Hassan Soufan (Arabic: حسن صوفان; born 1977), also known by his nom de guerre as Abu al-Bara (Arabic: أبو البراء), is a Syrian rebel leader who participated in the Syrian Civil War. He is currently serving as the governor of Latakia Governorate since 17 December 2024. He was appointed as the leader of Ahrar al-Sham and held the position from July 2017 until his resignation in August 2018. He also served as the general commander of the Syrian Liberation Front, assuming the post in early 2018.
Hassan Soufan | |
|---|---|
| حسن صوفان | |
| Governor of the Latakia Governorate | |
| Assumed office 17 December 2024 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1977 Latakia, Syria |
| Political party | Independent |
| Nickname | Abu al-Bara |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  Ahrar al-Sham[1] Syrian Liberation Front National Front for Liberation |
| Years of service | 2017–present |
| Battles/wars | Syrian Civil War |
Biography
editEarly life
editHassan Soufan was born in the year 1977 in the coastal Syrian city of Latakia and had fully memorized the Quran at a young age.
Pre-war activities
editSoufan had received a degree in economics from the Tishreen University. He had lived in Saudi Arabia and studied Islamic theology while there under scholars including Muhammad ibn al Uthaymeen and Abdullah Ibn Jibreen, until Soufan's arrest in 2005 by Saudi authorities and deportation back to Syria. Upon returning to Syria he was held in the Sednaya Prison and took part in a riot there in 2008 taking several guards hostage and later negotiated their release with Syrian officials, during his time in prison he associated with factions in the prison that would later go on to form al-Nusra and ISIL. A former fellow prisoner who knew Soufan who has become an activist has described Soufan as a moderate saying he disagrees with the approaches and positions taken by al-Nusra and ISIL but does not intend to fight them or any other Islamic factions and he is against infighting, and views issue such as Takfir as among the most complex issues in Islamic theology. The activist also claimed that Soufan's ideology is the same as Ahrar al-Sham's early leadership.[2]
Syrian Civil War
editHe was released from prison in late-December 2016 following a prisoner swap between the Syrian government and the rebels, and was appointed the leader of Ahrar al-Sham in mid-2017.[3] He has promised a revival of Ahrar al-Sham and has blamed the former leadership of the group for its decline. In 2018 he was made the general commander of the Syrian Liberation Front, a merger of Ahrar al-Sham and the Nour al-Din al-Zenki Movement which later came into conflict with Hayat Tahrir al-Sham shortly after its formation in February 2018.[4] In August 2018 he resigned from his position as the leader of Ahrar al-Sham.[citation needed]
In May 2019, he resigned from his position as the leader of the National Front for Liberation as well as his position in Ahrar al-Sham for unknown reasons, he stated the reasons were personal, he also stated he was committed to fighting and would continue to participate in the Syrian Civil War.[5]
Governor of Latakia Governorate
editFollowing the fall of the Assad regime in December 2024, Soufan was appointed governor of Latakia Governorate on 17 December by Syria's new authorities.[6]
References
edit- ^ "Why Ahrar al-Sham couldn't stand up to HTS's attack in Idlib". Syria From Within - Chatham House.
- ^ al-Omar, Saleem (13 September 2017). "Ahrar al-Sham Tries to Catch its Breath Under New Leader Hassan Soufan". Atlantic Council.
- ^ Andrew Illingworth (2 August 2017). "Ahrar al-Sham appoints new leader in Syria". Archived from the original on 7 August 2017. Retrieved 17 May 2019.
- ^ "Ahrar al-Sham, Nour al-Din al-Zenki unify against Syrian regime". DailySabah. 20 February 2018.
- ^ Charles Lister [@Charles_Lister] (31 May 2019). "Former #Ahrar al-Sham leader Hassan Soufan has announced his resignation "for special reasons" from Ahrar & the #NLF's leadership council -- though he says he'll remain "a fighter" in the "blessed revolution."" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ^ "Hassan Soufan was appointed as governor of Latakia". X / محمد هويدي. Retrieved 17 December 2024.