Wikipedia

Hawar Kilis Operations Room

The Hawar Kilis Operations Room (Arabic: غرفة عمليات حوار كلس, Turkish: Havar Kilis Operasyon Odası)[10] is a Syrian rebel coalition formed in the village of Hawar Kilis in April 2016 in the northern Aleppo Governorate on the Syria–Turkey border.

Hawar Kilis Operations Room
غرفة عمليات حوار كلس
LeadersMohamed Dheere[1]
Dates of operationApril 2016—present[2]
HeadquartersHawar Kilis
Active regionsAleppo Governorate
Size10,000–12,000 fighters[3][4][5][6][7]
Part ofSyrian opposition Syrian National Army
Allies See Hawar Kilis Operations Room allies
Opponents
Battles and wars
Websitehttps://twitter.com/houar_m_o

As part of the Syrian Train and Equip Program, many groups in the coalition were supplied with Thuraya satellite phones by the United States.[11]

The operations room forms a large part of the Syrian National Army, which was, with Turkish backing, formed around the Operations Room.

Member groups edit

Structure edit

The Hawar Kilis Operations Room consists of three military "blocs": the Victory Bloc, the Sultan Murad Bloc, and the Levant Bloc.[30] At the end of October 2016, a security committee was formed to man checkpoints in the villages and towns it controls. A judicial committee to supervise courts was also established.[39]

History edit

See also: Syrian National Army § Operational history

The coalition took part in the northern Aleppo offensive, beginning with April 2016, and captured several villages in northern Aleppo overlooking al-Rai from ISIL, before entering al-Rai itself.[40] However, ISIL soon launched a large-scale counteroffensive and recaptured most of the villages, including al-Rai.[41]

In early October 2016 the group formed the Akhtarin Military Council which captured several villages and the town of Akhtarin from ISIL as part of the 2016 Dabiq offensive, ending with the capture of Dabiq and several more other villages, linking Mare' with al-Rai.[42]

On 28 October the group formed the "Victory Bloc" operations room during the western al-Bab offensive.[43]

On 28 January 2017, after the formation of Tahrir al-Sham which the Nour al-Din al-Zenki Movement's main branch became part of, the Zenki Movement's northern Aleppo branch working with Hawar Kilis Operations Room defected to the Sham Legion and formed the Revolutionary Knights Brigade.[44]

On 7 June 2017, a unit in the Hawar Kilis Operations Room defected to the Syrian Democratic Forces.[45]

In July 2017, the commander of Liwa Ahfad Saladin, Mahmoud Khallo, declared that the group would not participate in a planned Turkish-led offensive against the SDF in the Afrin Canton and the Shahba region.[46] Following the announcement, the group was arrested and disarmed by the Levant Front and the Turkish Army. After being released soon after, Khallo protested against his unit's treatment and criticized that Turkey was apparently only interested in using the Syrian militias to further its own strategic goals. He also said that Liwa Ahfad Saladin, now without weapons, would set up a political party.[36]

On 26 August 2017, the Hawar Kilis Operations Room condemned Riad al-Asaad and accused him of conspiring with al-Qaeda after he attended a conference held by Tahrir al-Sham in Idlib.[47]

