Aleppo Artillery School massacre
Encyclopedia
The Aleppo Artillery School massacre occurred on 16 June 1979 in el-Ramouseh district of Aleppo
province (Syria), when an officer in duty, Ibrahim el-Youssef, and a group of Combatant Vanguard (Attali’a el-Moukatillah, headed by Adnan Uqla) implemented a massacre in Aleppo Artillery School, that left 32 cadets dead and 54 injured. The incident marked the beginning of full scale urban warfare of Syrian Muslim Brotherhood
against Alawis, as part of the Islamic uprising in Syria
.
of the implementation of this massacre and killing of Alawi
students. The culprits targeted cadets from the Alawite sect, however the then Minister of Information, Ahmad Iskander Ahmad, stated that the murdered cadets included Christians and Sunni Muslims as well.
The Muslim Brotherhood organisation denied any knowledge of the carnage prior to its occurrence, also denying any involvement in a statement distributed two days later, on 24th June 1979. They also accused the Syrian regime under Hafez al-Assad
of trying to tarnish the image of the movement, that made the most impact among opposition movements on the Syrian street.
This incident was a marking stone of the struggle
for power in Syria between the Muslim Brotherhood and Hafez Assad and his collaborators, and marked the beginning of full scale urban warfare against Alawis, as part of the Islamic uprising in Syria
.
Aleppo
Aleppo is the largest city in Syria and the capital of Aleppo Governorate, the most populous Syrian governorate. With an official population of 2,301,570 , expanding to over 2.5 million in the metropolitan area, it is also one of the largest cities in the Levant...
province (Syria), when an officer in duty, Ibrahim el-Youssef, and a group of Combatant Vanguard (Attali’a el-Moukatillah, headed by Adnan Uqla) implemented a massacre in Aleppo Artillery School, that left 32 cadets dead and 54 injured. The incident marked the beginning of full scale urban warfare of Syrian Muslim Brotherhood
Muslim Brotherhood
The Society of the Muslim Brothers is the world's oldest and one of the largest Islamist parties, and is the largest political opposition organization in many Arab states. It was founded in 1928 in Egypt by the Islamic scholar and schoolteacher Hassan al-Banna and by the late 1940s had an...
against Alawis, as part of the Islamic uprising in Syria
Islamic uprising in Syria
The Islamic uprising in Syria was a series of revolts and armed insurgency by Sunni Islamists, mainly members of the Muslim Brotherhood from 1976 until 1982. The uprising was aimed against the authority of the Ba'ath Party-controlled government of Syria, in what has been called "long campaign of...
.
The massacre
The massacre in Aleppo Artillery School occurred on 16 June 1979, when an officer in duty, Ibrahim el-Youssef, and a group of Combatant Vanguard (Attali’a el-Moukatillah, headed by Adnan Uqla) implemented a massacre in Aleppo Artillery School, that left 32 cadets dead and 54 injured. On June 22nd, the Syrian interior minister at the time, Adnan al-Dabbagh, accused the Muslim BrotherhoodMuslim Brotherhood
The Society of the Muslim Brothers is the world's oldest and one of the largest Islamist parties, and is the largest political opposition organization in many Arab states. It was founded in 1928 in Egypt by the Islamic scholar and schoolteacher Hassan al-Banna and by the late 1940s had an...
of the implementation of this massacre and killing of Alawi
Alawi
The Alawis, also known as Alawites, Nusayris and Ansaris are a prominent mystical and syncretic religious group centred in Syria who are a branch of Shia Islam.-Etymology:...
students. The culprits targeted cadets from the Alawite sect, however the then Minister of Information, Ahmad Iskander Ahmad, stated that the murdered cadets included Christians and Sunni Muslims as well.
The Muslim Brotherhood organisation denied any knowledge of the carnage prior to its occurrence, also denying any involvement in a statement distributed two days later, on 24th June 1979. They also accused the Syrian regime under Hafez al-Assad
Hafez al-Assad
Hafez ibn 'Ali ibn Sulayman al-Assad or more commonly Hafez al-Assad was the President of Syria for three decades. Assad's rule consolidated the power of the central government after decades of coups and counter-coups, such as Operation Wappen in 1957 conducted by the Eisenhower administration and...
of trying to tarnish the image of the movement, that made the most impact among opposition movements on the Syrian street.
This incident was a marking stone of the struggle
Islamic uprising in Syria
The Islamic uprising in Syria was a series of revolts and armed insurgency by Sunni Islamists, mainly members of the Muslim Brotherhood from 1976 until 1982. The uprising was aimed against the authority of the Ba'ath Party-controlled government of Syria, in what has been called "long campaign of...
for power in Syria between the Muslim Brotherhood and Hafez Assad and his collaborators, and marked the beginning of full scale urban warfare against Alawis, as part of the Islamic uprising in Syria
Islamic uprising in Syria
The Islamic uprising in Syria was a series of revolts and armed insurgency by Sunni Islamists, mainly members of the Muslim Brotherhood from 1976 until 1982. The uprising was aimed against the authority of the Ba'ath Party-controlled government of Syria, in what has been called "long campaign of...
.