Osbat al-Ansar

Osbat al-Ansar or Asbat an-Ansar (Arabic: عصبة الأنصار‎, meaning League of the Partisans) is a Lebanon-based Sunni fundamentalist group established in the early 1990s which professes the Salafi form of Islam and the overthrow of the Lebanese-dominated secular government.^[1][2] The organization is largely based in Ain al-Hilweh.^[1]

Osbat al-Ansar is on the United States' list of terrorist organizations for alleged connections with Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda, and the American administration decided to freeze all assets of Osbat al-Ansar following the attacks on September 11th, 2001.^[2][3] The group has reportedly received funding from Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, and has been proscribed as a terrorist group by Australia, the United Nations, the United Kingdom and Canada.^[1]

Osbat al-Ansar is also connected with fundamentalist groups Osbat al-Nour, Jund Ash Sham, the Dinniyeh Group and Takfir wal Hijra.^[1] Ahmed Abd al-Karim al-Saadi is the ostensible leader of the group; however, since he went into hiding in 1999, the group has been led by his brother Abu Tariq.^[1] Osbat al-Ansar is estimated to have between 100 and 200 members, mostly Lebanese, Palestinians and Syrians living in Ain al-Hilweh.^[1]

Ideology

According to the Australian Government and the Canadian Government the goal of Osbat al-Ansar is "the establishment of a radical Sunni Islamic state in Lebanon." as well as "Overthrowing the Lebanese government and preventing what they perceive as anti-Sunni Islamic influences in Lebanon".^[4][5]

The group professes the Salafi form of Islam.^[1][2]

Activities

Asbat al-Ansar first emerged in the early 1990s. In the mid-1990s, the group assassinated Lebanese religious leaders and bombed nightclubs, theaters, and liquor stores. The group has also plotted against foreign diplomatic targets. In October 2004, Mahir al-Sa’di, a member of Asbat al-Ansar, was sentenced in absentia to life imprisonment for his 2000 plot to assassinate then-U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon David Satterfield. Asbat al-Ansar has no formal ties to the AQ network, but the group shares AQ’s ideology and has publicly proclaimed its support for al-Qa’ida in Iraq. Members of the group have traveled to Iraq since 2005 to fight Coalition Forces. Asbat al-Ansar has been reluctant to involve itself in operations in Lebanon due in part to concerns over losing its safe haven in the Ain al-Hilwah refugee camp. AAA did not stage any known attacks in 2012.^[6]

Other actions by Osbat al-Ansar

In 2002 a representative of Osbat al-Ansar handed over Badieh Hamadeh, a shiite living in Ain al-Hilweh suspected of killing three Lebanese soldiers, to Lebanese authorities. A spokesman for Osbat al-Ansar stated that the decision to make the hand over was to "spare the camp any bloodshed".^[7]

Prevented attacks

In 2001 Daniel Ahmad Samarji, and Bilal Ali Othman, were arrested in the northern city of Tripoli for planning terrorist acts, illegal dealing in weapons of war and discharging firearms.^[8]

See also

• Ronald Fino

References