The group was originally founded in March 2011 by a defector from the
Syrian Army named Ayesh Al-Abdullah, who was from the town of Briyha (which is near the city of
al-Busayrah), along with 7 local tribesmen. It eventually grew to 58 fighters, a majority of whom had military experience and training with Syria's armed forces, who were divided into 8 battalions. The group financed itself by stealing cars and capturing equipment from government forces. Later, it also distributed aid to locals, winning public support. One of the group's founding members claimed the group received support from
Kuwait,
Qatar,
Turkey, and
Germany as well as Deir ez-Zor natives living abroad, and built ties with smuggling networks in neighboring
Iraq to sustain itself. The Turkish government also reportedly gave medical care to fighters wounded from the group; one fighter from the group was treated in Turkey after sustaining near-fatal injuries in combat and later joined
ISIL. The group also contained Kurdish members, thought it clashed with the Kurdish
People's Protection Units in the
Hasakah Governorate. It also reportedly held meetings with local Kurdish factions to convince them to join the opposition against the Syrian government, but were rejected and treated with suspicion.
Composition The group was made up of native Syrians and contained fighters associated with the Al-Bkayyer tribe in
Deir ez-Zor. It also contained a strong presence in
Markada in the
Hasakah Governorate. ==History==