JMA; Джайш аль-мухажирин вал-Ансар
Brief description
Jaysh al-Muhajirin wal-Ansar (JMA) was a foreign fighter jihadist group that participated in the Syrian conflict against Bashar al-Asad. It was formed in March 2013 when Katibat al-Muhajirin (the Migrant Brigade), led by Umar al-Shishani, merged with several smaller groups.
The group functioned as the primary destination for Russian-speaking foreign fighters until late 2013. However, the first of many fractures within the group occurred in August 2013, when Seyfullakh al-Shishani broke away in acrimonious circumstances to form his own group (Seyfullakh’s Jama’at). When Umar al-Shishani pledged allegiance to the Islamic State (then still the Islamic State in the Levant) in November 2013, he took a considerable number – possibly a majority – of JMA’s Russian-speaking fighters with him. Those who refused to join IS took on the JMA name, under the leadership of Salakhuddin al-Shishani, and the group initially remained one of the key destinations for Russian-speaking fighters.
Over time, however, non-Russian speakers came to dominate JMA and, with the ouster of Salakhuddin and his military emir, Abdul-Karim Krymskiy, in mid-2015, it ceased to be a significant player among fighters from former Soviet countries.
Leadership
- Salakhuddin al-Shishani (November 2013-mid-2015)
- Umar al-Shishani (March 2013-November 2013)
