Nour al Din al Zenki Movement

History

The Nour al-Din al-Zenki Battalion was formed in late 2011 by Shaykh Tawfiq Shahabuddin in the Shaykh Salman area north-west of Aleppo. It is named after Nur ad-Din Zengi, atabeg of Aleppo, an emir of Damascus and Aleppo in the 12th century. The group's greatest concentration of fighters in the city of Aleppo are in its northwestern suburbs. Nour al-Din al-Zenki took part in the initial battles that started the Battle of Aleppo in July 2012, capturing the Salaheddine neighborhood, although it soon withdrew to its heartland in the countryside.

The group has gone through many affiliations since it was founded. It was initially a branch of the al-Fajr Movement, then went on to join the al-Tawhid Brigades during the attack on Aleppo, before withdrawing and allying with the Saudi-backed Authenticity and Development Front.

In January 2014, Nour al-Din al-Zenki was one of the founding factions in the anti-ISIL umbrella group Army of Mujahideen. In May 2014 it withdrew from the alliance and subsequently received increased financial support from Saudi Arabia, which had been reluctant to support the Army of Mujahideen due to its links with the Syrian Muslim Brotherhood. The group also received financial aid from the United States, in a CIA run program to support US-approved rebel groups, reportedly via the Turkey-based Military Operation Centre (MOC). However, by October 2015, the group claimed that it was no longer supplied by the MOC – "because of regular reports that it had committed abuses."

In December 2014, Nour al-Din al-Zenki joined the Levant Front, a broad coalition of Islamist rebel groups operating in Aleppo. On 6 May 2015, it joined 13 other Aleppo-based groups in the Fatah Halab joint operations room.

On 19 October 2015, the military commander of the group was reported as killed during fighting with government forces near the Aleppo area.

During the November 2015 Vienna peace talks for Syria, Jordan was tasked with formulating a list of terrorist groups; the group was reported to have been placed on this list.

On 24 September 2016, al-Zenki joined the Army of Conquest. On 15 October 2016, four 'battalions' left the Levant Front (they were also former members of Al-Tawhid Brigade) and joined the group.

In October 2016 a group of fighters from the Levant Front that where former al-Tawhid Brigade members left the Levant Front and joined the Nour al-Din al-Zenki Movement.

On 2 November 2016, during the Aleppo offensive, Fastaqim Union fighters captured a military commander of the Zenki Movement. In response, al-Zenki fighters attacked the Fastaqim Union's headquarters in the Salaheddine District and al-Ansari district of Aleppo. At least one rebel were killed and more than 25 wounded on both sides in the raid. The next day, the Levant Front and the Abu Amara Brigades began to patrol the streets to arrest any rebels taking part in the clashes. At least 18 rebels were killed in the infighting.

The Zenki Movement and the Abu Amara Brigades eventually captured all positions of the Fastaqim Union in eastern Aleppo. Dozens of rebels from the latter group surrendered and were either captured, joined Ahrar al-Sham, or deserted.

On 15 November 2016, Liwa Ahrar Souriya and Kata'ib Suyuf Al-Shahba announced that it has pledged allegiance and joined the Nour al-Din al-Zenki Movement. Also during November, Jaysh al-Shamal joined.

In December, Liwa Suyuf al-Sham's Aleppo branch joined the group, while it's Azaz branch joined the Levant Front.

On 27 January, Jaysh al-Shamal left Nour al-Din al-Zenki Movement.

On 28 January 2016, Nour al-Din al-Zenki Movement's branch working with Hawar Kilis Operations Room defected to Sham Legion.

War crimes

Amnesty International reports that the Nour al-Din al-Zenki Movement, in conjunction with the 16th Division, the Levant Front, Ahrar al-Sham, and the al-Nusra Front, engaged in the kidnapping and mistreatment of journalists and humanitarian workers within the rebel-controlled areas of Aleppo throughout 2014 and 2015.

Nour al-Din al-Zenki, along with the Abu Amara Brigades, has been accused of executing people by throwing them down buildings when they still controlled Aleppo.

2016 Beheading Incident

On 19 July 2016, during the northern Aleppo offensive, a video emerged that appeared to show al-Zenki fighters recording themselves taunting and later beheading a Palestinian boy named Abdullah Tayseer Al Issa.

In the video, they claim he had been captured while fighting with the pro-government militia Liwa al-Quds.

Liwa al-Quds denied this, and claimed instead that Al Issa was a 12-year-old Palestinian refugee from a poor family who had been kidnapped.

The following day, a social media account purportedly owned by Al Issa's sister, Zoze Al Issa, claimed that Issa was a Syrian from the Wadi al-Dahab district of Homs, who had volunteered to fight with pro-government forces.

The New Arab published a photograph purporting to be the boy's identity card and putting his age at 19 years old. The report also quoted a cousin who claimed that Al Issa's had thalassemia, which causes stunted growth.

In a statement, al-Zenki condemned the killing and claimed it was an "individual mistake that does not represent the general policy of the group", and that it had detained those involved.

After their claim that they detained the members of the incident, videos surfaced claiming to show individuals who were part of the beheading still among the group.