Free Syrian Army

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Not to be confused with Syrian Army or Turkish-backed Free Syrian Army.

Free Syrian Army
الجيش السوري الحر
Participant in the Syrian Civil War
Free syrian army coat of arms.svg
Logo of the Free Syrian Army
Active 29 July 2011 – late 2012 (central organisation)
Late 2012 – present (gradual reduction of central organisation, arbitrary use of the FSA identity)
Groups See section
Size

25,000 (late 2011)[1][2]
40,000-50,000[3] (2013)

35,000 (2015)[4]
Allies

Current:

Former:

Opponents

The Free Syrian Army (Arabic: الجيش السوري الحر‎, translit. al-Jaysh as-Sūrī al-Ḥurr; abbreviated FSA) is a loose faction in the Syrian Civil War[11][12] founded on 29 July 2011[13] by officers of the Syrian Armed Forces who said their goal was to bring down the government of Bashar al-Assad.[12][13][14] A formal organisation at its founding, its structure gradually dissipated by late 2012, and the FSA identity has since been used arbitrarily by various opposition groups.[15][16][17][18]

In late 2011, it was considered the main Syrian military defectors group.[19][20] It had success against vastly better armed government forces. From July 2012 onward, ill-discipline, infighting and lack of funding weakened the FSA, while Islamist groups became dominant within the armed opposition.[21][22]

The Free Syrian Army aims to be "the military wing of the Syrian people's opposition to the regime",[1] and it aims to bring down the government by armed operations, encouraging army defections and by carrying out armed action.[23] As the Syrian Army is highly organized and well-armed, the Free Syrian Army has adopted guerrilla-style tactics in the countryside and cities. The FSA's military strategy is focused on a dispersed countrywide guerrilla campaign with a tactical focus on armed action in the capital of Damascus. The campaign was not meant to hold territory, but rather, to spread government forces and their logistics chains thin in battles for urban centers, to cause attrition in the security forces, to degrade morale and to destabilize Damascus, the center of government.[24]

After the Turkish military intervention in Syria in 2016, an informal group of Turkish-backed Arabs and Turkmen was established under the name "Free Syrian Army",[25] with on-ground support of an organised military backed by Turkish and British airpower.[26] The group closely cooperate with Turkish troops in Syria.[27]

Contents

Logos and flags[edit]

Logos and flags of the Free Syrian Army
The coat of arms of the FSA which incorporates the coat of arms of Syria; used from July until November 2011.[28] 
The coat of arms of the FSA which incorporates the Syrian independence flag; used since November 2011. 
The flag of Syria used by the FSA until November 2011 
The Syrian independence flag used by the FSA since November 2011[29] 

History[edit]

2011 – Formation[edit]

The first defections from the Syrian Army during the Syrian uprising may have occurred end of April 2011 when the army was sent into Daraa to quell ongoing protests. There were reports that some units refused to fire on protesters and had split from the army.[30]

Defections, according to unverified reports, continued throughout the spring as the government used lethal force to clamp down on protesters and lay siege to protesting cities across the country, such as Baniyas, Hama, Talkalakh, and Deir ez-Zor, and there were reports of soldiers who refused to fire on civilians and were summarily executed by the army.[31]

At the end of July 2011, with the Syrian uprising (or civil war) running since March 2011, a group of defected Syrian Army officers established the 'Free Syrian Army' to bring down the Assad government. On 29 July 2011, Colonel Riad al-Asaad and a group of uniformed officers announced the formation of the Free Syrian Army or 'Syrian Free Army',[32] with the goals of protecting unarmed protesters and helping to "bring down this regime", in a video on the Internet where Riad al-Asaad spoke alongside several other defectors.[13][23]

Colonel Al-Asaad explained that the Free Army's formation resulted from the defecting soldiers' sense of nationalistic duty, loyalty to the people, the need for decisive action to stop government killings, and the army's responsibility to protect unarmed people. He proceeded to announce the formation of the Free Syrian Army, and its intention to work hand in hand with the people and with demonstrators to achieve freedom and dignity, bring the government ("the regime"/"the system") down, protect the revolution and the country's resources, and stand in the face of the irresponsible military machine that protects the "system".[12][23]

Colonel Al-Asaad called on the officers and men of the Syrian army to "defect from the army, stop pointing their rifles at their people's chests, join the free army, and form a national army that can protect the revolution and all sections of the Syrian people with all their sects." He said that the Syrian army "[represents] gangs that protect the regime", and declared that "as of now, the security forces that kill civilians and besiege cities will be treated as legitimate targets. We will target them in all parts of the Syrian territories without exception";[23] "you will find us everywhere at all times, and you will see that which you do not expect, until we re-establish the rights and freedom of our people."[33]

Defectors from the Syrian Arab Army[edit]

Desertion of soldiers to the Free Syrian Army was documented in videos.[34][35] On 23 September 2011, the Free Syrian Army merged with the Free Officers Movement (Arabic: حركة الضباط الأحرار‎, Ḥarakat aḑ-Ḑubbāṭ al-Aḥrār); The Wall Street Journal considered the FSA since then the main military defectors group.[19][20]

From 27 September to 1 October, Syrian government forces, backed by tanks and helicopters, led a major offensive on the city of Rastan in Homs province, which had been under opposition control for a couple weeks.[36][37] There were reports of large numbers of defections in the city, and the Free Syrian Army reported it had destroyed 17 armoured vehicles during clashes in Rastan,[38] using RPGs and booby traps.[39] A defected officer in the Syrian opposition claimed that over a hundred officers had defected as well as thousands of conscripts, although many had gone into hiding or home to their families, rather than fighting the loyalist forces.[39] The Battle of Rastan between the government forces and the Free Syrian Army was the longest and most intense action up until that time. After a week of fighting, the FSA was forced to retreat from Rastan.[37] To avoid government forces, the leader of the FSA, Col. Riad Asaad, retreated to the Turkish side of Syrian-Turkish border.[40]

By October 2011, the leadership of the FSA consisting of 60–70 people including commander Riad al-Assad was harbored in an 'officers' camp' in Turkey guarded by the Turkish military.[41] In early November 2011, two FSA units in the Damascus area confronted regime forces.[42] In mid-November, in an effort to weaken the pro-Assad forces, the FSA released a statement which announced that a temporary military council had been formed.[43]

In October 2011, an American official said the Syrian military might have lost perhaps 10,000 to defections.[44] By October, the FSA would start to receive military support from Turkey, who allowed the rebel army to operate its command and headquarters from the country's southern Hatay province close to the Syrian border, and its field command from inside Syria.[45] The FSA would often launch attacks into Syria's northern towns and cities, while using the Turkish side of the border as a safe zone and supply route.

