Yarmouk Martyrs Brigade

The Yarmouk Martyrs Brigade (Arabic: لواء شهداء اليرموك) was a rebel group in southern Syria during the Syrian Civil War.

At this stage connected to mainstream Syrian rebel bodies like the Supreme Military Council and Southern Front, the brigade became increasingly isolated from other groups, owing to accusations that it was affiliated with the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).

After much criticism, however, the brigade changed its position, saying that it had attempted to protect the UN peacekeepers from the "barbaric bombing that Assad’s criminal gangs are launching against the western villages of Deraa province and all of Syria.

[5] The claims of allegiance and affiliation with ISIL made by al-Nusra regarding the Yarmouk Martyrs Brigade were denied by the Southern Front.

The rebel Army of Conquest and Southern Front imposed a siege on the group's territory causing the prices of meat, fuel and water to increase.

[5][9] On 15 November 2015, its head Muhammad "Abu Ali" al-Baridi, nicknamed al-Khal (the Uncle), and five other leaders were killed in a bomb blast in Jamla, the village where the Brigade is headquartered.

[1] On 21 March 2016, the brigade and its ally, the Islamic Muthanna Movement, launched a major offensive against other rebel groups, aiming to take control of the Daraa Governorate.

[16] As a result of the failed offensive, the Islamic Muthanna Movement and the Yarmouk Martyrs Brigade were severely weakened, leading to rumors they had merged.