46-580: Hamza Division may refer to: Hamza Division (Aleppo) Hamza Division (Daraa) Topics referred to by the same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title Hamza Division . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Hamza_Division&oldid=1019180100 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description
92-574: A terrorist organization. The flag of the YPG is also a banned symbol in Germany as per Strafgesetzbuch section 86a , although the organization itself is not recognised as terrorist. Finland and Sweden's alleged support for the YPG, is one of the points which caused Turkey to oppose Finland and Sweden's NATO accession bid . In June 2022, then–Finnish President Sauli Niinistö announced in Madrid , after
138-561: A wholly Kurdish force, the YPG began to recruit Arabs from at least 2012. In July 2012, the YPG had a standoff with Syrian government forces in the Kurdish city of Kobanî and the surrounding areas. After negotiations, government forces withdrew and the YPG took control of Kobanî , Amuda , and Afrin . By December 2012, it had expanded to eight brigades , which were formed in Qamishlo , Kobanî, and Ras al-Ayn (Serê Kaniyê), and in
184-641: Is a Kurdish militant group in Syria and the primary component of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). YPG provides updates about its activities through YPG Press Office Telegram channel and social media accounts. The YPG mostly consists of Kurds , but also includes Arabs and foreign volunteers ; it is closely allied to the Syriac Military Council , an Assyrian militia. The YPG was formed in 2011. It expanded rapidly in
230-623: Is autonomy. Although operating under an overarching tactical rubric, YPG brigades are inculcated with a high degree of freedom and can adapt to the changing battlefield. The YPG relies heavily on snipers and backs them by suppressing enemy fire using mobile heavy machine guns. It also uses roadside bombs to prevent outflanking maneuvers, particularly at night. Its lines have generally held when attacked by Islamic State (IS) forces who have better equipment, including helmets and body armor. The YPG and People's Defense Forces (HPG) have also trained and equipped more than 1,000 Yazidis , who operate in
276-630: Is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Hamza Division (Aleppo) Former: Second Libyan Civil War (since 2020) (alleged) The al-Hamza Division ( Arabic : فرقة الحمزة ) is a Syrian rebel group in northwestern Syria affiliated with the Syrian National Army , trained and equipped by the United States , the United Kingdom and Turkey as part of
322-632: Is that Euphrates Volcano was limited to coordinating the activities of independent Kurdish and Arab groups, while the SDF is a single organisation made up of Kurds, Arabs, and Assyrians . The first success of the SDF was the capture of the strategic ethnically Arab town of al-Hawl from IS during the al-Hawl offensive in November 2015. This was followed in December by the Tishrin Dam offensive . The dam
368-595: The Free Syrian Army and IS in January 2014. The YPG collaborated with FSA groups to fight IS in Raqqa province; the group also formed an operations room with multiple FSA factions, called Euphrates Volcano . However, the general outcome of this campaign was a massive advance by IS, which effectively separated the eastern part of Rojava from the main force of FSA rebels. IS followed up on its success by attacking
414-550: The Mount Sinjar area as local defense units under their supervision. The YPG calls itself a people's army, and therefore appoints officers by internal elections. A 20-year-old female YPJ fighter named Zlukh Hamo (Nom de guerre: Avesta Khabur) was reported to have carried out a suicide attack towards Turkish troops and a tank during the early phase of the Afrin Offensive , killing herself and several soldiers in
460-661: The Syrian Civil War and came to predominate over other armed Syrian Kurdish groups. A sister militia, the Women's Protection Units (YPJ), fights alongside them. The YPG is active in the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (Rojava), particularly in its Kurdish regions . In early 2015, the group won a major victory over the Islamic State (IS) during the siege of Kobanî , where
506-1021: The Syrian Front for Liberation . They include the Sultan Suleiman Shah Division, Hamza Division, al-Mutasim Brigade , Suqour al-Sham Brigades and the 20th Division. On August 17, 2023, the United States imposed sanctions on the Hamza Division and its leader "in connection to serious human rights abuses committed in northern Syria, including abduction, severe physical abuse, and rape." YPG Iraqi Civil War Nalîn Dêrik Sozdar Dêrik Serhildan Garisî Foreign intervention in behalf of Syrian rebels U.S.-led intervention against ISIL 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 The People's Defense Units ( YPG ), also called People's Protection Units ,