By the beginning of October, clashes between loyalist and defected army units were being reported fairly regularly. During the first week of the month, sustained clashes were reported in Jabal al-Zawiya in the mountainous regions of Idlib province. On 13 October, clashes were reported in the town of Haara in Daraa province in the south of Syria that resulted in the death of two rebel and six loyalist soldiers, according to the London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.[46] Clashes were also reported in the city of Binnish in Idlib province with a total of 14 fatalities for both affected towns, including rebels, loyalists and civilians.[47] A few days later on 17 October, five government troops were killed in the town of Qusair in the central province of Homs, near the border with Lebanon, and 17 people were reported wounded in skirmishes with defectors in the town of Hass in Idlib province near the mountain range of Jabal al-Zawiya, although it was unclear if the wounded included civilians.[48] According to the London-based organization, an estimated 11 government soldiers were killed that day, four of which were killed in a bombing. It was not clear if the defectors linked to these incidents were connected to the Free Syrian Army.[49]

On 20 October, the opposition reported that clashes occurred between loyalists and defectors in Burhaniya, near the town of Qusair in the central province of Homs, leading to the death of several soldiers and the destruction of two military vehicles.[50] A week later on 25 October, clashes occurred in the northwestern town of Maarat al-Numaan in Idlib province between loyalists and defected soldiers at a roadblock on the edge of the town. The defectors launched an assault on the government held roadblock in retaliation for a raid on their positions the previous night.[51] The next day on 26 October, the opposition reported that nine soldiers were killed by a rocket-propelled grenade when it hit their bus in the village of Hamrat, near the city of Hama. The gunmen who attacked the bus were believed to be defected soldiers.[52]

On 29 October, the opposition reported that 17 pro-Assad soldiers were killed in the city of Homs during fighting with suspected army deserters, including a defected senior official who was aiding the rebel soldiers. Two armoured personnel carriers were disabled in the fighting. Later the number of casualties was revised to 20 killed and 53 wounded soldiers in clashes with presumed army deserters, according to Agence France Presse. In a separate incident, 10 security agents and a deserter were killed in a bus ambush near the Turkish border, opposition activists reported. The Syrian Observatory of Human Rights reported that the bus was transporting security agents between the villages of Al-Habit and Kafrnabuda in Idlib province when it was ambushed "by armed men, probably deserters".[53][54][55]

In November 2011, the FSA operated throughout Syria, both in urban areas and countryside, in the northwest of Syria (Idlib and Aleppo Governorates), the central region (Homs and Hama Governorates, Al-Rastan District), the coast around Latakia, the south (Daraa Governorate and the Houran plateau), the east (Deir ez-Zor Governorate, Abu Kamal District), and the Damascus Governorate.[42] FSA was then armed with rifles, light and heavy machine guns, rocket-propelled grenades and explosive devices.[42] Their largest concentrations were in Homs, Hama and surrounding areas.[42]

The FSA, after consultation with the Syrian National Council (SNC) in November 2011, agreed to not attack Syrian army units that are staying in their barracks, and concentrate on protecting and defending civilians.[56]

In November 2011, "The Free Syrian Army boasts it has as many 25,000 fighters in its ranks, a number challenged by its critics who say the true figure is closer to 1,000".[2] early December, the US International Business Times stated that the FSA counted 15,000 ex-Syrian soldiers.[57]

On 1 November, dozens of armored vehicles converged on a village in the Kafroma in Idlib, as defected soldiers killed an unknown number of Syrian soldiers.[citation needed] A few days later on 5 November, at least nine people died in clashes between soldiers, protesters and defectors, and four Shabeeha were killed in Idlib reportedly by army deserters.[58] On the same day, the state-news agency SANA reported the deaths of 13 soldiers and policemen as a result of clashes with armed groups.[59] According to SANA, four policemen were also wounded in clashes with an armed group in Kanakir in the Damascus countryside while one of the armed individuals died, additionally that day, two explosive devices were dismantled.[60]

Defections and checkpoint raids[edit]

More army defections were reported in Damascus on 10 November, three out of at least nine defectors were shot dead by loyalist gunmen after abandoning their posts. The same day, clashes reportedly resulted in the death of a fifteen-year-old boy in Khan Sheikhoun, when he was caught in crossfire between Assad loyalists and the free army.[61] Also on the 10 November "at least four soldiers in the regular army were killed at dawn in an attack, headed by armed men – probably deserters – on a military checkpoint in Has region, near Maaret al-Numan town" according to the Syrian Observatory For Human Rights.[62] However, the number has also been put at five soldiers.[61] A checkpoint in Maarat al-Numaan three kilometers south of Homs also came under attack by defectors, resulting in an increase in tank deployment by Syrian security forces in the city.[61]

In November, there were conflicting reports of the number of Syrian soldiers injured and killed. On 11 November, Reuters reported that 26 soldiers were killed,[63] while Syrian state media reported the lower figure of 20 soldiers killed at this time.[64][65] For the month up until 13 November, the Local Coordination Committees reported the death of about 20 soldiers,[63] the Syrian Observatory of Human Rights reported the death of more than 100 soldiers,[63] and the Syrian state media SANA reported the death of 71 soldiers.[64][65][66][67][68][69][70] Increased Clashes in Daraa province began on the 14 November when 34 soldiers and 12 defectors were killed in an ambush by the free army. The death toll as a result of the fighting also included 23 civilians.[71] One day later on 15 November, eight soldiers and security forces troops were killed by an assault on a checkpoint in Hama province, according to activists.[72]

Damascus Intelligence complex attack[edit]

On 16 November, in a coordinated attack, an air force intelligence complex in the Damascus suburb of Harasta was attacked.[73] According to the Free Syrian Army, they did so with machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades, leading to the death of at least six soldiers with twenty others wounded. A western diplomat said the assault was "hugely symbolic and tactically new".[43][74] The attack on the air force intelligence complex was a continuation of clashes in Damascus. The next day, the Free Syrian Army launched an assault against the Baath party youth headquarters in Idlib province with RPG's and small arms.[75] The state news agency SANA reported the deaths of three Syrian troops as a result of a bomb blast, with an officer also critically wounded and two law-enforcement agents injured.[76] Three members of the security forces were reportedly killed on between the 18 to 19 November by the Free Syrian Army.[58] Multiple attacks on 19 December by armed groups were also reported by the state news agency SANA.[77] State news also reported that ten wanted armed individuals were captured in Maarat al-Numan.[78]

According to Reuters, two rocket propelled grenades hit a Baath party building in Damascus on 20 December. This if true is highly significant; it is the first attack of this kind within the capital itself and would lend weight to the Free Syrian Army's claim that it can strike anywhere in Syria. According to Reuters, a witness said: "Security police blocked off the square where the Baath's Damascus branch is located. But I saw smoke rising from the building and fire trucks around it." The building was reportedly mostly empty in the attack which took place before dawn and was seemingly a message to the government.[79] However, an AFP reporter went to the area and saw no signs of the claimed attack while residents said that there had been no explosions.[80] Colonel Asaad himself denied that the Free Syrian Army was responsible for the attack. On 22 November, the Free Syrian Army claimed responsibility for killing eight members of the security forces.[citation needed] On 23 November, five defected soldiers were killed; four in a farm near Daraa where they were hiding and one near the Lebanese border, according to Reuters. If there was a confrontation between the soldiers and government troops is unclear. Any government troop casualties as a result of these clashes are also unknown.[81]

Homs airbase attack[edit]

According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, on the 24 November soldiers and Shabiha with armoured vehicles started operations in farmland west of Rastan in Homs province to track down defectors. 24 people died as a result (if they were soldiers, defectors or civilians was not stated). At least fifty tanks and other armoured vehicle opened fire with 50 cal. machine guns and anti-aircraft weapons on positions held by the Free Syrian Army on Rastan's outskirts. Deaths were also reported in Daraa and Homs[82] On 24 November, 11 defectors were killed and four wounded during clashes on the western outskirts of Homs.[83]

In an attack on an airbase in Homs province on 25 November, six elite pilots, one technical officer and three other personnel were killed. The Syrian government vowed to "cut every evil hand" of the attackers as a result.[84][85] On that same day, at least 10 troops and security service agents were killed in clashes with mutinous soldiers in the east of Syria. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the deaths occurred in Deir Ezzor, while early the next day a civilian was also killed in the eastern city. Several defectors were also killed or wounded.[86][87][88]

Army convoy ambushes[edit]

Sustained clashes in Idlib province began on 26 November between loyalist and opposition fighters. At least 8 soldiers were killed and 40 more wounded that day when the free army attacked them in Idlib, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported. "A group of deserters attacked a squad of soldiers and security agents in a convoy of seven vehicles, including three all-terrain vehicles, on the road from Ghadka to Maarat al-Numaan", the Britain-based watchdog said. "Eight were killed and at least 40 more were wounded. The deserters were able to withdraw without suffering any casualties," it added. The FSA claimed to be behind the attack.[89]

