afrinpost – Exclusive
In order to strength the contact lines in the villages of Sherawa sub-district, the Turkish authorities brought about 200 Uzbek fighters from Idlib, after a series of operations in those villages inflicted losses on the ranks of the Turkish forces and its Muslim Brotherhood militias.
Our correspondent reported that reliable sources stated that the “Special Units” militia affiliated with “Faylaq al-Sham” militia led by Abdullah Halawa has begun to bring about 200 “Uzbek” jihadists into the villages of Sherawa district.
The correspondent added that this step was carried out under Turkey’s supervision and blessing, according to which elements of the Uzbek jihadists joining the terrorist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (Jabhat al-Nusra) terrorist group will be deployed in the villages of Afrin region, and that the current stage includes the villages of the line of contact with the regime-controlled areas in Sherawa sub-district.
The correspondent indicated that the second phase will be in Jenderes / Jindrêsê sub-district and its villages, and as for the Shiyê / Sheikh Al-Hadid sub-district, it is under the control of the “Suleiman Shah” militia known as Al-Amshat, whose origins are Turkmen.
Turkey’s move came after a series of several breakthroughs and specific operations caused great losses among the Turkish forces and the Muslim Brotherhood militias affiliated with it, and it seems that the aim is to isolate Afrin region by strengthening the contact areas with jihadist elements and consolidating the demographic change process, as foreign militants will accompany their families with them.
It also comes after a huge explosion in an ammunition depot belonging to a faction called “Al-Uzbeki” operating under the supervision of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, which resulted in 15 dead and more than 20 wounded.
Ankara deliberately pursued its policy of intervention in Syria and applied demographic change by relying on the Turkic peoples, so the beginning was from relying on the Turkmen of Syria and fabricating a Turkmen cause in Syria, and facilitating the arrival of the Uighurs (Turkestan), as well as on the Uzbeks who descend from several races, but most of them are of Turkic origin and they speak the Uzbek language, which has many dialects and is from the Turkish language family (the Western branch).
On February 9, 2021, Abdullah Halawa published on Twitter the announcement of the establishment of a new militia named “Special Units”, and announced its slogan in Turkish, as an affirmation of loyalty to Ankara. Then Halawa joined the “Faylaq al-Sham” militia.
Uzbeks in Syria:
Salah al-Din al-Uzbeki arrived in Syria in late 2012 and formed a battalion that operated in coordination with Ahrar al-Sham, and he had fought in Afghanistan for several years against the Soviet Union.
As for the census of Uzbeks in Syria, the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Muslims of Uzbekistan, the Mufti of the Republic, Osman Khan Alimov, announced on 11/6/2019 that about three thousand Uzbeks joined the ranks of terrorist organizations in Syria and Iraq.
The Uzbeks are known as Salafi groups loyal to the Taliban, allied with other jihadist organizations in Syria such as al-Nusra and Ahrar al-Sham, and one of the most important factions that they formed is the “Imam al-Bukhari Brigade” founded by “Abu Muhammad al-Uzbeki” in 2013, and his successor is Salah al-Din the Uzbek, and the “Tawhid and Jihad Brigade”. The pro-Al Qaeda organization was established in December 2014 and includes members of Uzbek origin and is headed by Serageldin Mukhtarov, known as Abu Salah al-Uzbeki, and it has a media suite, called “Paradise Lovers”.