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#1732765409345552-761: The Syrian Train and Equip Program . Formed in 2013, it cooperates with the Turkish Armed Forces in the Turkish occupation of northern Syria . The Hamza Division was originally formed as the Hamza Brigade of the Free Syrian Army (FSA) in the southern countryside of the Hasakah Governorate in northeast Syria in 2013. On 23 April 2016, five FSA groups based in the town of Mare' in the northern Aleppo Governorate countryside,
598-505: The YPG and the Army of Revolutionaries , warning them to leave Tell Rifaat within 48 hours after which they would attack the town. The threat was not carried out. On 24 September 2017, the Hamza Division announced the opening of a military academy in the city of al-Bab . According to Abdullah Halawa, the military commander of the group, 2,200 fighters were to undergo two months of training in
644-692: The al-Shaddadi offensive , followed by the Manbij offensive in May, and the Raqqa and Aleppo offensives in November. These operations extended SDF-controlled territory, usually at IS's expense. On 7 April 2016, the Kurdish neighborhood of Sheikh Maqsood in Aleppo was shelled with mortars that may have contained chemical agents (160 killed or wounded). Spokesperson for the YPG said that Saudi Arabia -backed Jaysh al-Islam (Army of Islam) rebel group has attacked
690-615: The conquest of Tell Abyad , linking up Kobanî with Hasakah in July 2015. With the capture of Tell Abyad, the YPG has also broken a major supply route of fighters and goods for the Islamic State. With these offensives, the YPG had begun to make advances into areas that did not always have a Kurdish majority. When the YPG and the FSA entered the border town of Tell Abyad in June 2015, parts of
736-706: The FSA and IS had led to a normalization in the relations between FSA and YPG since the end of 2013. In February 2015, the YPG signed a judicial agreement with the Levant Front in Aleppo . The YPG was able and willing to offensively engage and put pressure on IS and had built up a track record as a reliable military partner of the US. In 2015, the YPG began its advance on Tel Abyad , a move they have planned for since November 2013. With American close air support, offensives near Hasakah and from Hasakah westward culminated in
782-821: The Hamza Brigade, the Dhi Qar Brigade, the Northern Thunder Brigade, the Mare Resistance Brigade, and the Special Operations Brigade merged into the Hamza Division, citing "interests of unity" and proclaiming its intention to fight the "crime and terror" of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) and the Syrian government . Under the command of Syrian Army defector Lt. Sayf Balud ("Sayf Abu Bakr"),
828-558: The Islamic State, AFVs left behind by the Syrian Arab Army (SyAA), equipment turned over by the SyAA in exchange for a safe passage (for example, after retreating from Mennagh airbase in 2014), and armoured vehicles donated by the US for light armoured vehicles and true armour. While other Syrian Civil War factions, such as the Islamic State , amassed an arsenal of hundreds of tanks and other armored fighting vehicles captured from
874-459: The Kurdish neighborhood of Aleppo with "forbidden weapons" many times since the war's start. The Women's Protection Units (YPJ), also known as the Women's Defense Units, is the YPG's female brigade, which was set up in 2012. Kurdish media have said that YPJ troops became vital during the siege of Kobanî . Consisting of approximately 20,000 fighters, they make up around 40% of the YPG. In 2017,
920-768: The Self Protection units (YXG). Existing underground Kurdish political parties, the Democratic Union Party (PYD) and the Kurdish National Council (KNC), joined to form the Kurdish Supreme Committee (KSC) and established the People's Protection Units (YPG) militia to defend Kurdish-inhabited areas in northern Syria, i.e. Syrian Kurdistan and the Kurdish enclave of Sheikh Maqsood in Aleppo . Originally
966-467: The Syrian Arab Army, the YPG, which frequently avoided combat with government forces, had to make do with scraps. The YPG was able to acquire several vehicle types, including the BTR-60 and BRDM-2 , that had been abandoned in government bases by their previous owners. With no other option, even these abandoned vehicles would be repaired and repurposed by the YPG. Even when the engine couldn't be repaired,
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#17327654093451012-707: The YPG and the FSA in Kobanî Canton in March and fighting its way to the gates of the city of Kobanî in September. The actual siege of Kobanî approximately coincided with an escalation in the American-led intervention in Syria . This intervention had started with aiding the FSA against the government, but when the FSA was getting defeated by IS in eastern Syria, it escalated to bombing IS on Syrian territory. With
1058-498: The YPG began to form units called regiments in translation, though they are smaller than comparable units in standard militaries: According to a report in IHS Jane's regarding the YPG, Relying on speed, stealth, and surprise, it is the archetypal guerrilla army, able to deploy quickly to front lines and concentrate its forces before quickly redirecting the axis of its attack to outflank and ambush its enemy. The key to its success
