Osama Suleiman Mansour Hilali (, born 1979) is a member of the Kurdish Future Movement in Syria. He was also an activist who led protests during the Syrian uprising in 2011, and a militant who founded the Mashaal Brigade, an armed rebel group that consisted of both Kurds and Arabs. Under Hilali's command, the group fought against Syrian government forces and the mainly-Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) between 2012 and 2013, during the Syrian Civil War, most notably in the Battle of Ras al-Ayn. Early life Hilali was born in 1979 in the city of Qamishli, in the northern Hasakah Governorate of northeastern Syria. He went to school until the 9th grade, after which worked as a painter. His friends, some of whom were politically active, taught him to read and write in Kurdish. Hilali visited the graves of Cigerxwîn and Muhammad Sheikh once. He moved to Saudi Arabia in 2005, before returning to Qamishli in 2008 to open an art supply store with his father. Before the Syrian Civil War, Hilali was involved in a dispute between his sister and her husband. During the incident, Hilali killed his brother-in-law with a knife, which he claimed was done in self-defence. In an interview with KurdWatch in March 2013, Hilali claimed that after the war ends, he would turn himself in to a civil and "impartial" court for the murder. Syrian Civil War Organizing protests With the outbreak of the Syrian uprising in March 2011, Hilali joined with other activists to organize anti-protests in Qamishli. One of the locations where protests were organized was Qamishli's main mosque, near which Hilali's store was located. He supplied water, food, and paint to protesters from his store. During the protests, he met with members of the Kurdish Future Movement, and founded the Sun of Freedom Movement with other protest organizers in the city. On 30 April, Hilali and another activist were arrested by security forces. After his release some time later, he joined the Kurdish Future Movement. He was arrested again on 31 August 2011. During the summer of 2012, Hilali was known for carrying water cans and spraying other protesters with water. The pro-government Addounia TV accused him of adding narcotic substances to the water to incite protesters. This claim gave Hilali the nickname "Freedom Pesticide". He was detained by the Military Intelligence Directorate for 15 days, and by riot police at the