Syrian human rights activists claimed that the Free Syrian Army had killed three loyalist soldiers and captured two others on 29 November, although they did not specify where.[90] According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, seven soldiers were killed on 30 November in fighting in the town of Deal in Daraa province after security forces moved on the town in force. The fighting went on from the early morning to the late afternoon. "Two security force vehicles were blown up. Seven (troops) were killed," said Rami Abdel Rahman, head of the observatory. An activist from the town, in the province of Daraa, said some 30 busloads of security men stormed Deal and two of the buses were blown up in fighting "between security forces and defectors," the Observatory reported. One of the destroyed buses was allegedly empty.[91]

Idlib intelligence building raid[edit]

On 1 December, FSA troops launched a raid on an intelligence building in Idlib, leading to a three-hour firefight in which eight loyalists were killed.[92] This came the same day the United Nations announced it considered Syria to be in a state of civil war.[93] On 3 December, clashes in the city of Idlib in the north of Syria the next day resulted in the death of seven Assad loyalist soldiers, five defectors and three civilians.[94] On 4 December, heavy fighting raged in Homs during which at least five FSA insurgents were killed and one wounded.[95] Defected soldiers killed four members of the security forces, including an officer, at the southern city of Deal in Daraa province on 5 December.[96] On 7 December, there were clashes between the Syrian regular army and groups of army defectors near the radio broadcasting centre in the town of Saraqeb, in Idib district. An armoured personnel carrier (APC) of the regular army was destroyed during the clashes. Meanwhile, joint security and military forces raided the houses at the edges of Saraqeb and arrested three activists, at dawn time. This was according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.[citation needed] Between 1 December and 7 December, the Syrian state news agency SANA reported the deaths of 48 members of the state security forces.[97][98][99][100][101][102]

Escalating clashes in Daraa[edit]

A military tank was destroyed in Homs on 9 December.[103] Four defected soldiers also apparently died in fighting on 9 December.[104] On 10 December, activists say clashes between Syrian troops and army defectors killed at least two people. The British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says two army armoured carriers were burned in the pre-dawn clash in the northwestern town of Kfar Takharim.[105] On 11 December, it was reported that a battle was fought between defectors and the Syrian army in Busra al-Harir and Lujah. Troops, mainly from the 12th Armoured Brigade, based in Isra, 40 km from the border with Jordan, stormed the nearby town of Busra al-Harir, the Reuters news agency reported. It was apparently the largest battle to take place in the conflict so far.[106][107] At least five soldiers, including a military officer, are reported to have been killed the same day in an unspecified location.[108] In one of Sunday's clashes, which took place before dawn in the northwestern town of Kfar Takharim, two of the military's armored vehicles were set ablaze, said the British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.[109] Three other vehicles were burned in another clash near the southern village of Busra al-Harir, the group said. Similar battles took place in several other parts of the south, said the Observatory and another activist group called the Local Coordination Committees.[109]

Urban fighting in Homs[edit]

Syrian army defectors, who operate under the banner of the Free Syrian Army, say that a senior army officer was killed on 11 December after refusing to fire on civilians in Homs. Maher al-Nueimi, a spokesman for the FSA, said that Brigadier-General Salman al-Awaja was given instructions to fire on residents of al-Quseir in Homs. When he refused, Nueimi said, he was killed. The FSA says that a large number of defections took place after the killing, as clashes broke out between al-Awaja's supporters in the army and the other soldiers who killed him.[110] The Observatory said two people were killed in the clash with defectors in Kfar Takharim and two armoured vehicles were destroyed.[111] On 12 December, three civilians and two defectors were killed during clashes in Idlib province.[112] Fighting in Ebita, in the northwestern province of Idlib, continued throughout the night and into the early hours on 12 December. At least one fighter was killed and another injured in the assault.[113] The FSA killed ten troops in an ambush on a convoy in Idlib, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. This attack was allegedly done to avenge the deaths of 11 civilians previously killed. A Syrian officer was also killed in a revenge attack.[114][115] Loyalist soldiers reportedly fired upon a civilian car near Homs on 14 December, killing five people, in response, the Free Syrian Army staged an ambush against a loyalist convoy consisting of four jeeps, killing eight soldiers.[116] The same day, three anti-government military defectors were wounded in clashes with Syrian security forces in the village of Hirak in Daraa province.[117] The FSA engaged loyalist army units and security service agents south of Damascus on 15 December, leading to 27 loyalist deaths and an unknown number of FSA casualties. The clashes broke out at three separate checkpoints in Daraa province around dawn[118] Between 8 December and 15 December, the Syrian state news agency SANA reported the deaths of 68 members of the state security forces.[119][120][121][122][123][124][125][126] A lieutenant colonel of the FSA was killed by the Syrian army on 17 December according to Local Committee, and opposition source.[127]

Unsuccessful defection in Idlib[edit]

On 19 December, the FSA suffered its largest loss of life when new defectors tried to abandon their positions and bases between the villages of Kensafra and Kefer Quaid in Idlib province. Activist groups, specifically the Syrian Observatory for Human rights, reported that 72 defectors were killed as they were gunned down during their attempted escape. The Syrian Army lost three soldiers during the clashes.[128] The next day, S.O.H.R. stated that in all 100 defectors were killed or wounded.[129] The clashes continued into the next day, and another report, by Lebanese human rights activist Wissam Tarif, put the death toll even higher with 163 defectors, 97 government troops and nine civilians killed on the second day alone as the military tracked down the soldiers and civilian that managed to initially escape.[130] On 21 December, it was reported that the FSA had taken control over large swathes of Idlib province including some towns and villages.[131] It was also reported on 24 December that the FSA stronghold in the Bab Amr neighbourhood of Homs was under attack by security forces, with two FSA soldiers killed.[132] A week later, a minute long fire fight erupted between FSA forces and government security forces, on a road near the village of Dael in Daraa province. Four government soldiers were killed in the ambush.[133] The FSA grew in size, to about 20,000 by December 2011.[134]

Religious and ethnic character[edit]

In the early days of their existence, 90% of the FSA consisted of Sunni Muslims,[135] a small minority were (Shia) Alawites[135] Druze[136] Christians, Kurds and Palestinians.[137]

Western sources in December 2011 again gave estimates of 10,000 Syrian deserters, indicated that half the Syrian army conscripts had not reported to army duty in the last three call-ups, and that lower-level officers were deserting in large numbers; in some cases, whole units had deserted en masse.[138] An anonymously speaking U.S. official however estimated in December 2011 1,000 to 3,500 defectors in total.[139]

In 2011, The Turkish government provided free passage to defecting Syrian Army fighters and allowed the FSA to operate from a special refugee camp in Southern Turkey near the Syrian border.[140] Turkey would allow the FSA to begin operating in nearby towns and encouraged foreign intervention in the Syrian Civil War.[140]

In August 2012, the National Unity Brigades was formed. Known for its non-sectarianism. The group included rebels from minority groups such as Christians, Druze, Ismailis, and Alawites.[141] The goal of the group was to establish a civil, democratic state for "all ethnicities and social identities".[142]

External video
Idlib, Syria, 21 February 2012, About 500 soldiers defect from the Syrian army's 17th Regiment and join the opposition Free Syrian Army.[143]

2012 – Height of the Free Syrian Army[edit]

January/February – High-ranked officer defections[edit]

