Muslim Brotherhood establishes militia inside Syria

Calling itself the “Armed Men of the Muslim Brotherhood”, the militia has a presence in Damascus as well as opposition hot spots like Homs and Idlib. One of their organisers, who called himself Abu Hamza, said that he started the movement along with a member of the Syrian National Council (SNC), the opposition alliance…

The Syrian wing of the Muslim Brotherhood has been revitalised by the organisation’s success in Egypt, where it won both parliamentary and presidential elections…

The divisions are affecting operations on the ground: competing militias co-operate when necessary but otherwise disavow each other. “I would take it as an insult if you described me as FSA,” said Abu Bakri, a front line commander of an Islamist militia in Aleppo calling itself the Abu Emara Battalion…

But the fracturing of the armed opposition raises the prospect of post-Assad Syria becoming a battleground. “This adds to the fragmentation and tones down the credibility of the opposition,” said Louay Sakka, the SSG’s Executive Director. “Supporters should go through the proper channel of the Free Syrian Army military council rather than build their own militias.”