Position: Leader of pro-government militia group the Syrian Resistance; formerly known as Popular Front for the liberation of the Sanjak of Iskandarun
Association: allied with the Assad regime; the militia operated in the coastal area, and is accused of carring out offensives and sectarian-style violence
Loyalty: The Assad Regime and to Alwaite-led militia structure in Syria
Most Notorious Crimes:
- Responsibility and involvement in the 2013 massacre of the town of Bayda near Baniyas, where dozens were killed.
- Involvement in 2013 car bombings in the Turkish border town Reyhanlı which killed more than 50 people.
- Participation in operations with his militia Latakia governorate and other coastal regions, accused of sectarian-driven violence, forced displacement, and targeting of Sunni population.
Profile:
Mihrac Ural–also known by his Syrian name Ali Kayali–is a Turkish-born Alawite militant who emerged as one of the most notorious pro-Assad warlord during the conflict. Born in 1956 in Antakya, Turkey, Ural became active in the left-wing Alawite militant circles in the late 1970s and early 1980s before fleeing to Syria after escaping Turkish custody. In Syria, he obtained citizenship and cultivated close ties with the Assad regime, founding the Syrian Resistance, a militia that operated along the coast region. Throughout the conflict, Ural was featured in propaganda videos and interviews, presenting himself as a defender of the Syrian state and the Alawite community while aliening himself with the Bashar al-Assad’s security apparatus.
Over the years, Mihrac Ural’s notoriety deepened due to widespread accusations of involvement in sectarian-driven massacres and acts of cross-border terrorism. He is widely linked to the 2013 Bayada massacre, where dozens of civilians were killed, and to the Reyhanlı bombings in Turkey the same year, which caused more than 50 death and led Turkey to issue a warrant for his arrest on terrorism charges. His militia has been documented engaging in violent offensives, population displacement, and the suppression of opposition communities along the Syrian coast. Despite his visibility and involvement in atrocities, he has never faced formal international prosecution and remains at large with his current whereabouts unclear.
- Arranged a camp in the Turkish/Syrian border to train armed groups against the Turkish army and the Free Syria Army
- Turkish citizen (might have also obtained Syrian nationality from Assad) – Ali Al-kayali syrian name
- Leader of the Popular Defense Forces
- Bayda massacre
- Senior position in the Liwa Eskandaron liberation front
- Terrorist attack in Rehanli in Hatay province in Turkey 2013
- Mihrac is a turkish citizen who was granted syrian citizen by hafez, went on to lead the popular resistance forces
- Wanted by turkey
- Still at large
