Abu Hatem Shaqra

Brigadier General

Ahmad Ihsan Fayyad al-Hayes
Native name
أحمد إحسان فياض الهايس
Nickname(s)Abu Hatem Shaqra
(Arabic: أبو حاتم شقرا)
Born1987 (age 37–38)
Shaqra, Deir ez-Zor Governorate, Syria
Allegiance
Rank Brigadier General
Commands
Battles / wars

Ahmad Ihsan Fayyad al-Hayes (Arabic: أحمد إحسان فياض الهايس), also known by his nom de guerre Abu Hatem Shaqra (Arabic: أبو حاتم شقرا), is a Syrian military personnel currently serving as commander of the 86th Division of the Syrian Army. He had previously served as commander of Ahrar al-Sharqiya, a faction within the Turkish-supported group known as the Syrian National Army (SNA).

Early life and education

He was born in Shaqra, Deir ez-Zor Governorate in 1987.[1] He graduated from Mardin Artuklu University with a degree in political science and international relations in 2023.[2] He has a cousin named Raed Jassim al-Hayes, also known by his nom de guerre Abu Jaafar Shaqra.[3]

Prior to the Syrian civil war, he worked as a farmer in his hometown, and he also briefly worked in construction as a cement tiler in Jordan.[4][5]

Military career

Shaqra first served in Ahrar al-Sham until his expulsion from the group in 2016, being accused of stealing funds from the group.[4] Following this, he announced the formation of Ahrar al-Sharqiya on 22 January 2016 near Azaz, consisting of more than 2,500 soldiers from various eastern Syrian factions, such as Knights of the East or Shield of Hasakah, the majority of whom originated from the Al-Shaitat and Qaraan tribes of Deir ez-Zor.[6]

Shaqra was one of the Syrian National Army leaders who met the Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan at the Presidential Complex in Ankara on May 2018.[7]

On 15 February 2022, Shaqra was appointed deputy commander-in-chief of the Liberation and Construction Movement, a merger of multiple SNA factions primarily from eastern Syria, such as Ahrar al-Sharqiya or Jaych al-Charkiya, on the same day of the organization's creation.[8]

On 19 August 2023, Shaqra was appointed deputy commander-in-chief of the Syrian National Army's First Corps, following a meeting with First Corps and Ahrar al-Sharqiya leadership.[9]

On 8 January 2024, Shaqra was appointed commander-in-chief of the Liberation and Construction Movement, succeeding Colonel Hussein al-Hammadi.[9]

On 1 December 2024, after the capture of Kuweires Airport during the SNA-led Operation Dawn of Freedom offensive, Shaqra reportedly appeared in a video clip at the airport on social media.[10]

Shaqra attended the Syrian Revolution Victory Conference on 29 January 2025, and the Syrian National Army agreed to dissolve itself and its component factions, which includes Ahrar al-Sharqiya, and incorporate into the Syrian Ministry of Defense.[11] Shaqra also previously attended a conference in December 2024, agreeing to dissolve all military factions.[12]

On 5 May 2025, he was appointed commander of the 86th Division of the Syrian Army, a military division operating in Deir ez-Zor, Raqqa, and Al-Hasakah Governorates, though the Ministry of Defense didn’t officially announce his promotion.[6]

Controversies and allegations

Shaqra and Ahrar al-Sharqiya have been accused of various crimes, such as extortion, robbery, and smuggling Islamic State members and Yazidi families from Afrin in exchange for money.[13][4][14][5] Shaqra has also been accused of directly practicing "gross and systematic violations of human rights" and for his responsibility in the killing of Hevrin Khalaf on 12 October 2019, a Kurdish politician who was executed by members of Ahrar al-Sharqiya during Operation Peace Spring.[13]

On 28 July 2021, Shaqra was sanctioned alongside Ahrar al-Sharqiya and Abu Jaafar Shaqra by the United States Department of the Treasury for his complicity in his faction's "human rights abuses", adding that he was involved in running Ahrar al-Sharqiya's prison in rural Aleppo, where hundreds of detainees had been executed and tortured since 2018, trafficking Yazidi women and children, and integrating former ISIS members into the group, who supported the faction's ransom and extortion operations.[3]

He also owned the Istanbul-based al-Safir Oto car dealership in partnership with Abu Amsha, an SNA commander who led the Sultan Suleiman Shah Division, which was sanctioned alongside Abu Amsha on 17 August 2023 for its connection to Abu Amsha.[15]