On 6 January 2012, General Mustafa al-Sheikh of the Syrian Army defected from the government forces to join the FSA.[144] General Mustafa al-Sheikh told Reuters that up to 20,000 soldiers in total had deserted the army since the beginning of the conflict, and that the FSA had taken control of large swathes of land. He said in an interview on 12 January 2012: "If we get 25,000 to 30,000 deserters mounting guerrilla warfare in small groups of six or seven it is enough to exhaust the army in a year to a year-and-a-half, even if they are armed only with rocket-propelled grenades and light weapons".[145]

On 7 January 2012, Colonel Afeef Mahmoud Suleima of the Syrian Air Force logistics division defected from Bashar Al Assad's regime along with at least fifty of his men. He announced his group's defection on live television and ordered his men to protect protesters in the city of Hama. Colonel Suleiman declared: "We are from the army and we have defected because the government is killing civilian protesters. The Syrian army attacked Hama with heavy weapons, air raids and heavy fire from tanks. … We ask the Arab League observers to come visit areas affected by air raids and attacks so you can see the damage with your own eyes, and we ask you to send someone to uncover the three cemeteries in Hama filled with more than 460 corpses."[146]

Syrian forces clashed with army deserters in an area near the capital Damascus, opposition activists said. The town of Reef Damascus saw fighting on 1 January as the government forces were hunting for suspected defectors, according to the activists. There were no immediate reports of casualties.[147] According to the London-based Syrian Observatory for Human rights, despite a self-declared ceasefire, Free Syrian Army soldiers in Idlib, on 2 January, overran two checkpoints belonging to security forces and captured dozens of loyalist troops, and launched an attack on a third checkpoint killing and wounding several loyalists.[148] More than a dozen people, including 11 soldiers, were killed in clashes between defectors and loyalists in Basr al-Harir, a town in southern Daraa Governorate, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.[149] Shelling and gunfire were also reported in Deir ez-Zor by the LCC.[150] On 14 January, the Syrian Observatory For Human Rights said there was fighting between deserters and loyalist troops in Hula, Homs province, after the defectors destroyed a barricade and a number of security forces were killed or wounded.[151]

In mid-January, the FSA managed to take control over the border town of Zabadani, just 14 miles away from the capital, Damascus. Regular army forces tried to assault the town several times but as of 16 January all attacks were repelled.[152]

On 16 January General Mouaffac Hamzeh in the city of Qusayr in Homs province was announced to have defected to the opposition.[153]

By 26 January, the Damascus suburb of Douma had fallen under control of the Free Syrian Army, with occasional raids by security forces failing to dislodge the rebels, mainly made of armed civilians, and some army defectors, mostly armed with assault rifles and hand grenades.[154] Because of the growing number of defectors, some defectors managed to take their tanks with them. A spokesman for the Free Syrian Army said that more than 100 soldiers defected on 28 January 2012, bringing three tanks along with them.[155] By the end of January and the beginning of February, videos surfaced showing BMP-2 armoured personnel carriers in Homs carrying the Syrian independence flag firing at government forces, supported by FSA soldiers.[156]

On 29 January, there were reports of a new round of high-ranking defections after the Syrian Army was deployed to fight in the Damascus suburbs, some of them joining FSA. At least two generals and hundreds of soldiers with their weapons defected at this time.[157][158][155]

Between the 29 and 30 January, government forces massed over 2,000 troops and at least 50 tanks and launched a major offensive to reclaim the northern suburbs – held by the FSA – and drive them from the city. By the end of 30 January, it appeared that the operation had been mostly successful, and the FSA had made a tactical withdrawal.[159] 10 FSA fighters and eight government soldiers were killed during the day in the whole country. Two of the defectors died in the Damascus suburb of Rankus, which had been retaken by the military.[160] Another report put the day's death toll in the suburbs at 19 civilians and 6 FSA fighters, while the overall number of those killed in the previous three days, since the fighting in the area started, was 100.[161] The same day, it was reported by opposition activists that one of the original founders of the FSA, Colonel Hussein Harmush, who was captured in late August by Syrian special forces, was executed several weeks earlier.[160]

On 31 January, the Syrian army continued to advance in order to remove the last FSA pockets.[162] The army fired into the air, as they advanced with tanks even beyond the positions from where the FSA withdrew. Activists told that the suburbs were on unannounced curfew while others were allowed to flee. The army was conducting arrests on suspected people in the district of Arbin.[163][need quotation to verify] In some instances, curfews were defied by some citizens, who put up a large opposition flag in the centre of Damascus.[164]

On 1 February, the Syrian army extended their operations around Damascus, with more troops moving into the mountainous area of Qaramoun, north of Damascus. Further north, the troops which took the control of Rankous, started to extend their control into farmland surrounding the city. In the eastern suburbs of Mesraba, activist reported that army snipers were positioned and that tanks were in the streets.[165] Initially, 12 people, including six FSA rebels, were killed in fighting in Wadi Barada, located north-west of Damascus in the Rif Damashk governorate, according to the Local Committee of Coordination.[166] Later, the death toll of FSA fighters in the area was raised to 14.[167] The town of Deir Kanoun and Ein al Fija were also under army assaults according to the London-based SOHR.[168] At the same time, SANA reported that, further south in the suburbs Daraa, security forces killed 11 armed fighters and wounded two when they attacked a military bus killing one Army sergeant and wounding two others.[169] Also, the Al-Watan newspaper reported that 37 rebel fighters were killed in fighting in Homs and 15 in Rastan, while four soldiers died in Bab Dreib and two in Rastan.[170]

According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, troops and army defectors clashed in the northwestern province of Idlib and the southern province of Daraa on 5 February. They report two civilians and nine soldiers killed in Idlib.[171] The FSA seems to have taken over another checkpoint in Homs on 2 February.[172] Five government troops were shot in clashes with rebel fighters in Qalaat al-Madyaq town in restive Hama area, on 14 February.[173]

On the night of 3 February and in the early hours of 4 February, government forces launched a major offensive against Homs, leading to over 200 deaths and 800 injuries. FSA forces engaged loyalist forces and threatened reprisals particularly in Damascus.[174] On 10 February, Sky News reported that the FSA had taken full control of the northern city of Idlib. However, Syrian tanks were surrounding Idlib, and citizens and defected soldiers feared a new offensive. Renewed fighting in the Idlib province was reported on 11 February.[175]

On 6 February 2012, Riad al-Asaad voiced his concern about the SNC's lack of political and material support for the FSA, and stated that if differences could not be resolved the FSA would break off its relations with the SNC.[176]

Heavy fighting had taken place in the town of Al-Qusayr in Homs since 13 February, when the FSA captured the headquarters of the secret service in Homs, killing five agents in the process. Remaining government troops retreated to the town hall and hospital in the city. Four tanks came to reinforce them.[177] However, 1 of the 4 tanks as well as 30 soldiers defected to the opposition, where the tank, aided by tractors and trucks, took out remaining government positions and the other 3 tanks. During the Battle of Al-Qusayr, FSA fighters were able to establish full control of the city. They said 20 government soldiers had been killed and 80 had fled. FSA fighters said 1 of their men had been killed and another 6 wounded during the battle.[178]

Around 18 February 2012, General Fayez Amro of the Syrian Air Force, who was from the Bab Amr district in Homs and of Turkmen origin, defected to Turkey.

