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Syrian Arab Republic
Flag of United Arab Republic
(1958–1961)
Flag of Syrian Arab Republic
(1980–present)
UseNational flag and ensign
Proportion2:3
Adopted22 February 1958, abandoned on 28 September 1961;
readopted on 30 March 1980[1]
DesignA horizontal tricolour of red, white, and black; charged with two green stars at the centre.
Man with Syrian flag

The national flag of Syria was first adopted in 1958 to represent Syria as part of the United Arab Republic, and was used until 1961. It was readopted in 1980. Since its first adoption, variations of the red-white-black flag have been used in various Arab Unions of Syria with Egypt, Libya, Sudan, Yemen, and Iraq. Although Syria is not part of any Arab state union, the flag of the United Arab Republic was readopted to show Syria's commitment to Arab unity.[2] The usage of the flag has become disputed because it is often associated with the Ba'ath Party and has come to represent parties loyal to Bashar al-Assad's government in the Syrian civil war.[3]

The Syrian flag is described in Article 6 of the Constitution of Syria. The first paragraph of the Article states:

The flag of the Syrian Arab Republic consists of four colours: red, white and black, with two green stars, of five angles each. The flag is rectangular, with its width measuring two-thirds of its length. It is divided into three rectangles of identical dimensions and have the same length as the flag. The upper one is red, the middle being white and the bottom one is black, with the two green stars in the middle of the white rectangle.

— 1st Paragraph of Article 6 of the Syrian Constitution[4]

The flag is based on the Arab Liberation Flag, which had four colours – black, green, white and red – representing four major dynasties of Arab history: Abbasids, Faṭimids, Umayyads, and Hashimites.[5]

As a result of the Syrian Civil War, two flags have been used to represent Syria since 2011, used by different factions in the war.[6] The incumbent government of the Syrian Arab Republic led by the Ba'ath Party uses the red-white-black tricolour originally used by the United Arab Republic, while Syrian opposition factions such as the Syrian National Coalition use the green-white-black tricolour known as the ''Independence flag'', first used by Mandatory Syria.

Colors

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Interpretation

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Color Symbolism
Red The Hashemite dynasty, bloody struggle for freedom.[5]
White The Umayyad dynasty,[5] bright and peaceful future.
Green The Fatimid dynasty or the Rashidun caliphs,[5] the stars representing Egypt and Syria.[7]
Black The Abbasid dynasty,[5] strong rule.[7]

Approximations

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Valid for:[8][9]

Red White Green Black
RGB 206/17/38 255/255/255 0/122/61 0/0/0
Hexadecimal #CE1126 #FFFFFF #007A3D #000000
CMYK 12/100/98/3 0/0/0/0 89/27/100/15 75/68/67/90
Pantone 186 C White 7726 C Black

Valid for:[citation needed]

Red White Black Gold
RGB 206/17/38 255/255/255 0/0/0 239/187/34
Hexadecimal #CE1126 #FFFFFF #000000 #EFBB22
CMYK 12/100/98/3 0/0/0/0 75/68/67/90 7/26/99/0
Pantone 186 C White Black 7409 C

Flag of the Syrian opposition

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See also: Syrian Civil War
Syrian National Coalition
Syrian Interim Government
Syrian opposition flag
Syrian revolution flag[10]
UseOpposition and revolution flag
Proportion2:3 (disputed)
AdoptedOriginally in 1932 with 1:2 aspect ratio, was readopted in 1961. Adopted with 2:3 aspect ratio in 2011 by opposition government-in-exile[11] (sometimes the original 1:2 aspect ratio flag is used unofficially).
DesignA horizontal triband of green, white, and black, with three red stars charged in the center.
Man with Syrian opposition flag, Paris

