Hamza Division (Daraa)

Not to be confused with Hamza Division (Aleppo).

The Hamza Division (Arabic: فرقة الحمزة; Firqat al-Hamza) was a Syrian rebel group affiliated with the Free Syrian Army. It was based in Inkhil, Daraa Governorate. It was formed on 8 April 2013 by Colonel Saber Safar as the "Hamza Brigade".^[2] It was composed of six subunits.^[3] The group received U.S.-made BGM-71 TOW anti-tank missiles. It was a member of the Daraa Military Council and the Southern Front.

Hamza Division
فرقة الحمزة Firqat al-Hamza
Leaders	Col. Saber Safar[1]
Dates of operation	8 April 2013 – 31 July 2018[2]
Group(s)	Houran Mujahideen Brigade Engineering Battalion
Headquarters	Inkhil, Syria[3]
Active regions	Daraa Governorate[3] Quneitra Governorate
Part of	Free Syrian Army Southern Front[3] Daraa Military Council (former) First Army (inactive)[4][3]
Opponents	Syrian Armed Forces National Defense Force  Islamic State
Battles and wars	Syrian Civil War Daraa Governorate campaign Daraa offensive (October 2014) Battle of Al-Shaykh Maskin (2014) Daraa offensive (January 2015) 2015 Southern Syria offensive Daraa and As-Suwayda offensive (June 2015) Daraa offensive (June–July 2015) Battle of Al-Shaykh Maskin (2015–2016) Daraa offensive (March–April 2016) Daraa offensive (February–June 2017) Southwestern Daraa offensive (February 2017)

History

The group joined the First Army on 1 January 2015.^[4] In mid-2015 the 1st Army disbanded, although the Hamza Division continued to use its imagery until 2016.^[3]

On 22 September 2016, 9 commanders in the Hamza Division were assassinated in a bombing in Inkhil.^[5]

See also

• List of armed groups in the Syrian Civil War

References

1. "Three important Free Syrian Army factions decided, at this 2015 new year, to create the First Army". SRO. 1 January 2015. Retrieved 2 January 2015.
2. Lucas Winter. "A MODERN HISTORY OF THE FREE SYRIAN ARMY IN DARAA" (PDF). Foreign Military Studies Office. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2014-12-22. Retrieved 2017-02-26.
3. "The Moderate Rebels: A Complete and Growing List of Vetted Groups". Democratic Revolution, Syrian Style. Hasan Mustafas. 5 August 2015. Retrieved 30 November 2014.
4. "3 فصائل مقاتلة تعلن اندماجها الكامل وتشكيل "الجيش الأول"". SOHR. 2 January 2015. Retrieved 2 January 2015.
5. "Hamza Band in Daraa mourns nine leading Angel explosion". Enab Baladi. 22 September 2016.