File image.
On May 28, three Turkish-backed armed groups in northern Syria merged in a new formation led by the Syrian National Army (SNA) called the 13th Division.
In a joint statement, the groups, the Mehmed the Conqueror Division, the Samarkand Brigade and the Waqqas Brigade, said that the step is meant organize military forces in Turkish-occupied areas in northern and northeastern Syria.
The three groups are among the smallest factions of the SNA, which was formed in 2017 to unify Turkish-backed groups and place them under a single command.
Despite the formation of the SNA, Turkish-backed groups maintained their separate, independent command. Due to this, many intra-rebel conflicts broke out over the last three years. Many groups also defected from certain SNA units, or merged to form their own.
Last April, two SNA factions, the 9th Division – Special Forces and the North Brigade, announced that they had formed the 1st Brigade. Prior to that, the Suleyman Shah Division announced its defection from the SNA’s 1st Corps.
The SAN is present as a unified, centric rebel force in the media only. In reality, SNA factions are fighting each other in Turkish-occupied area over influence and money.
Cant wait for the Iskanders and the other gifts, they cant imagine what is coming….. they will cry and curse their mothers, that they have never born them.
These terrorist groups are dwindling so it makes sense for these fools to band together so they don’t get bullied by bigger gangs. The whole idea of liberating Syria of its democracy is a fools game and everyone knows it. The gangs are just that, gangs, looking for easy prey to rob and kill.
When The US and nato throw them under the bus as they did to the Kurds, they will realise their lives have been wasted. When it goes into hyperinflation, terrorist gangs in Idlib are going to be left to their fate.
an artificial unification designed to fail—soon they will be killing each other when turkey cannot pay them
We started with US-lead coalition, we went to Saudi-lead Coalition, now this is Al-Qaeda-lead coalition. You ain’t seen nothing folks!!
More Turkish alphabet soups changing names and uniting all the time to stop them being identified. The sooner they meet with hot lead and cold steel the better for all of us. Die die die…