References edit

  1. ^ "Factions operations room "class dialogue" dominates the village of Tal barley countryside north of Aleppo". Smart News Agency. 5 April 2016. Archived from the original on 19 October 2017. Retrieved 30 October 2016.
  2. ^ "غرفة عمليات حوار كلس (@Houar_M_O) - Twitter". twitter.com.
  3. ^ "What we know about 'army unit' Turkey is setting up in northern Syria?". Al Arabiya. 26 May 2017.
  4. ^ "AS IT HAPPENED: Turkish military, coalition forces launch 'Euphrates Shield' operation in Jarablus". Hurriyet Daily News. 24 August 2016.
  5. ^ "LIVE: Turkish military, coalition forces launch 'Euphrates Shield' operation in Jarablus". Hürriyet Daily News. 24 August 2016. Archived from the original on 24 September 2016. Retrieved 26 March 2017.
  6. ^ "Mehmetçiğin Silah Arkadaşları! - TÜRKMEN AJANS". Archived from the original on 2017-02-18. Retrieved 2017-03-26.
  7. ^ Luck, Taylor (14 December 2016). "Fall of Aleppo could tip Syria from civil war to insurgency". Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved 30 March 2017.
  8. ^ "The Turkish forces, the Gray Wolves and the factions advance in the west of Afrin and seek to wrap around a new village to expand their scope of control backed by intensive aerial and ground shelling". Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR). 30 January 2018.
  9. ^ [1] U.S. halts military support for Turkey’s fight in key Islamic State town
  10. ^ [2] Archived 2018-01-26 at the Wayback Machine Kilit Kapı: El-Rai (Çobanbey)
  11. ^ "The Thuraya Network: A Satellite Data Network for the Syrian Rebels". Bellingcat. 16 June 2016. Archived from the original on 30 October 2016. Retrieved 30 October 2016.
  12. ^ "The merger of seven opposition factions north of Aleppo under the name of (a block of victory)". Al Etihad Press. 5 June 2017. Archived from the original on 8 June 2017. Retrieved 13 June 2017.
  13. ^ Ahmad Zakariya (2 April 2016). "After the recent merger of FSA factions, commander of FSA's Al-Safwa Battalions explains: unity has become a necessity". Revolutionary Forces of Syria Media Office. Archived from the original on 6 October 2016. Retrieved 4 July 2017.
  14. ^ Adnan Al Hussein (21 January 2017). "هل تنجح "غصن الزيتون" بإجبار "الوحدات" على تسليم عفرين؟" [Will Olive Branch succeed in forcing the units to hand over Afrin?]. almodon (in Arabic). Retrieved 1 February 2018.
  15. ^ "Forgot to mention th…". 22 June 2018.
  16. ^ Hogir Nejjae (24 January 2018). "Kurdish National Council participates in aggression against Afrin". Hawar News Agency. Archived from the original on 28 January 2018. Retrieved 24 January 2018.
  17. ^ "Brigade North are free to announce joining the Sham Corps". Qasioun News Agency. 16 June 2017. Archived from the original on 19 June 2017. Retrieved 17 June 2017.
  18. ^ Barić, Joško (21 June 2017). "Syrian War Daily – 21st of June 2017".
  19. ^ Barić, Joško (18 June 2017). "Syrian War Daily – 18th of June 2017".
  20. ^ "Clashes break out in Ghouta of Damascus and in Dar'a; Al-Sham Legion forms Al-Shamal Brigade in Aleppo". Revolutionary Forces of Syria Media Office. 30 January 2016.[permanent dead link]
  21. ^ ""Battalion driven" and "Islam Brigades" deny Mbaiathma for "Sham edit body"". Al-Nour. 2 June 2017. Archived from the original on 6 June 2017. Retrieved 13 June 2017.
  22. ^ "Northern Brigade separates from Sham Legion". All4Syria. 30 May 2017.
  23. ^ Barić, Joško (17 June 2017). "Katibat al-Zubayr ibn al-Awwam, Katibat al-Rafidayn al-Aeamila, and Katibat Shuhada al-Qiba all joined Liwa al-Shamal in northern Aleppo.pic.twitter.com/AdcQ9Woc07".
  24. ^ a b Barić, Joško (17 June 2017). "Syrian War Daily – 17th of June 2017".
  25. ^ Barić, Joško (20 June 2017). "Katibat Maghawir al-Shamal (Northern Commando Battalion) joined Liwa al-Shamal in northern Aleppo.pic.twitter.com/wO9bdEIRdT".
  26. ^ Barić, Joško (28 June 2017). "Katibat Shuhada Jarabulus (Jarabulus Martyrs Brigade) joined Liwa al-Shamal in northern Aleppo.pic.twitter.com/aAx2DfnCD4".
  27. ^ Barić, Joško (14 July 2017). "Katibat al-Shahid Alaa Barir (Martyr Alaa Barir Battalion) joined Liwa al-Shamal in northern Aleppo.pic.twitter.com/h4kuMb7ZDc".
  28. ^ "Syrian Civil War factions".
  29. ^ a b "Factions (door) announces the formation of a unified operations room". All4Syria. 18 June 2017.
  30. ^ a b "Aleppo: factions "shield Euphrates" gather in "military blocs"". Al-Modon. 22 June 2017.
  31. ^ سوري, TahrirSy تحرير (2 April 2017). "#Syria #TahrirSouri the 151 Company in Mohamad al-Fatih Brigade became independent under the name "First Brigade Commandos"pic.twitter.com/A9yonD1HUB".
  32. ^ "FSA The First Squad of Aleppo". Yalla Souriya. 11 August 2016.
  33. ^ Ammar Hammou; Maria Nelson (5 February 2018). "Revolutionaries, pawns, liberators, or mercenaries? Meet the Kurdish fighters participating in Turkey's Afrin offensive". Syria Direct.
  34. ^ Fehim Tastekin (26 January 2018). "Erdogan's plans for Afrin might not sit well with Syria". al-Monitor. Retrieved 29 January 2018.
  35. ^ Khaled al-Khateb (16 February 2018). "Kurdish fighters join Turkey's Afrin operation". al-Monitor. Retrieved 17 February 2018.
  36. ^ a b Lars Hauch (5 July 2017). "Syria war: Turkey 'disbands rebel battalion' as alliances collapse". Middle East Eye. Retrieved 5 July 2017.
  37. ^ "Commander of the FSA's Jaish Al-Thani : Our objective is to form a unified national army to ensure safety in all Syrian territory - Revolutionary Forces of Syria media office". 23 June 2017. Archived from the original on 8 September 2017. Retrieved 28 July 2017.
  38. ^ Adra, Zen (11 June 2017). "Rebel infighting kills scores in northeast Aleppo". Al-Masdar News. Archived from the original on 17 June 2017. Retrieved 20 July 2017.
  39. ^ "Operations "Hur class" Chamber recognizes the formation of security committees and courts in the northern Aleppo". Qasioun. 29 October 2016. Archived from the original on 30 October 2016. Retrieved 30 October 2016.
  40. ^ "Syria rebels near ISIS stronghold in N. Aleppo". Now News. 5 April 2016. Archived from the original on 30 June 2018. Retrieved 30 October 2016.
  41. ^ "ISIS Re-Seize Over Ra'ei Town In Aleppo Countryside". Qasioun. 11 April 2016. Archived from the original on 19 October 2017. Retrieved 23 April 2022.
  42. ^ ""Military Akhtarin Council" calls on people to return to the northern town of Aleppo". Smart News Agency. 18 October 2016. Archived from the original on 30 October 2016. Retrieved 30 October 2016.
  43. ^ @JohnArterbury (October 28, 2016). "Euphrates Shield-affiliated Bloc of Victory operations room -- evidently a new ops room -- announces statement" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  44. ^ "Hassan Ridha on Twitter".
  45. ^ @houar_m_o (June 8, 2017). ""Group of thieves flee to YPG areas"" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  46. ^ Wladimir van Wilgenburg (4 July 2017). "Turkey-backed rebel group refuses to attack Kurdish town north Syria". ARA News. Archived from the original on July 4, 2017.
  47. ^ "Euphrates Shield: Riyad al-Assaad is an intruder and conspirator". Al-Alam News Network. 28 August 2017.
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