ALEPPO — Social media users in the countryside of Aleppo have recently circulated videos in which Walid Khweilid, the son of a Turkish-backed Free Syrian Army (FSA) commander, shows off his luxurious lifestyle. The videos feature him surrounded by bodyguards at his horse farms with various weapons and expensive cars.

Walid, the son of Adnan Khweilid (known as Abu Walid al-Izza), a commander in the FSA-affiliated Jaysh al-Izza (The Army of Glory), sparked anger among inhabitants of the poor areas under the control of the Syrian opposition in northwestern Syria.

Critics believe that Walid is imitating the symbols of the Syrian regime and the actions of the regime’s members showing off their expensive taste on social media.

This is not the first time FSA leaders and their sons provocatively show off their luxurious lifestyles and abuse of power among civilians and on social media. Back in September 2019, videos of Mohammed al-Jassem, also known as Abu Amsha, a commander of the FSA-affiliated Sultan Suleiman Shah Division, touched off controversy. He was seen driving a luxury car accompanied by a convoy of modern cars during a visit to a checkpoint set up by his division in Afrin.