Another intelligence general from the Syrian army also defected at this time to Turkey. His name was not disclosed due to security reasons, opposition forces said.[179]

22 February, a brigadier general defected in Idlib with 200 of his soldiers.[180] In March, General Adnan Farzat from the city of Rastan and two other generals defected.[181][182] Turkish government sources reported that same month a surge in desertions with 20,000 desertions in the past month alone bringing the total number of deserters from the Syrian army to over 60,000 soldiers.[183]

In late February 2012, the Syrian National Council established a military bureau to oversee military operations. This initiative was met with criticism by Free Syrian Army leaders who said that they had not been informed.[184] Defected General Mustafa al-Sheikh created a similar discord in the army when he established a rival group called the Higher Military Revolutionary Council which was rejected by the FSA leadership and field units.[185]

Earlier the Muslim Brotherhood had also tried to coopt the FSA but the leadership rejected their attempt.[184] Colonel Al Kurdi, the deputy leader of the FSA, dismissed the internal disputes and said that despite disagreements, the opposition remained united against the government and in their call for arms.[184]

In late 2011, the FSA established control over a number of towns and villages across Idlib province.[186][187]

Later in January 2012, the Free Syrian Army succeeded in taking control of the town of Zabadani in Damascus province, following intense clashes with the regular troops.

On 21 January, the FSA temporarily captured the town of Douma, near Damascus.[188]

The Free Syrian Army also for three months controlled around two-thirds of Homs, Syria's third largest city, according to Syrian military officers inside the city.[189]

In January, some Damascus suburbs fell under partial opposition control. For example, the town of Saqba, an eastern suburb of Damascus fell under opposition control for a week until the FSA was forced to tactically retreat into the local population after sustaining heavy bombardment by the Syrian Army.[190][191] In late February, the city of Idlib was under opposition control, with opposition flags flying in the city centre.[175]

Methods and Tactics[edit]

As deserted government soldiers had no armored vehicles and only light weaponry and munitions, FSA in August–October 2011 mostly ambushed security forces and the state's Shabiha (ghost) militia, and attacked trucks and buses bringing in security reinforcements by planting bombs or with hit-and-run attacks, but seldom confronted other regular army soldiers.[135]

The FSA uses guerrilla warfare tactics when it fights and does not aim to occupy terrain once a fight is over, however, by late 2011 large swathes of area in Syria had fallen under partial control of the Free Syrian Army.[192][193]

The Free Syrian Army's armed actions focus on the government's combat advantages, which include the ability to mount coordinated operations on a large scale, the ability to move its forces at will, and the ability to employ heavy firepower.[194] To counter these advantages, the FSA has mounted attacks on the government's command and control and logistical infrastructure. A sabotage campaign has begun in Syria, with reports of attacks on different government assets. The FSA has mounted attacks on security service command centers, and posts information on Syrian social media sites about blocking roads, attacking logistics vehicles, cutting coaxial communications cables servicing airfields, destroying telecommunications towers, sabotaging government vehicles by sugaring fuel tanks, and attacking railways and pipelines.[195][196]

An FSA fighter engaged in a firefight in Aleppo

The Free Syrian Army on the local level engages and ambushes the state's shabiha militia[135] and confronts the army during which it encourages defections.[197] Some members of the Free Syrian Army have stated that the organization does not have the resources to occupy and take control of territories, and instead relies primarily on hit and run attacks to prompt the Syrian army into withdrawing.[198] The FSA also uses improvised explosive devices to attack military convoys of buses, trucks and tanks that are transporting supplies and security reinforcements and engages in attack and retreat operations on government checkpoints.[135][199] In neighborhoods opposed to the government, the FSA has acted as a defense force, guarding streets while protests take place and attacking the militias, known as shabiha, which are an integral part of the government's efforts to suppress dissent.[200] In Deir ez-Zor, Al-Rastan, Abu Kamal and other cities the Free Syrian Army, however, engaged in street battles that raged for days with no particular side gaining the advantage.[135] The FSA has also sought international help in bringing down the Assad government. It has asked the international community for arms and the implementation of a no fly zone and naval blockade of Syria[201]

Communication inside the battalion unit is carried out by walkie talkie.[202] The FSA battalion units work closely with the local population and defectors typically join units from the region or town that they come.[203] The FSA is closely interlinked with ad hoc activist networks and it works closely with the civilian formed local councils.[204][205] Around key population centers, such as Damascus, Aleppo, Daraa and Hama, the FSA operates military councils that coordinate operations in the area.[206][207]

The army's command and control is exercised through a variety of means, including mobile phones, voice over IP, email, couriers and social media.[42] In November 2011, the army spent $2 million to improve communication links between opposition fighters in Syria.[208] The Bashar al-Assad government captured a number of sophisticated communications devices from opposition fighters, including Thuraya mobile satellite phones, very high and ultra-high frequency (VHF/UHF) devices, and Inmarsat mobile communication satellite systems.[42] In February 2012, Qatar had supplied the army with 3,000 satellite phones.[209] The United States has also provided communication equipment to help create a more structured army.[210][211][212]

At the outset, the Free Syrian Army was mainly armed with AK-47s, DShKs and RPG-7s.[213] As defecting soldiers lack air cover, deserting soldiers have to abandon their armoured vehicles. Soldiers defected carrying only their army issued light arms and hide in cities, suburbs or the cover of the countryside.[135] Besides AK-47s, some FSA soldiers also have M16s, Steyr AUGs, FN FALs, SVDs and shotguns,[214] G3 Battle Rifles,[215] and PK machine guns.[216] Photos have surfaced of some rebels using salvaged StG 44 assault rifles.[217] The FSA has a few heavy weapons captured from the Syrian government.

In February 2012, video footage was posted online showing a captured government tank, being used in Homs by FSA forces. The tank carried Syrian opposition flags and was seen firing with armed men in civilian clothes taking cover behind it.[218] An FSA spokesman has said that the organization received three tanks from a group of 100 deserters from the Syrian army.[155] The FSA has also reportedly acquired a number of anti-aircraft missiles.[219]

The Free Syrian Army later began manufacturing its own mortars and rockets.[220] Raids on government checkpoints and arms depots are carried out to supply the FSA with much of its ammunition and new arms. The FSA also purchases weapons on the Syrian black market which is supplied by arms smugglers from neighboring countries and corrupt loyalist forces selling government arms.

There have been reports that whole arms depots have been offered for sale, although these offers were refused because of fears of a potential trap.[208][221] FSA fighters are also sometimes able to purchase weapons directly from army supply bases, provided that they have enough money to satisfy the government troops guarding them. It is also reported that the FSA purchases much of its heavy weaponry from Iraqi arms smugglers.[222]

Col. Riad Asaad has asked the international community to supply the FSA with arms to alleviate the organization's supply issues.[41][223]

March to December – Issues of organization[edit]

A colonel (left) and a first lieutenant (right) in the FSA announce the formation of the Conquest Brigade, part of the FSA in Tell Rifaat, north of Aleppo, 31 July 2012.

In March 2012, two reporters of The New York Times witnessed an FSA attack with a roadside bomb and AK-47 rifles on a column of armored Syrian tanks in Saraqib in Idlib Governorate, and learned that FSA had a stock of able, trained soldiers and ex-officers, organized to some extent, but were without the weapons to put up a realistic fight.

Baba Amr district in Homs fell to government forces on the morning of 1 March, as the Free Syrian Army claimed they had made a "tactical retreat" from the area, after running low on weapons and ammunition. They made the decision to withdraw from Baba Amr and into other parts of Homs because "worsening humanitarian conditions, lack of food and medicine and water, electricity and communication cuts as well as shortages in weapons."[224]

Shortly after their retreat from Baba Amr in Homs, the FSA suffered another setback on 3 March, when a defection of 50 soldiers from the Abu Athuhoor Military Airport in Idlib province was foiled after their plans were discovered. 47 of the soldiers were executed[225] and only three managed to escape. Their bodies were reportedly dumped in a lake.[226]

A raid was conducted in the Mezze area of Damascus, involving machine-gun fire and rocket propelled grenades. A defecting general was escorted from the area. A military helicopter flew over the area leading to the detection and deaths of 7 FSA fighters.[227] Also, 80 elements of the security forces including pro-government militia were reportedly killed and 200 wounded during the clashes. The deputy commander of the Free Syrian Army also said that two military tanks were destroyed during the operation.[228][229] However, neither the opposition-affiliated SOHR activist group or any independent media confirmed the high number of government casualties in the clashes.

