5 brigades and divisions of the Islamic Movement of Ahrar al-Sham met on Tuesday to dismiss the leader of the movement, “Amer al-Sheikh”, and replace him with “Yusuf al-Hamwi”, one of the former founders , and named him as its commanding general.
A statement officially released by the Movement in which it stated that they « will delegitimize the current leadership which does not represent Ahrar al-Sham, dissolve the current leadership council and communicate with the movement’s faithful to form a new leadership council in accordance to the charter of the movement and to its premises. »
The statement was endorsed by the Al-Iman Brigade (Governorate of Hama), the Al-Khattab Brigade (Sahel Al-Ghab), the elite forces of the Al-Adiyat Brigade (Sahel Al-Ghab), the Al-Sham Brigade (Damascus), and the Hamza Brigade (Idlib).
The battalions and brigades that signed the declaration called on the rest of the factions and brigades of the movement to join them, justifying this by “setting the movement back on its right path and preserving its good approach, until the liberation of Syria”
The leadership of the Ahrar al-Sham movement, under the cover of “Hassan Soufan”, close to “Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham”, had taken place after a coup against its former leader, “Jaber Ali Pasha”, and the dismantling of the Shura Council.
The Faith Brigade bloc represents a quarter of the Ahrar al-Sham Movement, including a third of the elite forces, the most important elements within the movement. The brigade has 500 fighters, including 250 elite fighters, in addition to infantry forces and military and administrative officers.
