Syrian opposition sources reported on October 15 that a new Free Syrian Army (FSA) group named “Qi’am” launched a series of hit and run attacks against the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) inside the SDF-held area.
So far Qi’am has claimed to kill 5 SDF fighters in a al-Hasakah governorate, the group even published videos of its operations on Facebook.
On October 11, Qi’am published its first video that showed its fighters killing a fighter of the SDF on a highway with a handgun equipped with silencer.
And on October 12, Qi’am released a video of its second operation, the video showed Qi’am fighters killing two other SDF fighters also with a handgun equipped with silencer on the same highway likely.
Qi’am latest video was published on October 14, the video showed a rocket – likely an RPG-7 projectile – hitting an unspecified object during night time. Qi’am claimed that 2 other SDF fighters were killed in this operation, and didn’t provide any future details.
The new FSA group didn’t announce its goals and principles yet. However, the group is clearly an Arabian anti-SDF movement. Many experts predicted previously that the SDF will face such threats in the near future.
The group is clearly a reaction to many SDF polices that targets Arabs in the SDF-held area. One of these polices was forcing children in Arabian areas to study in Kurdish language. As the SDF captures more Arab areas, and hosts more former ISIS fighters, it will likely face bigger threats in the near future.