Fastaqim Kama Umirt Union
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The Fastaqim Kama Umirt Union was a Syrian rebel group based in the eastern Aleppo city districts and surrounding countryside. Named after a verse from the Quran, it was established in December 2012 as a merger of smaller groups. Its leader was Mustafa Berro (nom de guerre Saqr Abu Qutaiba), who was a merchant prior to participating in the 2011 protests and eventually taking up arms. Though he himself cited non-religious motivations for joining the revolution, the group as a whole developed a solidly Islamist outlook and frequently participated in coalitions with other Islamist groups of varying tendencies. Unlike some rebels who came to the city from the countryside or even from other governorates, Abu Qutaiba and most of his men were native Aleppans, something which helped build trust with civilians in the area. The group also developed links with the Muslim Brotherhood and with local Sufi clerics. Nevertheless, the Fastaqim Union was not without its controversies. In March 2014 it arrested a Christian woman for not wearing a hijab; after popular outcry, the group released her and apologized but still insisted she wear a hijab. The incident was one of many signs that the revolution, once featuring a wide cross-section of Syrian society, had become increasingly Islamist.
An independent group at its outset, the Fastaqim Union helped to create the Army of Mujahideen in January 2014 to combat both the Assad government and ISIS. That group disintegrated steadily throughout the year, and Fastaqim left in December. Shortly afterward it participated in the formation of the Levant Front, which also included a greatly-reduced Army of Mujahideen, but the Levant Front fell apart and Fastaqim went its own way in April 2015. A year later it became one of the most solidly Islamist groups chosen by the CIA to receive TOW anti-tank missiles; by this point it identified as part of the FSA. In November 2016, with the Assad government poised to reconquer the rebel-held eastern half of the city, the group came into conflict with Harakat Nour al-Din al-Zenki, which had once been a constituent group of Fastaqim. Zenki, joined by Kataeb Abu Amara, soundly routed Fastaqim before the month was over. Some fighters chose to join larger factions, such as Ahrar ash-Sham, for protection; others, including Qutaiba, fled to the countryside. They eventually joined the Free Syrian Coalition and fought against the hardline rebels who had expelled them from the city.