FSA fighters claimed to control the back roads in the countryside, but also admitted that no one knew for certain where the Syrian Army would be at a given time.[230] On 24 March 2012, the Free Syrian Army united with the Higher Military Council. The groups agreed to put their differences behind them, and in a statement said: "First, we decided to unite all the military councils and battalions and all the armed battalions inside the country under one unified leadership of the Free Syrian Army and to follow the orders of the commander of the FSA, Col. Riad al-Asaad."[231]

By late April 2012, despite a cease-fire being declared in the whole country, heavy fighting continued in Al-Qusayr, where rebel forces controlled the northern part of the city, while the military held the southern part. FSA forces were holding onto Al-Qusayr, due to it being the last major transit point toward the Lebanese border. A rebel commander from the Farouq Brigades in the town reported that 2,000 Farouq fighters had been killed in Homs province since August 2011. At this point, there were talks among the rebels in Al-Qusayr, where many of the retreating rebels from Homs city's Baba Amr district had gone, of Homs being abandoned completely.[232][233]

Areas of conflict and displacement (light purple), refugee camps (red triangles), displaced in host homes (green houses), FSA held territory (red), June 2012.[234][235]

By late April 2012, despite a cease-fire being declared in the whole country, heavy fighting continued in Al-Qusayr, where rebel forces controlled the northern part of the city, while the military held the southern part. FSA forces were holding onto Al-Qusayr, due to it being the last major transit point toward the Lebanese border. A rebel commander from the Farouq Brigades in the town reported that 2,000 Farouq fighters had been killed in Homs province since August 2011. At this point, there were talks among the rebels in Al-Qusayr, where many of the retreating rebels from Homs city's Baba Amr district had gone, of Homs being abandoned completely.[232][233]

Despite the UN ceasefire, fighting between the Free Syrian Army and Syrian government forces continued throughout May. The FSA had used much of early May to regroup[236] and gradually launched more and more attacks on government forces as the month progressed (despite often being poorly armed)[237] and it became clear that the ceasefire had failed. Kofi Annan himself expressed exasperation at the ongoing violence. Footage in late-May appeared to show FSA forces had been destroying Assad forces' tanks in Idlib.[238]

In May, United Nations monitors confirmed media reports that large areas of Syria's countryside and provincial cities were under the de facto control of the FSA.[239] The Free Syrian Army has stated that it only has partial control over its held areas, and that in a head to head battle with the Syrian army was unable in most cases to hold the territory. The FSA's goal as of winter was to loosen government control over areas, rather than to impose firm control of its own.[240]

Areas of conflict and displacement (light purple), refugee camps (yellow triangles), displaced in host homes (green houses), FSA held territory (red), June 2012.[234][235]

By June 2012, CNN estimated opposition forces to have grown to 40,000 men.[241] The Free Syrian Army announced on 4 June it was abandoning its ceasefire agreement. Spokesman Sami al-Kurdi told Reuters that the FSA had begun attacking soldiers to "defend our people". At least 80 government soldiers were killed in escalating violence over that weekend.[242] By mid-June, the FSA controlled large swathes of land in Idlib governorate and Northern Hama governorate. In these areas, the FSA and local individuals administered justice and the distribution of supplies to residents.[243]

It was reported on 28 June that the opposition almost entirely controlled the city of Deir ez-Zor, while the government army had shelled it, trying to take it back. Human rights groups said that this assault with tanks and artillery had killed over 100 residents. The government also reportedly told doctors not to treat people at local hospitals and targeted hospitals that refused with mortar rounds. Humanitarian aid workers from the Syrian Arab Red Crescent were targeted by the army, one worker was killed.[244] In Homs, the FSA held out against government forces bombarding large parts of the city, including the opposition bastion of Khaldiyah. Also, renewed fighting between rebels and loyalists was reported in the Baba Amr neighourhood of Homs.[citation needed]

By July 2012, there were over 100,000 defectors from the armed forces reported.[245] In July, it was reported that the Free Syrian Army had taken control of a number of suburbs north of the capital Damascus, including Zamalka and Irbeen. FSA fighters openly patrolled the streets of the suburbs, and clashes occurred less than 10 kilometers from the center of Damascus city itself.[246]

It was reported that the Free Syrian Army also took control of a commercial crossing in Bab al-Hawa in Syria's northern frontier. FSA fighters had fought government forces there for ten days until they won. FSA fighters were seen in video footage, destroying portraits of Assad and celebrating their victory.[247]

Prior to September 2012, the Free Syrian Army operated its command and headquarters from Turkey's southern Hatay province close to the Syrian border with field commanders operating inside Syria.[41][248] In September 2012, the FSA announced that it had moved its headquarters to rebel-controlled territory of Idlib Governorate in northern Syria,[249][250] which was later overrun by the Islamic Front in December 2013.[citation needed][251]

According to a France 24 report in October 2012, "rich businessmen from Damascus and Aleppo support the FSA as well as political organisations like the Muslim Brotherhood." The ideology of various FSA groups depended on their sponsors and funders. "If a militia receives money from the Muslim Brotherhood, then it obviously going to be an Islamist militia", an observer stated.[252]

FSA fighters plan during the Battle of Aleppo (October 2012).

The Syrian National Coalition, formed in November 2012 and by September 2013 based in Istanbul, dubbed the 'main opposition alliance',[citation needed] was recognized by the FSA by September 2013.[253]

On 18 November, rebels took control of one of the Syrian Army's largest military bases in northern Syria, Base 46 in the Aleppo Governorate after weeks of intense fighting with government forces. Defected General Mohammed Ahmed al-Faj, who commanded the assault, hailed the capture of Base 46 as "one of our biggest victories since the start of the revolution" against Bashar al-Assad, claiming nearly 300 Syrian troops had been killed and 60 had been captured with rebels seizing large amounts of heavy weapons and tanks.[254]

On 22 November, rebels captured the Mayadin military base in the country's eastern Deir ez Zor province. Activists said this gave the rebels control of a large amount of territory east of the base, to the Iraqi border.[255]

On 7 December 2012, about 260 to 550 commanders and representatives of the Syrian armed opposition met in Antalya and elected a new 30-person military council for the FSA, called Supreme Military Council.[256] Colonel Riad al-Asaad, who was not present at the meeting, retained his formal role as Commander-in-Chief but lost effective power to Brigadier General Salim Idris, who was elected as the new Chief of Staff of the FSA and effective leader.[citation needed]

Security officials from the United States, United Kingdom, France, the Gulf Cooperation Council and Jordan were present at the meeting,[257][258][259] days before a meeting of the Friends of Syria Group that had pledged non-military aid to militant rebels.[258]

Al-Nusra Front and Ahrar ash-Sham were not invited to the meeting.[257] Thomson Reuters stated that the new Chief of Staff Gen. Salim Idris "is not ideological", while two of his new deputy commanders, Abdelbasset Tawil from Idlib Governorate and Abdelqader Saleh from Aleppo Governorate are Islamist.[258] FSA commanders "[appeared] to want to sideline extremist groups that have been playing a bigger role in recent months" and that there would be a total of five deputy commanders associated with five different regions of Syria.[257]

Late 2012 command structure[edit]

Political Military Opposition Structure (June 2012).jpg

In December 2012, more than 260 Free Syrian Army rebel commanders from all over Syria agreed to a unified command structure of the Free Syrian Army.[260] The participants elected a 30-member Supreme Military Council, which then selected General Salim Idris as Chief of Staff.[260] Idris was later replaced by Abdul-Ilah al-Bashir.[261]