During the ongoing civil war, the Syrian opposition, represented by the Syrian National Council, then by the National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces[12] (commonly named the Syrian National Coalition) used a modified version of the independence flag first used in 1932 with a 2:3 aspect ratio. The modified independence flag began to be used as a universal display of the protesting opposition in late 2011.[12] The opposition wanted to distinguish themselves from the current Syrian government and favoured the use of the flag used when Syria gained its independence from France. Khaled Kamal, an official from the Syrian National Council, now believes this flag to also represent independence and the end of Bashar al-Assad's government. Today the flag is mainly used in areas controlled by the Syrian National Coalition. The use of the modified independence flag is similar to the Libyan rebels' use of the pre-Gaddafi red-black-green-white Libyan flag from the era of the Kingdom of Libya in opposition to Muammar Gaddafi's green flag.[13] The original 1:2 aspect ratio flag has been used by the opposition unofficially on several occasions.

Historic flags of Syria

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Kingdom of Syria (1920)

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See also: Arab Kingdom of Syria
Flag of the Arab Kingdom of Syria

The Ottoman flag had been used in Syria until Ottomans left the country on 18 September 1918. In 1918, the official flag of Syria was the Faysal flag, or Flag of the Arab Revolt, the flag of the 1916–1918 Arab Revolt against the Ottomans. It was officially adopted by the Hashemite family on 30 September 1918 and remained in use until 8 March 1920. This was the first flag to use the green/red/white/black combination seen in most subsequent Syrian flags. The colours' symbolism has been described as follows: white for the Damascene Umayyad period, green for the Caliph Ali, red for the Khawarij radical Islamic movement, and black for the Islamic prophet Muhammad, showing the "political use of religion" in opposition to the increasingly secularized Turkish colonial rule.[14] Alternately, it has been argued that the horizontal colors stand for the Abbasid (black), Umayyad (white) and Fatimid (green) Caliphates and the red triangle to the Hashemite dynasty.[15][16]

Under the Arab Kingdom of Syria, the Faysal flag was redesigned with a 7-pointed white star imposed on the red triangle, and was in use until 24 July 1920. This flag was, however, adopted by Jordan somewhat later.[2] The kingdom lasted for just over 4 months in 1920 before being occupied by France and formally incorporated into the French colonial empire for some 12 years.

French Mandate flags (1920–1932)

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See also: French Mandate for Syria and the Lebanon, Syrian Federation, and State of Syria
Flag of the State of Syria

The Faysal flag was abandoned with the arrival of French colonials to Syria. The French High Commissioner for Syria, General Henri Gouraud adopted the new flag of the French Mandate of Syria (blue with a white crescent, see below) on 24 July 1920. The flag was based on the flag of the Shebab Emirate used between 1697 and 1842, which stood for "the love of peace".[17] Gouraud's flag was in use until 1 September 1920, after which Syria was split into separate territories, each eventually given its own flag (see below).[18][14] On 22 June 1922 Gouraud established the Federation of Syria, which used a green-white-green flag with a French flag canton. When this federation was consolidated into the State of Syria in 1925 the same flag continued to be used until the establishment of the republic on 14 May 1930.[19][20]

Independence flag

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French Mandate and independence (1930–1958, 1961–1963)

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See also: First Syrian Republic and Second Syrian Republic
Flag of the Syrian Republic under the French Mandate, as described in the Constitution of the Syrian Republic

The flag of the newly established Syrian Republic, under the French mandate was determined by the 1930 constitution. The constitution was drafted by a parliamentary committee led by nationalist leader Ibrahim Hananu.[21] At first, French authorities refused to allow the constituent assembly to ratify the constitution, and Henri Ponsot, the High Commissioner of the Levant, dissolved the assembly on 5 February 1929. After a public uproar, French authorities rescinded their decision and decided to approve the draft with some changes.[22] On 14 May 1930, Ponsot issued decree number 3111, which approved the Syrian-drafted "Constitution of the Syrian Republic", and which in Article IV of Part I states:

"[The] Syrian flag will be as follows: length double width, and is divided into three parallel and equal colours, the highest green, white then black, that the white section contains in a straight line three red five-pointed stars".

