‘Accountability, or fall’: Syrian National Army’s Hamza Division under fire after assassination of opposition activist in northern Aleppo

PARIS — The Third Legion of the Turkish-backed Syrian National Army (SNA) clashed with the Hamza Division, also part of the SNA, for a third day on Wednesday, amid a deepening crisis that began on Monday when investigations implicated the latter in the assassination of a prominent opposition media activist and his pregnant wife in al-Bab city, northern Aleppo.

Activist Muhammad Abdul Latif, also known as Abu Ghannoum, and his wife were killed on October 7 when then-unidentified gunmen fired upon a motorcycle he was driving in al-Bab. 

On Monday, after the results of inquiries by the Third Legion and the SNA’s military police were revealed pointing to the responsibility of a group within the Hamza Division, locally known as “al-Hamzat,” for the killing, the Legion launched an attack against the faction in al-Bab city and its surrounding countryside. 

The Third Legion expelled the Hamza Division from the city and took control of the faction’s headquarters on the outskirts of al-Bab Monday evening. On Tuesday, the operation expanded and the Third Legion captured sites and seized military equipment belonging to the Hamza Division in the village of Bablit, in the Afrin countryside.

On Tuesday evening, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), the hardline group in control of opposition-held parts of Idlib province, entered the fray in support of the Hamza Division against the Third Legion. Other SNA factions also joined the clashes: the Sultan Suleiman Shah Division in favor of the Hamza Division, and Harakat al-Tahrir wal-Binaa in favor of the Third Legion. Fighting has since spread and reached civilian displacement camps in the Afrin area. 

According to preliminary figures on Tuesday afternoon, the clashes led to the death of one civilian and injured at least three others. 

The worsening fighting coincides with a wave of public anger in SNA-controlled areas of northwestern Syria this week, following reports that Abu Sultan al-Kadri, a Hamza Division commander also known as al-Diri, orchestrated Abu Ghannoum’s killing.

A month before Abu Ghannoum and his wife were murdered, the activist was involved in a dispute with al-Kadri after the latter stormed the residence of the commander of the anti-drug division of the local civil police. The dispute was resolved at the time under the auspices of the Third Legion and military police. Abu Ghannoum had also been critical of the Hamza Division and other SNA factions. 

Fighting began on Monday when Third Legion security forces clashed with two members of the Hamza Division accused of committing the assassination. Both belong to the group of fighters loyal to al-Kadri within the faction, which is commanded by Saif Abu Bakr, who has close ties with Turkey. 

As clashes spilled over into a second day on Tuesday, Hayat Thaeroon for Liberation—which is also affiliated with the SNA—attempted to intervene as an intermediary to stop the fighting. There is no information at the time of publication of this report about what that mediation could include, and whether it will succeed in stopping the operation against the Hamza Division.

Syria Direct contacted the Third Legion regarding the current military operation and its objectives, but the director of the faction’s press office declined to comment “because we have stopped publishing about the incident.” Attempts to contact the SNA and the Hamza Division received no reply until the time of publication. 

An organized cell

Hours after the first clashes on Monday leading to the arrest of three members of the reported “assassination cell” that killed Abu Ghannoum, members of the al-Diri group within the Hamza Division attempted to besiege al-Bab Hospital to extract one of its members, who was injured during the fighting. In response, reinforcements from the military police and SNA factions were called in to protect the hospital and prevent detained members of the cell from being smuggled out of it. 

Immediately after the results of the investigation and the arrests were revealed, activists began to circulate videos showing a filmed confession by one of the accused assassins, who said the operation was overseen by officials within the Hamza Division. Surveillance camera footage showing Abu Ghannoum and his wife being followed by members of the assassination cell shortly before the killings was also circulated. 

The Hamza Division issued a statement on Monday evening acknowledging that those accused of the assassination were members of a brigade that recently joined the faction. The statement said the faction’s members and leadership disavowed “all those proven to be involved in this heinous crime,” adding that “we bear responsibility for their presence in our ranks, and will examine the security files of all its other forces in detail.”  

Voice of the street

The funeral ceremonies for Abu Ghannoum and his wife over the weekend turned into popular protests against the SNA factions, due to deteriorating security conditions in the area.  

Anger did not subside, but flared up once more after the circumstances of the assassination—and the involvement of one of the chief elements of the SNA in it—were revealed on Monday. Before the results of the investigation were leaked to and circulated by activists, it had been rumored that members of an Islamic State (IS) cell were responsible.