The FSA's formal leader is its Commander-in-Chief Colonel Riad al-Asaad; however, the army's effective military leader is its Supreme Military Councils Chief of Staff, Brigadier General Abdul-Ilah al-Bashir. Beneath General al-Bashir there are five deputy chief of staffs who are in charge of five different regions of Syria. Two of these deputy chiefs of staff are Abdelbasset Tawil from Idlib Governorate and Abdelqader Saleh from Aleppo Governorate.[257][258]

The Free Syrian Army has field units located across the country. The field units are under the direct command of nine regional commanders which are based in the provinces of Homs, Hama, Idlib, Deir al-Zor, Damascus, Aleppo and Latakia. The regional commanders include Colonel Qasim Saad al-Din who directs military operations in Homs province and Colonel Khaled al-Haboush who directs military operations in the capital. The regional commanders are under the direct operational command of Colonel Riad Asaad and hold conference calls almost daily.[264][265][266] For internal communication and operations, the FSA appears to have an extensive internet based communication network that state security has tried to penetrate.[203][267]

The Free Syrian Army has adopted the configuration and tactics of a guerrilla force. A typical field unit such as the Tel Kalakh Martyrs' Brigade numbers between 300 and 400 fighters split into combat units of six to 10 men. Each man in the unit is armed with a light weapon, such as an AK-47, and the combat unit as a whole is equipped with an RPG launcher and a light machine gun.

Free Syrian Army units specialize in different tasks. Units close to the borders are involved with logistics and the transport of injured soldiers out of the country and also with the transport medical equipment, material supplies and weapons into the country.[185] Other units such as the Farouq Brigades which are based in the city of Homs are involved in protecting civilians and fending off the Syrian army. The Farouq Brigade is one of the more active FSA battalion units. It is led by Lieutenant Abdul-Razzaq Tlass, the nephew of former Defense Minister Mustafa Tlass.[263] Lieutenant Tlass was one of the first defectors and is one of the key figures in the Syrian uprising. His unit of 500–2,000 soldiers has engaged the Syrian army in Homs and raided Syrian checkpoints and command centers.[196][284][285] As of January 2012, the army had around 37 named battalion units, 17–23 of which appeared to be engaged in combat.[268][286] In October 2012 the Time magazine reported that the FSA was "never more than an umbrella term that provided political cover for the loose franchise of defectors and armed civilians fighting Assad's regime" and some units were merely made up of a few dozen fighters.[287]

2013 – Rise of islamists[edit]

Structure of the Supreme Military Council, the Syrian National Coalition's military wing, by late 2013

In April 2013, the US announced it would transfer $123 million in nonlethal aid to Syrian rebels through the Supreme Military Council led by defected general Salim Idris, the then Chief of Staff of FSA.[288]

In April–May 2013, FSA was losing fighters to Islamist organisation Al-Nusra Front which was emerging as the best-equipped, financed and motivated anti-Assad force, concluded The Guardian after interviewing FSA commanders across Syria.[289] FSA commander Basha said that in the last few months 3,000 FSA fighters had gone over to al-Nusra, mainly because FSA lacks weapons and ammunition. Another FSA commander said that also the Islamic doctrine of al-Nusra attracts FSA fighters. A Western diplomat played down suggestions that Nusra would be cleaner, better and stronger: "fighters are moving from one group to another", but you can't say that Nusra has in general more momentum than others, he maintained.[289]

In May 2013, Salim Idris, the FSA leader, said that "the rebels" were badly fragmented and lacked the military skill needed to topple the government of President Bashar al-Assad. Idris said he was working on a countrywide command structure, but that a lack of material support—ammunition and weapons, fuel for the cars and money for logistics and salaries—was hurting that effort. "The battles are not so simple now," Idriss said. "Now it is very important for them to be unified. But unifying them in a manner to work like a regular army is still difficult." He denied any cooperation with Al-Nusra Front but acknowledged common operations with another Islamist group Ahrar ash-Sham.[288]

The growth of al-Nusra Front and other Islamist groups, during the first half of 2013, disillusioned thousands of FSA men who felt that their own revolution against the government has been stolen from them.[290] In areas of Homs province, fighting between FSA and the Syrian army had virtually ceased.[290]

On 11 July 2013, an FSA officer was assassinated by a jihadist group, north of Latakia.[21] In mid-August 2013, a delegation of FSA met with an official of President Assad, to suggest talks between government and FSA about "a Syrian solution" to the war.[290] The government accepted this proposal for "a dialogue within the Syrian homeland". Six weeks later, in seven rebel-held areas of Aleppo, civil employees could return to work, and government institutions and schools could reopen.[290]

Salafist-jihadist leader Mohammed Shalabi in Jordan, also known as Abu Sayyaf, stated in July 2013 in Ammon News that irreconcilable differences exist between the aims of FSA and those of other Sunni militias fighting in Syria against Assad.[291]

Locals near the Turkish border complained in November 2013 that, in contrast with al-Nusra Front, the groups aligned with FSA were becoming increasingly corrupt.[292]

Also in 2013, U.S. senior military officials speaking on condition of anonymity indicated that the Pentagon estimates that "extreme Islamist groups" constitute "more than 50 percent" of rebel groups that identify as the Free Syrian Army with the percentage "growing by the day".[293]

2014 – FSA decline, rise of ISIL[edit]

The US IBT considered the emergence of ISIL in 2014 as the beginning of the end for groups like FSA which the US had dubbed "moderate rebels".[22] The SMC, the formal FSA command structure, slowly disintegrated within Aleppo Governorate from a lack of resources over the course of 2014.[294] For example, according to data obtained by IBT, the Hazzm movement received a total of about $6 million from the U.S. government in 2014, which works out to just $500,000 a month for a force consisting of 5,000 soldiers.[22]

In February 2014, Colonel Qassem Saadeddine of the FSA announced that Chief of Staff Idris had been replaced with Brigadier General Abdul-Ilah al-Bashir, due to "the paralysis within the military command these past months."[295]

In February 2014, 49 factions came together in the Southern Front (Jabhat al-Janoubi).[296]

In March, FSA and Jordanian sources and video evidence suggested that the FSA received a Saudi shipment of anti-tank missiles through Jordan, and sold these to al-Nusra fighters for $15,000 each.[297] Abu Yusaf, a high-level commander of Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), said in August 2014 that many of the FSA members who had been trained by United States' and Turkish and Arab military officers were now actually joining ISIL. "In the East of Syria, there is no Free Syrian Army any longer. All Free Syrian Army people [there] have joined the Islamic State" he said.[298]

On 25 September 2014, the Supreme Military Council united with the Syriac Military Council to fight against Assad and the newly declared Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).[299]

In September/October 2014, according to the Kurdish oriented press agency ARA News and the US International Business Times, FSA brigades in Northern Syria, especially the Kobanî area (Aleppo Governorate), united with the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) under the Euphrates Volcano joint operations room, more specifically the Liwa Thuwar al-Raqqa (Revolutionaries of Raqqa Brigade),[300] to oppose ISIL and the Assad government.[300][301]

In October, Syria Revolutionaries Front (SRF) -- an alliance of FSA brigades defying FSA's leadership SMC—was ousted from Idlib by al-Nusra.[297] According to retired Jordanian general Fayez al-Dweiri in November 2014, apart from southern Syria and pockets around Aleppo, "the FSA has been effectively decimated and no longer effectively exists."[302]

The German journalist Jürgen Todenhöfer, having toured for ten days in ISIL-held territory in late 2014, said that the ISIL leadership had said to him: if the FSA get a good weapon, they sell it to us; FSA are our best arms sellers.[303]

2015 – Russian intervention, rise of SDF[edit]