— Article IV, Part I, Constitution of the Syrian Republic[23]

The flag's green colour stood for the Rashidun, white represented the Umayyads and black symbolised the Abbasids. Originally, the three red stars represented the three districts of Syria: the "states" of Aleppo, Damascus, and Deir ez-Zor.[14] In 1936, the Sanjak of Latakia and Jebel Druze were added to Syria, and the representation of the three stars was changed, with the first representing the districts of Aleppo, Damascus and Deir ez-Zor, the second Jebel Druze, and the final star representing Sanjak of Latakia.[20] The flag was used as a symbol for the desire for autonomy, for Syrians to rally around when France reneged on its agreement to leave the country, due to the outbreak of World War II.[24][14] The symbolism was as follows: black for the dark oppressed past, white for a promising future and red for the blood to be sacrificed to move from the former to the latter.[14] The flag was adopted when Syria gained its independence on 17 April 1946.[2] The standard was used until the creation of the United Arab Republic, a state union of Syria and Egypt, in 1958. After the collapse of the United Arab Republic, Syria continued to use the UAR's flag until 28 September 1961, when the independence flag was restored to disassociate Syria from the former failed union.[2]

Ba'athist flags

[edit]
See also: Ba'ath Party and Pan-Arab colors
Flag of Syria between 1958 and 1961 (as part of the United Arab Republic) and from 1980 onwards
Flag of Syria between 1963 and 1972
Flag of Syria between 1972 and 1980 (as part of the Federation of Arab Republics between 1972 and 1977)

The current two-star flag of Syria was first adopted by Gamal Abdel Nasser, the then president of Egypt and later the president of the United Arab Republic.[25] The flag was changed from the former independence flag in April 1958 along with associated laws designed to create a greater Arab identity.[25] The new flag took the coloured red-white-black bands from the Egyptian revolutionary flag, and the stars on the flag were changed from red to green to indicate the pan-Arab colours. The two stars represented Egypt and Syria.[26]

After Syria left the UAR on 28 September 1961, the previous independence flag was readopted to disassociate Syria from the failed union.

Following the 1963 Ba'athist coup d'état,[27] a new flag was adopted by its Revolutionary Command Council on 8 March 1963, and was used until 1 January 1972.[2] In 1963, the Ba'athist regime came to power in Iraq as well, and the two Ba'athist governments began negotiations in Cairo in order to once again form a union between Egypt, Syria and Iraq. The process failed after the Iraqi Ba'athist government was overthrown in November 1963 but both Syria and Iraq did adopt a new flag to represent the union.[28] This flag was not much different from the flag of the UAR, with only a change from two stars to three, in order to represent the addition of Iraq to the Federation.[2] The three stars represented the unity of Egypt, Syria and Iraq, as well as three pillars of Ba'athism: unity, freedom, and socialism.[29]

President Hafez al-Assad adopted a new flag on 1 January 1972, as Syria joined Egypt and Libya in the Federation of Arab Republics. The green stars were replaced by the Hawk of Quraish (the symbol of the tribe of Muhammad).[14] The eagle held the ribbon with the name of the Federation, but unlike Egypt and Libya, Syria did not include its name on the coat of arms.[20] This flag was an official flag during the Yom Kippur War in 1973.[2] The Federation was dissolved in 1977, but Syria continued to use the flag for the next three years.[20] The flag was abrogated on 29 March 1980,[2] and replaced by the current two-star flag[29] in order to show Syria's commitment to Arab unity.[2]

List of flags of Syria

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The following section below is a list of flags used in Syria.

National flags

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Presidential flags

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Flag Date Use Description
  1980–present Presidential flag of Syria Since 1980, Syria has not had a presidential flag.
1972–1980 Presidential flag of Syria A horizontal tricolour of red, white and black with the old emblem of Egypt.
1963–1972 Presidential flag of Syria A horizontal tricolour of red, white and black with 3 dark green stars.[31][32]
1958–1961 Presidential flag of Syria A horizontal tricolour of red, white and black with 2 dark green stars. The coloured emblem of Egypt is at the top-left hoist.
1941–1958, 1961–1963 Presidential flag of Syria A horizontal tricolour of dark green, white and black with 3 red stars.[31]

Royal flags

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Flag Date Use Description
1920 Royal flag of Syria A horizontal tricolour of black, dark green and white with a crown to the right on the center and a red triangle flipped with a white 8-pointed star inside.

