Kuwaiti Financiers Get a Martyr

In late June, Syria Survey reported that the rebels’ Gulf financiers were regularly traveling to northern Syria for battlefield visits with their clients. This week, Kuwait’s Ajmi clan, among the most prolific of the Gulf financiers, announced that clan member Saud Faiz al-Huwila al-Ajmi was killed in Idlib province during the mid July fighting near the village of Basanqul. The recent clashes at Basanqul were notable for the destruction of a bridge that spanned the Aleppo-Latakia highway.

Rebel groups involved in the fighting at Basanqul included the Daoud Brigade, Ahrar al-Sham and Deraa al-Thawra. It is unknown which group Saud was with at the time of his death, but only Ahrar al-Sham, a known Ajmi beneficiary, reported his death on their social media account.

Hajaj al-Ajmi, who told Kuwaiti media that Saud did his work in secret and avoided media attention, is now using the memory of Saud to raise more funds for the Syrian rebels.

A Hajaj al-Ajmi fundraising poster using
Saud Faiz al-Huwilal al-Ajmi's memory 

Saud Faiz al-Huwila
 al-Ajmi