Syria Revolutionaries Front

Syria Revolutionaries Front
جبهة ثوار سوريا
Participant in the Syrian Civil War

Logo of the SRF
Active December 2013–Present[1]
Ideology Secularism
Islamic democracy[2]
Nonideological[2]
Groups
Leaders Jamal Maarouf[1]
Area of operations Idlib Governorate, Syria (formerly)[3]
Damascus, Syria[2]
Strength 10,000–15,000[4]
Part of National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces[5]
Syrian Revolutionary Command Council[6]
Southern Front[7]
Jaysh al-Thuwar
Allies
Opponents
Battles and wars

Syrian Civil War

The Syria Revolutionaries Front (Arabic: جبهة ثوار سوريا‎, Jabhat Thowar Suriyya, SRF, also translated Syrian Rebel Front[1]) is, according to Lebanon's Daily Star, an alliance of 14 more secular rebel brigades fighting under the banner of the Free Syrian Army, formed in December 2013, thus according to Arutz Sheva further sidelining the FSA and its leadership Supreme Military Council.[14] It was established as a response to the merger of Islamist Syrian rebels into the Islamic Front.[14]

Following initial clashes, the Islamic Front and the Syrian Revolutionaries Front agreed to reconcile later that month.[15] The coalition is spearheaded by Jamal Maarouf, head of the Syria Martyrs Brigade, a member of the SRF based in Jabal al-Zawiya, Idlib.[16] The group has supported the Geneva II Middle East peace conference that is aimed at resolving the Syrian civil war.[16] The group has received financial support from Saudi Arabia, while the United States has reportedly given the group only non-lethal aid like food, medicine and blankets, in part due to concerns over its involvement in smuggling and extortion.[17]

100 members of a SRF subunit were killed in clashes with the Al-Nusra Front on 16 July 2014.[18] In late October 2014 clashes erupted again between the SRF and Al-Nusra in the Jabal al-Zawiya region of Idlib, over the following days, dozens of SRF fighters defected to Nusra and the group lost control of numerous villages as they withdrew their forces from the region.[19] Maarouf and some of his followers relocated to Turkey, however around half of his men in the region remained behind and accepted the change of control rather than fight.[17]

On 5 May 2015, former members of the Hazzm Movement and the Syria Revolutionaries Front based in the north, Jabhat al-Akrad, the Dawn of Freedom Brigades and smaller FSA groups formed Jaysh al-Thuwar.[20][21] Many of their northern members also dissolved into the Levant Front.

Member groups

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 "FSA alliance pushes back against Islamic Front". The Daily Star. 17 December 2013. Retrieved 16 September 2014.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Lund, Aron (13 December 2013). "The Syria Revolutionaries’ Front". Carnegie Middle East Center. Retrieved 16 September 2014.
  3. 1 2 "Al-Qaeda defeats Syrian moderate rebels in Idlib". ARA News. 2 November 2014. Retrieved 3 November 2014.
  4. ↑ "Al Qaida rebels leave mass grave behind as they desert base in Syria". McClatchy. 6 January 2014. Retrieved 16 September 2014.
  5. ↑ "Jihadists capturing southern Syria, local fighter warns". Times of Israel. 11 May 2014. Retrieved 16 September 2014.
  6. ↑ "Translation: the Formation of the Syrian Revolutionary Command Council". Goha's Nail. 3 August 2014. Retrieved 16 September 2014.
  7. ↑ Aron Lund (21 March 2014). "Does the "Southern Front" Exist?". Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Retrieved 14 November 2014.
  8. ↑ "Aleppo: Syria's Stalingrad?". National Interest. 22 April 2014. Retrieved 16 September 2014.
  9. 1 2 "Jabhat al-Nusra, IS clash in Daraa". Al Monitor. 16 December 2014. Retrieved 20 December 2014.
  10. ↑ "Syria rebels unite and launch new revolt, against jihadists". AFP. 4 January 2014. Retrieved 16 September 2014.
  11. ↑ "Al Qaeda seizes territory from moderate Syrian group". Reuters. 28 October 2014. Retrieved 28 October 2014.
  12. ↑ "New Syria rebel alliance declares war on Al Qaida". AFP. 4 January 2014. Retrieved 16 September 2014.
  13. ↑ "Reinforcements rush to Aleppo as battles rage". The Daily Star. 9 July 2014. Retrieved 16 September 2014.
  14. 1 2 "Syria: New Rebel Alliance to Rival Islamists". Arutz Sheva. 17 December 2013. Retrieved 25 April 2016.
  15. ↑ "FSA, Islamist factions pledge to reconcile". The Daily Star. 18 December 2013. Retrieved 16 September 2014.
  16. 1 2 "Syrian rebels try to agree peace talks stance in Turkey". Reuters. 18 January 2014. Retrieved 16 September 2014.
  17. 1 2 "The rise and ugly fall of a moderate Syrian rebel offers lessons for the West". Washington Post. 5 January 2015. Retrieved 9 February 2015.
  18. ↑ "After ISIL, Jabhat al-Nusra announces Islamic Emirate in Syria". ARA News. 22 July 2014. Retrieved 16 September 2014.
  19. ↑ "Al Qaeda group seizes bastion of Western-backed rebels in Syria's Idlib region". Reuters. 1 November 2014. Retrieved 9 February 2015.
  20. ↑ "#Syria: Seven FSA groups (incl. Jabhat Akrad, Shams Shamal & Homs Revolutionary Union) form "The Revolutionary Army".". Twitter.
  21. ↑ "#SRO - EXCLUSIVE - Former Hazzm and #SRF forces allied with kurds and some #FSA small units to create Jaysh al-Thuwar (in 4 governorates).". Twitter.
  22. ↑ "Video shows Syrian rebels may have U.S.-made antitank missiles". Los Angeles Times. 24 April 2014. Retrieved 16 September 2014.
  23. ↑ "The Moderate Rebels: A Complete and Growing List of Vetted Groups". 21 October 2014. Retrieved 3 December 2014.
  24. ↑ "Harakat Hazm: America’s new favorite jihadist group". Al Akhbar. 25 May 2014. Retrieved 4 December 2014.
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