Abdul Baset al-Sarout | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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 Sarout inIdlib on 18 March 2019 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Native name | عبدالباسط الساروت | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | (1992-01-01)1 January 1992 Homs, Syria | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Died | 8 June 2019(2019-06-08) (aged 27) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Buried | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Allegiance |  Syrian opposition | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Years of service | 2011–2019 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Website | www | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Abdul Baset al-Sarout (Arabic:عبد الباسط الساروت; 1 January 1992 – 8 June 2019) was a Syrianfootballgoalkeeper and prominent counter-revolutionary figure during theSyrian Revolution. He represented his country at both theU17 andU20 levels.[3]
Abdul Baset was born to aBedouin family inAl-Bayadah andKhalidiyah [ar],Homs.[4] Prior to the Syrian revolution, he was a soccer goalkeeper for bothAl-Karamah SC and theSyrian national team.[5] When the uprising started, he led demonstrations in his hometown ofHoms demanding the removal of Syrian PresidentBashar al-Assad, as well as other general demands of theSyrian uprising. As violence erupted between pro and anti-governmental groups, four of his brothers, who were fighting with him in the same battalion, were killed by the Syrian security forces.[6] He became well known for his chants during anti-government demonstrations. Initially, his speeches and chants were mostlynationalist in nature, but in line with the rising influence ofIslamism among Syrian rebel groups, they gradually adopted more overtly religious undertones.[7] During theSiege of Homs from 2011 to 2014, he became aSyrian rebel commander.[8]
Arab-speaking media networks likeAl Jazeera andAl Araby described him as a "well known icon in the Syrian uprising",[9] as well as by the epithet "Keeper of the Revolution", awordplay on him being an ex-goalkeeper.[5][10][11] After the decentralization of theFree Syrian Army (FSA), Sarout became a commander in the rebel groupJaysh al-Izza.[12][13]
Sarout survived at least threeassassination attempts during his time as a rebel commander. During one attempt, 50 fighters from his unit, the Bayada Martyrs' Brigade, were killed.[1] He was featured in the 2013 war documentaryThe Return to Homs.[14]
In 2014, he was among the rebels evacuated fromHoms to the rebel-heldIdlib Governorate by the Syrian government, following the surrender deal that ended theSiege of Homs.[15][16]
In November 2015, Sarout and the Bayada Martyrs' Brigade came into conflict with theAl-Nusra Front. The Al-Nusra forces attacked Sarout and his fighters over a claim that Sarout had pledged allegiance to theIslamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).[17] Sarout denied the claim, but admitted he had considered joining ISIL, as he started viewing the jihadist group as the only force capable of fighting theSyrian Government.[18] He stated that he gave up on joining the group after realizing that it was primarily concerned with setting up acaliphate, rather than fighting the government. He added that while he didn't join the militant group, he would also refuse to fight against it.[19]
On 29 May 2017, Sarout was arrested byTahrir al-Sham after being accused of participating in an anti-HTS protest inMaarat al-Nu'man.[20] He was released on 24 June and charges against him were dropped.[21]
He died on 8 June 2019, during the2019 Northwestern Syria offensive, after engaging in combat with theSyrian Army atTal Malah village.[23][12][13][15][24] According to a Jayish al-Izza spokesperson, as well as the pro-oppositionSyrian Observatory for Human Rights, he died in a Turkish hospital inReyhanlı,Hatay from wounds sustained two days prior,[25] when he was struck by Syrian Army artillery, after his unit clashed with the army in northernHama.[26][24][27] He was taken a day later to the village ofAl-Dana in rebel-held northwestern Syria, to be buried with one of his deceased brothers.[19]