Military flags

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Flag Date Use Description
?–present Flag of the Chief of the General Staff
?–present Flag of the Ministry of Defense
1946–present Flag of Syrian Armed Forces Flag of Syria with the Coat of Arms of the Syrian Armed Forces in the top left hand corner. Across the top the flag says "Homeland Honor Devotion" (وطن شرف إخلاص), and "Syrian Arab Army" (الجيش العربي السوري) across the bottom.[33][34]
1945–present Flag of Syrian Army Green background with the coat of arms of the army in the middle of center.[33][34]
1950–present Flag of Syrian Navy Blue background with the coat of arms of the navy in the middle of center.[33][34]
post-2007–present Flag of Syrian Air Force Turquoise background with their badge in the middle of the center.[33][34]
Link to file Flag of the National Defence Forces

Ensigns flags

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Flag Date Use Description
post-2007 Flag of Syrian Air Force Ensign Almost grey background with the Syrian flag to the top left hoist and the roundel of the air force at the middle of the center.[33][34]

Ethnic Groups flags

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Flag Date Use Description
?–present Flag of the Yazidis Red and white vertical blocks with a yellow 24-pointed star.[35]
?–present Flag of the Syrian Turkmens Teal background with 2 stripes, one at the top and one at the bottom, with the unofficial emblem of Turkey.

Organizations flags

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Flag Date Use Description
Pro-Government
2013–Present Flag of Sootoro White background with the logo in the middle of center.
2011–Present Flag of Syrian Resistance Red background with their insignia in the middle of center.
Ceremonial flag of Liwa Abu al-Fadhal al-Abbas
Anti-Government (Current)
2013–Present Flag of the Sultan Murad Brigade A red background with golden Arabic text with a golden line separating two lines.[36]
2014–Present Flag of the Sham Legion White background with the logo in the middle of center.
Link to file 2015–Present Flag of Ajnad al-Kavkaz
[37] Flag of Tahrir al-Sham
Flag of the National Front for Liberation
Alternate flag of the 21st Combined Force
Former flag of the 21st Combined Force
Anti-Government (Former)
2014–2018 Flag of Harakat Sham al-Islam Black background with a bent line with the crescent joint, under them is the shahada text with another Arabic text at the bottom.
early 2012–2015 Flag of Liwaa al-Umma Black background with the shahada text with a sword at the bottom of it with another Arabic text on the bottom of it.
2014–2015 Flag of the Hazzm Movement White background with the text shahada with two swords merged and one green Arabic text at the bottom.
2013–2014 Administration flag of the Islamic Front White background with the shahada text on top, then the logo on black at the bottom.
2013–2014 War flag of the Islamic Front Black background with the shahda text on top, then the logo at the bottom.
2012–2015 Flag of the Knights of Justice Brigade White background with red Arabic text on the top and bottom with a horse's head mixed with the old Syrian flag.
2013–2017 Flag of Ajnad al-Sham
2014–2017 Flag of Jund al-Aqsa
Flag of the Unified Military Command of Eastern Ghouta