1104-418: The YPG began to receive air and ground support from the United States and other Combined Joint Task Force – Operation Inherent Resolve militaries. Since then, the YPG has primarily fought against IS, as well as on occasion fighting other Syrian rebel groups and the Turkish Armed Forces . In late 2015, the YPG became part of the SDF, an umbrella group intended to better incorporate Arabs and minorities into
1150-438: The YPG conquered the surrounding government-controlled areas: al-Darbasiyah (Kurdish: Dirbêsî), Tel Tamer and al-Malikiyah (Kurdish: Dêrika Hemko). The subsequent Battle of Ras al-Ayn started in earnest when on 19 November 2012, the al-Nusra Front and a second al-Qaeda affiliate, Ghuraba al-Sham , attacked Kurdish positions in the town. The battle ended with a YPG victory in July 2013. While many rebel groups clashed with
1196-600: The YPG to unite the Syrian Kurds under its banner and caused it to become the de facto army of the Syrian Kurds. In October 2013, YPG fighters took control of al-Yaarubiyah (Til Koçer) following intense clashes with IS. The clashes lasted about three days, with the Til Koçer border gate to Iraq being taken in a major offensive launched on the night of 24 October. PYD leader Salih Muslim told Stêrk TV that this success created an alternative against efforts to hold
1242-469: The YPG, jihadist and Salafist groups did so the most often. The YPG proved to be the only Kurdish militia able to effectively resist the fundamentalists. While the YPG protected the Kurdish communities it was able to extract a price: it prevented the emergence of new, rival militias and forced existing ones to cooperate with or join the YPG forces on its terms. This was how the Islamist attacks enabled
1288-448: The YPG. In order to assist the SDF in its fight against Islamic State forces in northern Syria, the YPG received a large number of infantry mobility vehicles ( IMVs ) and mine-resistant ambush protected vehicles ( MRAPs ) from the US, which appear to have replaced some of the YPG's more bizarre homemade armour designs. Surprisingly, the YPG was permitted to keep these vehicles even after IS
1334-828: The academy, with the goal of forming a "Syrian National Army" in northern Syria. In January 2018, the group participated in Operation Olive Branch , the Turkish Armed Forces ' invasion of the Afrin Region , against the YPG-led Syrian Democratic Forces . In February, the Kurdish Falcons Brigade (aka Red Berets) was formed as part of the Hamza Division. Led by Hasan Abdullah Kulli, it claimed to consist of 400 Kurds and 200 Arabs . The TAF and TFSA captured Afrin on 18 March 2018, after SDF fighters withdrew from
1380-427: The agreement with Turkey, that Finland does not see the YPG as a terrorist organization and that Finland will continue to support the YPG. The Turkish terror classification is not shared by key international bodies in the fight against the Islamic State in which the YPG takes part. Due to this Turkish view, US Army Special Operations Commander General Raymond Thomas suggested the YPG to change their name, after which
1426-535: The city. On 25 March, Hamza Division fighters killed a commander of Ahrar al-Sharqiya in Afrin in a dispute over territory and spoils of war , resulting in clashes between the two groups. In response, Ahrar al-Sharqiya arrested around 200 Hamza Division fighters. A ceasefire agreement between the two groups was signed on the same day under Turkish supervision. In June 2018, the Hamza Division assassinated an Ahrar al-Sham commander in al-Bab . The Hamza Division
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1472-468: The districts of Afrin , al-Malikiyah , and al-Bab . The YPG did not initially take an offensive posture in the Syrian Civil War. Aiming mostly to defend Kurdish-majority areas, it avoided engaging Syrian government forces, which still controlled several enclaves in Kurdish territory. The YPG changed this policy when Ras al-Ayn was taken by the al-Qaeda -affiliated al-Nusra Front . At first
1518-476: The factions receive military support from CJTF-OIR , the international coalition against ISIL. In June 2016, the Northern Thunder Brigade received BGM-71 TOW missiles from CJTF-OIR. Also that month, a Syrian Turkmen group called the " Samarkand Brigade", named after the city in Uzbekistan , joined the Hamza Division. During Operation Euphrates Shield in late August, the Hamza Division became one of
1564-467: The first FSA groups to enter Jarabulus from Karkamış . Sayf Balud was among those who followed behind Turkish Land Forces tanks and troops and entered Jarabulus in the morning of the first day of the operation, reaching the city center by afternoon. He later gave a speech to residents in Jarabulus. On 18 October 2016, the Northern Thunder Brigade, part of the Hamza Division, issued an ultimatum to
1610-483: The group, including holding female prisoners naked. During the protests members of Ahrar al-Sham and Jaysh al-Islam (exiled from East Ghouta), clashed with the Hamza Division at their headquarters and were eventually able to take over the headquarters, arresting several Hamza Division members in the process. Three Hamza Division members were killed in the course of the confrontation. On September 9, 2021, five Turkish-supported groups announced that they had merged into
