Liwa al-Shaheed Ali Zain al-Abideen Berri ('The brigade of the Martyr Ali Zain al-Abideen Berri') is a formation of the Local Defence Forces (LDF), which is supported by the Iranians and Hezbollah. The roots of Liwa al-Shaheed Ali Zain al-Abideen Berri (led principally by Jasim Berri) lie in the Berri clan, which has been known for its support for the Syrian government during the war. The formation consists of multiple sub-units, one of which is Saryat al-Shaheed Muhammad Assani ('The squadron of the Martyr Muhammad Assani'), named for Muhammad Abd al-Qadir Assani and part of the second brigade within Liwa al-Shaheed Ali Zain al-Abideen Berri.

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I have emphasised before the importance of understanding objectively the political and administrative system in the areas of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in northern and eastern Syria. One of the ways to obtain this understanding is through translation and overview of primary source documents.

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For other relevant chronicles, see:

The Byzantine-Arabic Chronicle
The Mozarabic Chronicle
The Chronicle of Alfonso III

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The Asayish Izidkhan serves as the internal security force wing of the 'Autonomous Administration' in Sinjar and was set up in 2016 following the campaigns of the Sinjar Resistance Units, which is a prominent formation in the Sinjar area that emerged in 2014 as a defence force for the Yezidi population against the Islamic State's attempted genocide of the Yezidis. The Sinjar Resistance Units was set up by the 'Autonomous Administration' for the Sinjar area amid the errors by the prior authorities ruling over Sinjar and the absence of another viable force to protect the Yezidis, as the Iraqi army had been largely routed from large parts of Ninawa province and the Peshmerga affiliated with the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) had fled Sinjar.

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Suqur al-Sahara' ('The Desert Hawks') emerged in the earlier years of the war in Syria as one of the most prominent auxiliary formations for the Syrian army. Led by Muhammad Jaber, the group fought on many fronts but no longer exists as a separate entity. Instead its forces have largely been incorporated into the Russian-backed V Corps.

To learn more about the history of Suqur al-Sahara', I interviewed a person who served as one of the field commanders in Suqur al-Sahara'. Any parenthetical insertions in square brackets are my own.

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