His promotion to commander of the 86th Division was criticized by US State Department Spokeswoman Tammy Bruce, who said, in a press briefing, "The interim authority’s decision to appoint this individual who has a long record of human rights abuses and undermining our Defeat-ISIS mission to an official position is a serious mistake that the U.S. does not support",[16] as well as SDF spokesperson Ferhad Şamî, who said that the appointment was "unacceptable" and that it risks "corrupting state institutions".[17]

References

  1. ^ "Counter Terrorism Designations; Syria and Syria-Related Designations and Designations Updates". Office of Foreign Assets Control. 28 July 2021. Archived from the original on 31 May 2023. Retrieved 24 May 2025.
  2. ^ Demirel, Ferid (8 June 2023). "Commander of war criminal organization in Syria graduates from university in Turkey". Bianet. Archived from the original on 22 May 2024. Retrieved 24 May 2025.
  3. ^ a b "Treasury Sanctions Syrian Regime Prisons, Officials, and Syrian Armed Group". U.S. Department of the Treasury. 28 July 2021. Archived from the original on 28 July 2021. Retrieved 24 May 2025.
  4. ^ a b c Al Nofal, Walid (4 April 2022). "The case of Abu Amsha: How commanders of Turkish-backed factions in northwestern Syria go unpunished". Syria Direct. Translated by Mateo Nelson. Archived from the original on 4 April 2022. Retrieved 20 May 2025.
  5. ^ a b "وثائق ومعلومات تدينه.. كيف تحول "أبو حاتم شقرا" إلى تاجر حرب وداعم للإرهاب ؟". Euphrates Post (in Arabic). 3 August 2019. Archived from the original on 1 September 2019. Retrieved 24 May 2025.
  6. ^ a b Kerkes, Mohamed (5 May 2025). "سورية: تعيين أبو حاتم شقرا قائداً للفرقة 86 في المنطقة الشرقية دون إعلان رسمي". Al-Araby Al-Jadeed (in Arabic). Archived from the original on 5 May 2025. Retrieved 24 May 2025.
  7. ^ ""Ahrar al-Sharqiya Brigade": The Potential Spearhead of East of Euphrates Battles". Enab Baladi. 19 November 2018. Archived from the original on 20 November 2018. Retrieved 24 May 2025.
  8. ^ ""حركة التحرير والبناء".. اندماج جديد تحت مظلة "الجيش الوطني"". Enab Baladi (in Arabic). 15 February 2022. Archived from the original on 4 March 2024. Retrieved 24 May 2025.
  9. ^ a b "حركة "التحرير والبناء" تعيّن "أبو حاتم شقرا" قائدًا لها". Enab Baladi (in Arabic). 8 January 2024. Archived from the original on 8 January 2024. Retrieved 24 May 2025.
  10. ^ Khoja, Abdulsalam (1 December 2024). "قيادي معارض معاقب أميركياً في مطار كويرس العسكري بحلب". North Press Agency (in Arabic). Archived from the original on 13 December 2024. Retrieved 24 May 2025.
  11. ^ Sharawi, Ahmad (30 January 2025). "Ahmad al Sharaa's Victory Conference: Syria's new era and an exclusive translation of Sharaa's speech". FDD's Long War Journal. Archived from the original on 31 January 2025. Retrieved 24 May 2025.
  12. ^ al-Morsi, Abdul Wahib; Ibrahim, Shadi (27 December 2024). "هل ينجح الشرع في بناء جيش سوري قوي وموحد؟". Al Jazeera Arabic (in Arabic). Archived from the original on 27 December 2024. Retrieved 24 May 2025.
  13. ^ a b Abdulrazek, Saeed (6 May 2025). "تعيين عسكري موالٍ لتركيا قائداً بمناطق «قسد»". Asharq Al-Awsat (in Arabic). Archived from the original on 7 May 2025. Retrieved 20 May 2025.
  14. ^ Cultivating Chaos: Afrin after Operation Olive Branch (PDF). YASA e.V – Kurdish Center for Studies and Legal Consultancy (Report). Ceasefire Centre for Civilian Rights. July 2020. Archived (PDF) from the original on 28 September 2020. Retrieved 24 May 2025.
  15. ^ "Treasury Sanctions Two Syria-Based Militias Responsible for Serious Human Rights Abuses in Northern Syria". U.S. Department of the Treasury. 17 August 2023. Archived from the original on 17 August 2023. Retrieved 24 May 2025.
  16. ^ Pigott, Thomas (15 May 2025). "Department Press Briefing – May 15, 2025". United States Department of State. Archived from the original on 15 May 2025. Retrieved 24 May 2025.
  17. ^ Khoja, Abdulsalam (7 May 2025). "Government appointment of sanctioned militant unacceptable – SDF Spox". North Press Agency. Archived from the original on 7 May 2025. Retrieved 24 May 2025.
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