“Our demands before the cell’s confessions are not the same as they were before,” Abu Mahmoud (a pseudonym), one of the activists organizing protests in al-Bab city, told Syria Direct on condition of anonymity for security reasons. “The demands were to dismiss the security officials from the civil police, military police and factions in al-Bab city; to develop a security plan; and to hold the Turks fully responsible for the out-of-control security situation in the area,” he said. 

But in light of Monday’s revelations, protesters demand the “complete removal of the Hamza Division from al-Bab city,” Abu Mahmoud said. They also seek “to hold Saif Abu Bakr, the commander, and his deputy accountable as one of the main demands.” 

Protesters are now waiting for the release of a confession by al-Kadri, the leader of the group within the Hamza Division that carried out the assassination, who turned himself in to military police on Monday, Abu Mahmoud said. He stressed that protests would continue “until the demands are fully met.” 

Abu Mahmoud emphasized protesters’ demands to “hold the one at the top accountable, the one who gave the orders.” He referred to a phrase used by one of the accused perpetrators of the assassination in the confession video, who said the operation was done because “the boss wants it that way,” without stating a name. “Holding the cell accountable is not enough,” Abu Mahmoud said. 

The killing of media activist Abu Ghannoum and his wife has become “a matter of public opinion, and the SNA and the Turks must uncover all the threads and parties to the crime, then hold those involved accountable, or fall,” he added. 

Muhammad Othman (a pseudonym), a media activist in al-Bab city, echoed the sentiment that “accountability for all those involved, including the Hamza Division’s commander, Saif Abu Bakr, is our demand.” He said protests would continue, “so that the crime is not forgotten and the criminals aren’t left without being held accountable, as happened before.” 

Hanging over concerns of impunity for Abu Ghannoum’s killing is the case of Abu Amsha, the controversial commander of the SNA’s Sultan Suleiman Shah Division with close ties to Ankara, and how efforts to hold him accountable for violations against civilians were shelved earlier this year. 

A months-long investigation of Abu Amsha and his faction for crimes including murder, kidnapping and rape found the commander culpable and recommended he be dismissed, but accountability efforts quickly stalled amid reported Turkish pressure and internal SNA rivalries. 

Read more: The case of Abu Amsha: How commanders of Turkish-backed factions in northwestern Syria go unpunished

“The [Syrian] Interim Government, its Ministry of Defense and the SNA leadership and judiciary cannot be relied upon,” Othman said, calling them “cardboard” institutions. “Factionalism is stronger,” he added. 

Limits of the military operation

It appears the Third Legion is dealing with the latest events through the lens of its efforts to lead the reformist current within the SNA. But it is also taking advantage of the incident to uproot the Hamza Division, with which it has had many years of disputes and military confrontations. 

Al-Jabha al-Shamiya, the SNA faction whose commander leads the Third Legion, has itself been accused of committing violations against civilians in the past, including extortion and torture.

So far, the Third Legion’s current actions are in harmony with civilians’ demands “and will increase its popular support,” according to Wael Alwan, a researcher at the Turkey-based Jusoor Center for Studies. However, the move could also “strengthen the dominant state of factionalism in the area,” he told Syria Direct. 

“Exposing the criminals and addressing the issue in this way doesn’t constitute a deterrent at the community level,” Alwan added. The long-term solution, he said, lies in “strengthening public security and judicial institutions, and organizing the factions within legions under the [Syrian Interim Government] Ministry of Defense.”

And although Ankara is a key player from civilians’ perspective in the level of insecurity and in controlling it, “the Turks have had no clear role so far,” al-Bab activist Abu Mahmoud said. He claimed to have heard that “Turkey started to move today, but in the direction of pressuring the Third Legion to stop the military operation” against the Hamza Division.

As for the ultimate fate of the Hamza Division, Alwan said “the demand to dismantle it is not only the Third Legion’s goal, but also that of a group of factions, not to mention it is supported by the public.” 

Signs are currently pointing in the direction of the Hamza Division being dismantled, after it was expelled from al-Bab and lost a number of its main headquarters. But the fight is not over yet, Alwan said, citing “the mediations that are expected to take place, and the Hamza Division’s ability to resist outside al-Bab city.” 

But in al-Bab at least, he believes the faction’s fate is “complete dissolution.”

This report was originally published in Arabic and translated into English by Mateo Nelson.