Kurdish and Pro-Kurdish organizations

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Flag Date Use Description
10 October 2015–present Flag of the Syrian Democratic Forces
2011–present Flag of the People's Defense Units
2011–present Flag of the YPG International
April 2013–present Flag of the Women's Protection Units
2003–present Flag of the Democratic Union Party
2011–present Flag of the Movement for a Democratic Society
?–present Flag of the Al-Sanadid Forces
?–present Flag of the Seljuk Brigade
2014–2018 Flag of Liwa Thuwar al-Raqqa
2013–present Flag of the Syriac Military Council
?–present Flag of the Syriac Military Council
2019–present Flag of the Martyr Nubar Ozanyan Brigade
2019–present Flag of the Martyr Nubar Ozanyan Brigade
?–present Flag of the Manbij Military Council
?–present Flag of the Euphrates Liberation Brigade
?–present Flag of the Al-Bab Military Council
?–present Flag of the Jarabulus Military Council
?–present Flag of the Deir ez-Zor Military Council
?–present Flag of the Serê Kaniyê Military Council
?–present Flag of the Tal Abyad Military Council
?–present Flag of the Asayish
?–present Flag of the Self-Defense Forces (NES regions)
?–present Flag of the Kurdistan Workers' Party
?–present Flag of the People's Defence Forces
?–present Flag of the Free Women's Units
2014–2015 Flag of the People's Liberation Faction
?–present Flag of the International Freedom Battalion
?–present Flag of the Marxist–Leninist Communist Party (Turkey)
?–present Flag of the Communist Party of Turkey/Marxist–Leninist
?–present Flag of the Liberation Army of the Workers and Peasants of Turkey
?–present Flag of the Maoist Communist Party (Turkey)
?–present Flag of the United Freedom Forces
?–present Flag of the Marxist–Leninist Armed Propaganda Unit
?–present Flag of the Revolutionary Communard Party
?–present Flag of Türkiye Devrim Partisi
?–present Flag of Sosyal İsyan
?–present Flag of Kadın Özgürlük Gücü
?–present Flag of Devrimci Karargâh
?–present Flag of the Marxist–Leninist Party (Communist Reconstruction)
?–present Flag of the Communist Labour Party of Turkey/Leninist
?–present Flag of the Revolutionary Communard Party/Birli
?–present Flag of the Revolutionary Union for Internationalist Solidarity
?–present Flag of the International Revolutionary People's Guerrilla Forces
?–present Flag of the Queer Insurrection and Liberation Army
?–present Flag of the Bob Crow Brigade
?–present Flag of the Anarchist Struggle
?–present Flag of the Henri Krasucki Brigade