1656-503: The hulls of BTR-60s were strapped to the backs of trucks and used as improvised AFVs. With little armor and other heavy weaponry, the YPG relied almost entirely on Coalition airpower to destroy Islamic State vehicles and fighting positions. While this meant that Islamic State-operated AFVs were frequently destroyed before they could inflict serious damage on YPG forces, it also meant that most AFVs were completely obliterated by Coalition aircraft, preventing their capture and further use with
1702-409: The name of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) was found. Kurdish activists attempted to unify themselves following the 2004 Qamishli riots . The riots began as clashes between rivaling football fans before taking a political turn, with Arab fans raising pictures of Saddam Hussein while the Kurdish fans reportedly proclaimed "We will sacrifice our lives for Bush". This resulted in clashes between
1748-712: The population fled the intense fighting and the airstrikes. The Syrian Democratic Forces was established in Hasakah on 11 October 2015. It has its origins in the YPG-FSA collaboration against IS, which had previously led to the establishment of the Euphrates Volcano joint operations room in 2014. Many of the partners are the same, and even the logo / flag with the Blue Euphrates symbol has common traits with that of Euphrates Volcano. The primary difference
1794-487: The process. The attack was commended by pro-SDF sources as a courageous attack against a tank using explosives, which killed her in the process. In comparison to the other major factions involved in the Syrian Civil War, the YPG has the least armor. To compensate for the resulting capability gap, the YPG became heavily involved in the production of DIY armoured vehicles, typically based on bulldozers or large trucks. The YPG has traditionally relied on vehicles captured from
1840-577: The territory under embargo, referring to the fact that the other border crossings with Iraq led to areas controlled by the Kurdistan Regional Government , while al-Yaarubiyah led to areas controlled by the Iraqi central government. In 2014, the Syriac Military Council , a group of Assyrian units, was formally integrated into the YPG's command structure. The inter-rebel conflict during the Syrian Civil War led to open war between
1886-413: The two groups who attacked each other with sticks, stones and knives. Government security forces entered the city to quell the riot, firing at the crowds. The riots resulted in around 36 dead, most of them Kurds. They did not, however, emerge as a significant force until the Syrian civil war erupted in 2011. The self-defence committees that were to become the YPG were formed in July and August 2011 as
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1932-469: The war effort. In 2016–2017, the SDF's Raqqa campaign led to the liberation of the city of Raqqa , the Islamic State's de facto capital. Several western sources have described the YPG as the "most effective" force in fighting IS in Syria. According to Turkey and Qatar, the YPG is a terrorist organization, closely associated with the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which is listed as
1978-506: The world fearing another massacre in Kobanî, American support increased substantially. The US gave intense close air support to the YPG, and in doing so, started military cooperation with one of the factions. While it expected that IS would quickly crush the YPG and the FSA, this alliance was not considered a problem for the US. The YPG won the battle in early 2015. Meanwhile, the situation had been stable in Afrin and Aleppo. The fight between
2024-620: Was among the groups which volunteered to send fighters to Libya, as part of the Turkish military intervention in the Second Libyan Civil War , in December 2019. In May 2020, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported several deaths of Syrian fighters in Libya, including Hamza members. On 28 May protestors in Afrin demanded the withdrawal of the Hamza Division from Afrin after several abuses carried out by
2070-555: Was captured on 26 December. Participating forces included the YPG, the FSA group Army of Revolutionaries , the tribal group al-Sanadid Forces and the Assyrian Syriac Military Council . The coalition had some heavy weapons and was supported by intense US led airstrikes. The capture of the hydroelectric dam also had positive effects on the economy of Rojava . In February, the YPG-led SDF launched
2116-426: Was defeated as a conventional military force. Even so, there was little doubt that their most likely future application would be against a NATO member ( Turkey ). Aside from a large fleet of Humvees , IAG Guardians , and M1224 Maxxpros , the US has reportedly transferred a number of M2 Bradley infantry fighting vehicles (IFVs) to the YPG. These reports appear to be based on the sighting of M2s with SDF flags and
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