First Army (Syrian rebel group)

First Army
Participant in the Syrian Civil War
First Army Logo
Active	1 January 2015 – present[1]
Leaders	Col. Saber Safar
Area of operations	Daraa Governorate Quneitra Governorate[2]
Strength	5,000[3]-10,000[1]
Part of	Free Syrian Army Southern Front[4]
Allies	Islamic Front[5]
Opponents	Syrian Armed Forces National Defence Forces Yarmouk Martyrs Brigade
Battles and wars	Syrian Civil War

The First Army was created on 1 January 2015 in an effort to unify rebel ranks in southern Syria. Three prominent rebel units merged under this command structure.^[4] On 13 April 2015, it joined a number of other Southern Front affiliates in condemning al-Nusra's ideology and discontinuing all forms of cooperation with it.^[6]

Member groups

• Syria Revolutionaries Front (southern affiliates, such as Omari Brigades^[7])
• 1st Artillery Regiment^[4]
• First Assembly^[8]
• Hamzah Brigade^[9]

See also

• List of armed groups in the Syrian Civil War

References

1. "More than 10.000 Free Syrian Army fighters announce the formation of the "First Army" in southern Syria". Shaam Times. 1 January 2015. Retrieved 2 January 2015.
2. "3 Islamic brigades "al-Hamza brigade, the first artillery convoy, SRF" announced a full union and formed "the first army"". SOHR. 2 January 2015. Retrieved 2 January 2015.
3. "Moderate rebel factions unite in southern Syria". Asharq Al-Awsat. 3 January 2015. Retrieved 4 January 2015.
4. "Three important Free Syrian Army factions decided, at this 2015 new year, to create the First Army". SRO. 1 January 2015. Retrieved 2 January 2015.
5. "Al Nusrah Front, Western-backed rebels overrun key regime base south of Damascus". Long War Journal. 26 January 2015. Retrieved 15 May 2015.
6. . Halab Today TV https://www.facebook.com/HalabTodayTV/posts/1124905374193566. Retrieved 14 April 2015. Missing or empty |title= (help)
7. "Syria dissident groups still not united". Al Monitor. 5 March 2015. Retrieved 5 March 2015.
8. share (2015-11-06). "Daraa / Southern Front - Announcement of the largest merger of combat brigades on the Horan Ground under the name "First Assembly" "التجمع الأول" Joining and Full integration into the ranks of the FSA 'First Army" Led by Colonel صابر سفر : syriancivilwar". Reddit.com. Retrieved 2016-03-22.
9. Jan 5 (2016-01-05). "Ivan Sidorenko on Twitter: "#Syria #Daraa "Horan Mujahideen" #مجاهدي_حوران Withdraw from #Southern_Front #FSA First Army - Hamzah Brigade. https://t.co/jPCvlkjBqi"". Twitter.com. Retrieved 2016-03-22. External link in |title= (help)