to have directed artillery attacks against civilians in the Sheikh Maqsoud neighborhood between 2015 and 2016. These attacks reportedly resulted in the deaths of more than 350 civilians. He is also accused of the use of chemical weapons in three separate attacks in the same neighborhood in 2016.
In 2019, members of Faylaq al-Majd captured Çiçek Kobane, a fighter with the Women’s Protection Units (YPJ). In footage released at the time, she was shown posed beside a Turkish flag, accompanied by threats that she would be beheaded. Çiçek Kobane had been taking part in a resistance campaign prior to her capture in the village of Meşrefe.
Ebdurehîm’s name has also been linked to numerous other crimes, including the beheading of a Palestinian child in Aleppo and acts of public display and desecration directed at the bodies of fighters from the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).
Faylaq al-Majd operates primarily in the occupied area of Tal Abyad (Girê Spî), where it bears direct responsibility for demographic change, kidnappings, and the torture of civilians.
It is further reported that the group has been covertly deployed to Libya and Niger in line with directives from the Turkish army.
Faylaq al-Sham
Faylaq al-Sham is known for its close ties to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and is therefore referred to as “al-Wakil.” Since 2016, the group has actively participated in all occupation operations carried out by Turkey in Syria.
Approximately one thousand members of the group reportedly fought in Libya alongside the Turkey-backed Government of National Accord (GNA). The group was also deployed against Armenia in favor of Azerbaijan during the Nagorno-Karabakh war.
Faylaq al-Sham has played a role in the arrest, abduction, and torture of Syrians opposing Turkey’s presence in occupied areas, particularly in Afrin.
Founded in March 2014, the armed group took full control of Idlib city center in the summer of 2015 as part of the Jaish al-Fatah alliance, together with HTS. It later became involved in clashes with HTS due to disputes over control areas and influence.
Today, Faylaq al-Sham operates as one of the key armed groups implementing Turkey’s military and political plans on the Syrian battlefield.
Al-Jabha al-Shamiya
Al-Jabha al-Shamiya (Levant Front) was established in Aleppo in 2014. It took part in attacks on the Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh neighborhoods, as well as in the occupation of the Afrin and Shahba regions. These attacks resulted in the deaths and injuries of thousands of civilians.
The armed group is led by Ezam Xerîb (Abu al-Iz Saraqib), who is also reported to be responsible for operations in Aleppo province and is known for the seizure of civilian property.
In 2021, Al-Jabha al-Shamiya joined the Syrian National Army (SNA) Third Corps. This structure consists of five groups, with its most significant component being the Islamic Front, which was established in 2013 with the aim of founding an “Islamic state.”
The group also includes smaller armed formations fragmented by internal disputes, looting, and personal interest conflicts. These include Jaysh al-Mujahideen, Kataib Nureddin al-Zenki, and Fastaqim Kama Umirt, which refused to join Faylaq al-Majd.
Emshat, Hemzat and the “Joint Force”
The name of this armed group has been changed several times since 2011 due to shifting sources of funding. Initially known as the “Nar Line Group,” it later adopted the name al-Sultan Suleiman Shah Brigade, drawing on Ottoman-era references. Over time, the group became one of the closest armed groups linked to the Turkish army, moved away from its declared objectives against the Syrian regime, and began targeting Kurdish regions.
According to available information, members of Turkish intelligence were reportedly trapped at the group’s base in Haideriye in Aleppo when the Baath regime laid siege to eastern neighborhoods of Aleppo in the autumn of 2016.
Although the group presents itself as a Turkmen formation, the majority of its leaders and members are not from Syria’s Turkmen community. Instead, they are described as being composed largely of so-called “New Turks.”
The armed group known as Emshat is not Turkmen. Its leader originates from an Arab tribe in the Hosa district of the Jibalin region north of Hama and was previously a driver of agricultural machinery. After the outbreak of the uprising, he is reported to have turned into a perpetrator of violence against the Syrian people and began serving Turkey’s interests.
Hemzat, also known as the Hamza Division, is led by Saif Bulad Abu Bakr. The group was established in Marea in 2016 by order of Turkey, with the participation of several armed groups.
The group’s mission has been described as direct involvement in plans attributed to the Turkish state aimed at the displacement of Kurds and the alteration of the demographic structure of Kurdish regions. In 2020, the group drew attention after revelations emerged unexpectedly regarding the abduction of Kurdish women and their detention in secret prisons.
