Turkistan Islamic Party in Syria
The Turkistan Islamic Party in Syria was the Syrian branch of the Turkistan Islamic Party, an armed Jihadist Uyghur group with a presence in the Syrian Civil War. While the TIP has been active in Syria, the organization's core leadership was based in Afghanistan and Pakistan, with a presence in its home territory of China.
At the Syrian Revolution Victory Conference, which was held on 29 January 2025, most factions of the armed opposition, including the Turkistan Islamic Party in Syria, announced their dissolution and were incorporated into the newly formed Ministry of Defense. The Syrian branch of TIP was officially integrated into the Syrian Army's 84th Division, a unit mostly recruited from non-Syrians.
History
The TIP sent the "Turkistan Brigade", also known as the Turkistan Islamic Party in Syria to take part in the Syrian Civil War, most noticeably in the 2015 Jisr al-Shughur offensive. Long War Journal reported in 2015 that Turkistan Islamic Party, alongside other foreign fighters like Chechen and Uzbek militants, had ties to 'The Network'.In 2014, Ibrahim Mansour, a Turkistan Islamic Party official, told Anadolu Agency that "Muslim Uyghur families in China would rather live under the flames of war in Syria than endure oppression and persecution by the Chinese authorities in East Turkestan". Mansour stated at the time that they fought alongside the Free Syrian Army and had no ties to al-Qaeda, emphasizing that "our fight is against the Bashar al-Assad regime".
In Jisr al-Shughur a Church's cross had a TIP flag placed on top of it after the end of the battle as a victory mark. The Uzbek group Katibat al-Tawhid wal-Jihad released a video featuring themselves and the Uyghur Turkistan Islamic Party attacking and desecrating Christian Churches in Jisr al-Shughur. Jabhat al Nusra and Turkistan Islamic Party fighters were accused of displacing Christian residents of rural Jisr al-Shughour, and reportedly killed a Syrian Christian man along with his wife, accusing them of being Syrian government agents. The Saudi news agency Al-Arabiya said that the area was Alawite.
Turkistan Islamic Party has exploited the Turkish Postal Service and Turkish banks to solicit donations via the organization "Türkistan İslam Derneği" through the website "Doğu Türkistan Bülteni".
In 2017, the Turkistan Islamic Party held a military parade in Syria, displaying dozens of military vehicles and T-62 tanks, threatening China.
Fall of the Assad regime
The group participated in the 2024 Syrian opposition offensives which culminated in the fall of the Assad regime. Shortly afterwards, the group uploaded a video stating:At the same time the group uploaded a video with their leader, Abu Muhammed alongside their battalion, using the blue flag of the Turkistan Islamic Party, instead of the black flag the group had previously been using. TIP fighters entered the strategic port cities of Latakia and Tartus on 10 and 11 December. The TIP has promised that now that the Syrian Civil War is over, that they will focus on fighting the Chinese government.
At the event on 29 January 2025 declaring the victory of the Syrian revolution, most factions of the armed opposition including the Turkistan Islamic Party in Syria announced their dissolution and were incorporated into the newly formed Ministry of Defense. Fighters from the Turkistan Islamic Party participated in the 2025 massacres of Syrian Alawites. According to Reuters, TIP carried out many of the attacks.
In early 2025, the United States government demanded that TIP and other foreign militias should be removed from Syria, but the Syrian transitional government stalled and argued that foreign fighters had to be treated with respect due to their role in overthrowing Assad. Finally, US President's envoy has given its blessing to a plan by Syria's new leadership to incorporate thousands of foreign jihadist former rebel fighters into the Syrian army. On 18 May, the Syrian branch of TIP was integrated into Syrian Army's 84th Division, a newly created unit which was largely recruited from foreign volunteers. The TIP ex-commander Abdulaziz Dawud Hudaberdi (alias "Zahid") was promoted to brigadier general in the Syrian military.