Knights of Justice Brigade
This is an alternate history wiki. It mixes fact and fiction, and should not be mistaken for a reliable source.
|
Knights of Justice Brigade | ||||||||||
Details
|
The Knights of Justice Brigade was a Free Syrian Army unit based in the town of Kafranbel, Idlib. 1st Lt. Mohammed Khaled Bayoush, a defector from the Syrian Arab Army, founded the group as the Knights of Justice Battalion in February 2012. The Battalion expanded to a Brigade in September, after which Bayoush's distant cousin, Lt. Col. Fares Bayoush (ex-Syrian Arab Air Force), took command. The Knights of Justice were one of the few FSA groups to publicly acknowledge the authority of the Syrian National Council and National Coalition, though it grew more critical of the heavily Turkish-influenced bodies over time. It was also one of the first groups to receive TOW missiles from the CIA. In September 2014 the group helped to form the 5th Corps, and Bayoush became the new alliance's first leader. As the jihadist al-Nusra Front grew to dominate most of Idlib, the Knights of Justice became especially well known for defending Kafranbel from the radical Islamists. Kafranbel had long been one of the most iconic locations of the Syrian revolution, known for its weekly protests against the Assad regime as well as religious extremists. Its citizens vocally denounced Nusra's Islamic Emirate as betrayers of the revolution. With the help of the Knights of Justice Brigade and other 5th Corps members, Kafranbel remained one of the only major population centers in Idlib not to come under the Emirate's control.