The name of Abu Bakr was also linked to the killing of activist and journalist Mihemed Ebdullatif (Abu Xenum) and his pregnant wife in 2022 in the town of al-Bab (Babê), north of Aleppo.
Thousands of crimes against the Syrian people have been attributed to these armed groups. Due to these crimes, the United States Department of the Treasury imposed sanctions on the Hemzat and Emshat groups in 2023.
It is widely reported that the leaders of both armed groups maintain cooperation with Devlet Bahçeli, leader of the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), and Alaattin Çakıcı, described as a leading figure within the Turkish mafia.
Numerous reports have also indicated that armed groups affiliated with the Grey Wolves Movement, regarded as the militant wing of the MHP, took part in clashes around the Tishrin Dam and the Qereqozaq Bridge.
Armed groups from both formations later established a joint structure known as the “Joint Force.” Following a meeting with Ahmed Al-Sharaa (al-Jolani), they withdrew from the Syrian National Coalition without providing any justification. This withdrawal was also reported to have taken place in line with directives from Turkey.
Sultan Murad Brigade
Reports indicate that the armed group known as the Sultan Murad Brigade was established in 2012 by Turkish intelligence. One striking detail is that the group takes its name from an Ottoman sultan. Sub-groups operating within the Sultan Murad Brigade include the Sultan Muhammad al-Fatih Brigade, the Zeki Turkmen Brigade, and the Ashbal al-Aqida Brigade.
Armed fighters from ISIS who fled during the operation that liberated Baxoz later joined this armed group. Reports also indicate that a significant number of Turkish soldiers and Turkish intelligence personnel are present within the group. Wearing “Military Division” uniforms and carrying both the Sultan Murad flag and the Turkish flag, group members are also tasked with transporting military equipment from Turkey to occupied areas of Syria.
On 10 December 2024, when Sultan Murad armed groups occupied Manbij (Minbic), they killed wounded combatants. Footage shared at the time shows armed groups speaking Arabic and Turkish killing commanders of the Manbij Military Council, as well as civilians who resisted the occupation.
The Sultan Murad armed group was also the first to approve Turkey’s policy of deploying Syrian armed groups to fight in Libya, Niger, and Azerbaijan, thereby paving the way for other armed groups to follow. Due to allegations that group leaders seized fighters’ salaries and sent them to conflicts in Libya and Niger, approximately 3,000 members reportedly withdrew from the group.
In 2018, following the occupation of Afrin, members of the Sultan Murad armed group hung a large portrait of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Xer Mountain in the town of Bilbil.
The list of crimes attributed to the Sultan Murad armed groups is extensive. In occupied Afrin and Azaz, they are accused of committing grave crimes including abduction, rape, and blackmail. They are also reported to run Rai Prison and several detention facilities under the control of Turkish intelligence.
Al-Mu’tasem Group
The armed group was established in Mare, Aleppo province, in the summer of 2015. Initially, its armed units were active in the northern countryside of Latakia. They were later forced by HTS to relocate to the northern countryside of Aleppo.
The Al-Mu’tasem group facilitated the entry of the occupying Turkish army into Syrian territory. It also took part in the occupation attacks on Afrin in 2018 and on Tal Abyad and Ras al-Ayn (Serêkaniyê) in 2019.
The group leaders have frequently faced accusations including allegations of corruption, abuse of authority, and the looting of public and so-called “revolutionary” property. These allegations reportedly led to internal clashes within the group in the summer of 2024.
Al-Jabha al-Wataniya li-Tahrir
The armed group Al-Jabha al-Wataniya li-Tahrir (National Liberation Front) was formed in 2018. It includes armed factions such as Jaysh al-Nasr, Ahrar al-Sharqiya, Jabhat Tahrir Suriya, Jaysh al-Nukhba, Suqour al-Sham, and several others. Armed units affiliated with these groups carried out attacks on the Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh neighborhoods in 2015 and 2016. These attacks resulted in the killing of hundreds of civilians and the displacement of hundreds more.
Armed groups affiliated with Ahrar al-Sharqiya, which is part of the National Liberation Front, attacked a Peshmerga family celebrating Newroz on 20 March 2023 in the Jindires district of Afrin. Five members of the same family were killed, and many others were injured. The attack sparked widespread outrage and calls for the perpetrators to be held accountable.
Following the fall of the Baath regime, these armed groups joined the so-called “Syrian Army” on the orders of the occupying Turkish state, while continuing to exist in practice. They remain under the control of the Turkish state. Attacks on North and East Syria have continued, with the largest assault targeting the Tishrin Dam.