Political parties flags

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Flag Date Use Description
1986–present Flag of Bakdash Communist Party Red background with the communist symbol.
2013–present Flag of Arab Nationalist Guard Black background with the emblem colors switched.
1947–present Flag of Ba'ath Party Black, white and green horizontal rectangles with a red flipped triangle to the left hoist.
2017–present Flag of Democratic Union Party White background with their emblem.
1932–present Flag of Syrian Social Nationalist Party Black background with their logo.
2015–present Flag of Turkistan Islamic Party Black background with the shahada text and Arabic text at the bottom.[38]
2000–2005 Flag of Bethnahrin Freedom Party Blue background with a 32-pointed yellow star and wheats crossed below it, below the wheats are Arabic text and the text "GHB". On the top left hoist is a red shooting star.[39][40]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Ipavec, Eugene (17 March 2012). "Syria". Flags of the World. Retrieved 7 August 2012.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i "Syrian Flag". History of Syria. Retrieved 7 August 2012.
  3. ^ Moubayed, Sami (6 August 2012). "Capture the Flag". Foreign Policy. Archived from the original on 13 October 2014. Retrieved 8 October 2014.
  4. ^ "English Translation of the Syrian Constitution". Qordoba. 15 February 2012. p. 8. Retrieved 14 November 2012.
  5. ^ a b c d e "Come to Syria | Syrian flag | National Anthem of Syria | Facts about Syria". Cometosyria.com, Syria guide – Come to Syria.
  6. ^ "Debate: The New Syria between Flags and Languages | SyriaUntold | حكاية ما انحكت". Retrieved 30 August 2022.
  7. ^ a b "Syria Flag – colors, meaning, history of Syria's Flag". facts.co. Archived from the original on 6 January 2018. Retrieved 5 January 2018.
  8. ^ "Syria flag color codes". Flag Color Codes. Retrieved 22 October 2024.
  9. ^ "Syria Flag Color Codes". Encycolorpedia. Retrieved 22 October 2024.
  10. ^ "Syrian rebels raise a flag from the past". Financial Times. 30 December 2011. Archived from the original on 10 December 2022.
  11. ^ "الائتلاف الوطني لقوى الثورة والمعارضة السورية". www.etilaf.org.
  12. ^ a b "Syria halts Homs siege as Arab monitors arrive". CBS News. 27 December 2011. Retrieved 30 August 2012.
  13. ^ Daraghi, Borzou (30 December 2011). "Syrian rebels raise a flag from the past". Archived from the original on 10 December 2022. Retrieved 7 August 2012.
  14. ^ a b c d e f Sergie, Lina (2003). Recollecting history : songs, flags and a Syrian square (Thesis thesis). Massachusetts Institute of Technology. hdl:1721.1/70372.
  15. ^ Edmund Midura, "Flags of the Arab World" Archived 5 December 2014 at the Wayback Machine, in Saudi Aramco World, March/April 1978, pages 4–9
  16. ^ Mahdi Abdul-Hadi, "Palestine Facts: The Meaning of the Flag" Archived 22 December 2013 at the Wayback Machine
  17. ^ Klimeš, Roman (2021). "The Cedar Tree – The Symbol of a Country" (PDF). 25th International Congress of Vexillology. p. 4.
  18. ^ Sache, Ivan; Ollé, Jaume (29 March 2012). "Historical Flags Until 1932 (Syria)". Flags of the World. Retrieved 22 November 2012.
  19. ^ "Historical Flags Until 1932 (Syria)".
  20. ^ a b c d Ipavec, Eugene; Martins, António; Heimer, Željko; Dotor, Santiago (10 June 2011). "Historical flags since 1932". Flags of the World. Retrieved 7 August 2012.
  21. ^ Thompson 2000, p. 52.
  22. ^ Schumann 2008, p. 204.
  23. ^ The 1930 Constitution is integrally reproduced in: Giannini, A. (1931). "Le costituzioni degli stati del vicino oriente" (in French). Istituto per l'Oriente. Retrieved 31 March 2012.
  24. ^ Lawson 2006, p. 46.
  25. ^ a b Podeh 1999, p. 120.
  26. ^ Mills, T. F. (10 March 2012). "Pan-Arab Colours". Flags of the World. Archived from the original on 13 November 2012. Retrieved 24 November 2012.
  27. ^ King 2009, p. 41.
  28. ^ Goodarzi 2006, p. 14.
  29. ^ a b "Discover Syria" العلم السوري (in Arabic). Discover Syria. Archived from the original on 15 September 2012. Retrieved 7 September 2012.
  30. ^ Borhan, Hasan (11 December 2018). "Salvation Government adopts new flag instead of Syrian Revolution; detentions and kidnappings occur in Idlib and Daraa". smartnews-agency.com. SMARTNews Agency. SMART news. Archived from the original on 7 June 2019. Retrieved 7 June 2019.
  31. ^ a b "Siria e Irak". www.rbvex.it. Retrieved 7 December 2023.
  32. ^ Pedersen, Christian Fogd (1971). The international flag book in color (in English and Danish). Internet Archive. New York, Morrow.
  33. ^ a b c d e "Blast strikes at regime's heart". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 7 December 2023.
  34. ^ a b c d e "Tanks roll in Damascus as battle intensifes". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 7 December 2023.
  35. ^ "The Yazidis: Their Beliefs and the Basis Of The Islamic-State-Led Genocide". NATO Association. 26 March 2015. Retrieved 24 July 2015.
  36. ^ "Sultan Murat Tümeni | Sultan Murat Tümeni". sultanmurattumeni.com. Retrieved 7 December 2023.
  37. ^ "Tahrir al-Sham: Al-Qaeda's latest incarnation in Syria". BBC News. 12 February 2017. Retrieved 8 August 2024.
  38. ^ "Flag of the Turkistan Islamic Party". www.marefa.com. Retrieved 3 October 2015.
  39. ^ "The Revolutionaries of Bethnahrin". www.ishtartv.com. Retrieved 18 December 2023.
  40. ^ "January 21, 2002". www.zindamagazine.com. Retrieved 18 December 2023.

Bibliography

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Further reading

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