From October 2015 onwards, several groups that identify as part of the FSA in northern Syria joined the newly founded, and U.S.-supported, Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) militia umbrella organization.[304] In December 2015, according to the American Institute for the Study of War, groups that identify as FSA were still present around Aleppo and Hama and in southern Syria, and the FSA was still "the biggest and most secular of the rebel groups" fighting the Assad government, but had taken the brunt of the Russian air attacks in Syria since 30 September 2015.[4] The same month, the Istanbul-based think tank Omran Dirasat estimated the FSA self-declared groups at around 35,000 fighters spread out over thousands of groups of various sizes; 27 larger factions of around 1,000 fighters each along with a myriad of smaller groups and localised militias.[305]

2016 – End of Battle of Aleppo, Turkish intervention[edit]

FSA in Turkish-led operations against ISIL and SDF[edit]

Main article: Turkish military intervention in the Syrian Civil War

The Turkish military intervention in the Syrian Civil War against Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) and Syrian Democratic Forces, called 'Operation Euphrates Shield', starting 24 August 2016, was launched by sending groups identifying as FSA into Syria, backed by Turkish armor.[306] The rebels that are active in the area allied with the Turkish army are often referred to as Turkish-backed Free Syrian Army by the media. Early in the morning of 24 August, Turkish forces directed intense artillery fire against ISIL positions in Jarabulus while the Turkish Air Force bombed 11 targets from the air.[307] Later that day, Turkish main battle tanks followed by pick-up trucks, believed to be carrying Turkish-backed Syrian rebels,[308] and the Turkish Special Forces crossed the border and were joined by hundreds of FSA fighters as the ground forces attacked the town.[309] U.S.-led coalition planes helped the Turkish forces.[310][261] The FSA said progress was slow because of mines planted by ISIL fighters.[308]

A few hours after the offensive's beginning, Turkish Special Forces and the Sham Legion captured their first village, Tal Katlijah, after ISIL fighters retreated from it to reinforce Jarabulus.[311] Some time later, the FSA captured four more villages[312] including Tel Shair, Alwaniyah and two other villages.[313][314] Hours later, Turkish- and US-backed rebels were reported to have captured the border town of Jarabulus, with ISIL offering little resistance.[315][316] The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) also reported that the FSA had captured almost all of the city.[317] A FSA spokesman stated that a large number of ISIL fighters had withdrawn to al-Bab in front of the offensive.[318]

Turkish-backed forces then began a major attack against the SDF positions, capturing Amarna and nearby Ain al-Bayda; rebel groups also claimed to have taken the villages of Qusa, Balaban, Dabisa, Jeb el-Kussa, Suraysat, Umm Routha, Maghayer and Qiratah further south, though this could not be independently confirmed.[319][320]

On 3 September, Turkey additionally deployed tanks to the Syrian town of al-Rai to help the Turkish-backed rebels to push east from the town towards villages captured by the rebels west of Jarabulus. The incursion was launched from Kilis Province which had been frequently targeted with rocket attacks from ISIL.[321] The Sham Legion and the Hamza Division also announced they had captured four villages (Fursan, Lilawa, Kino and Najma) south of Arab Ezza. The United States stated that it had hit ISIL targets near the Turkey-Syria border via the newly deployed HIMARS system.[322][323] The Turkish armed forces meanwhile reported that the rebels had captured two villages and an airport near al-Rai.[324][325] An official of the Fastaqim Kama Umirt also stated that the rebels had captured eight villages to the east and south of the town.[326] SOHR confirmed that the Turkish-backed rebels had captured three villages near the Sajur river with advances in two other villages. It also confirmed that the rebels had captured a village near al-Rai.[327] The U.S. Embassy in Ankara said US forces hit ISIL targets overnight near Turkey's border with Syria using HIMARS located in Turkey.[328]

On 4 September, Turkey declared that the Turkish-backed rebels had captured the last remaining ISIL held villages along the Turkish border, cutting off key supply lines used by the group to bring in foreign fighters, weapons and ammunition.[329][330]

On 5 September, nine more villages in northern Syria were cleared of ISIL by the Turkish-backed rebels as part of operation Euphrates Shield according to Turkish armed forces.[331] On 7 September, around 300 Syrians started to return to Jarabulus in Syria, after Turkish-backed rebels recaptured the region from ISIL, marking the first formal return of civilians since Turkey launched Operation Euphrates Shield.[332]

As of 14 September, a total of 1,900 Syrian refugees returned to the area cleansed by Turkish-backed forces, mainly to Jarabulus and Çobanbey (Al Rai).[333] On 17 September the Mountain Hawks Brigade announced that it had withdrawn from the Jarabulus and al-Rai fronts and its fighters and equipment will be transferred to the fronts in Aleppo city, Hama, and Latakia.[334] (see also Northern al-Bab offensive (September 2016)) On 5 October, FSA primarily driven by the Sultan Murad Division, took control of four more villages from ISIL and, with the Turkish Special Forces, entered the small and strategic town of Akhtarin, easing the way for a planned attack on the iconic town of Dabiq.[335] The town was captured by them on 6 October.[336]

After taking control of the supply route between Al-Bab and Dabiq by taking Akhtarin and its vicinity, on 9 October, Turkey and the affiliated rebels announced that the area between Mare, Akhtarin and Kafrghan, an area which contains two important IS-held locations, Sawran and Dabiq, a military zone.[337] On the same day the offensive started from three different fronts towards Dabiq, from north, south and east of the city and seven villages were taken by FSA forces.[338]

On 10 October, Turkish forces and Turkish-backed rebels made significant advances and established control in all settlements on the way to the town of Sawran from its north and northwest, and started pushing into the town of Ihtamillat, the last settlement east of Sawran.[339][340] One week later, following heavy clashes around the area, on 16 October, the FSA, headed by Sultan Murad Division, first took control of Sawran and continued towards Dabiq. Soon after Sawran, Dabiq was also taken and rebel forces went as south as Asunbul to secure the newly acquired area before proceeding to the next stage of the offensive targeting Qabasin and Bab.[341]

On 17 October, Turkish troops and Turkish-backed FSA forces started their offensive headed towards al-Bab and captured 7 villages in the first day, namely; Guzhe, Baruze, al-Wash, aq-Burqan, Qar Kelbin, Talatayna and Shudud.[342] On 18 October, the Northern Thunder Brigade issued an ultimatum to the "PKK" and the Army of Revolutionaries, warning them to leave Tell Rifaat within 48 hours after which they will attack the town.[343] On 22 October, Turkish-backed rebels surrounded Shaykh Issa, just east of Tell Rifaat. Turkish artillery shelling and air strikes mainly focused on Tell Rifaat, Shaykh Issa and villages under SDF control in western al-Bab. Turkish tanks entered Syria also from the west, from Hatay region into Idlib region, to the southernmost point of the PYD-held Afrin canton and positioned on hills overlooking Tel Rifat and Afrin.[344] By 25 October, it became evident that the SDF had repelled all assaults by Turkish-backed rebels on villages and positions under its control.[345]

Participation in Aleppo offensives (September–December)[edit]

See also: Aleppo offensive (September–October 2016), Aleppo offensive (October–November 2016), and Aleppo offensive (November–December 2016)

Mainstream Western news sources in September and October 2016 suggested that "the Free Syrian Army" still exist as considerable army or structure of militias by mentioning or suggesting a role of the FSA in two offensives around Aleppo. In the Syrian government's offensive late September 2016 on (eastern) Aleppo, according to The New York Times, some of the defending rebel groups identified themselves as Free Syrian Army (FSA).[346]

During the October–November Aleppo offensive of rebel forces against the Syrian Assad government forces, the French Le Figaro wrote: "On 22 October 2016, violence again broke out in Aleppo between the regime forces and the rebels. (…) The insurgent groups, dominated by Al-Nusra Front ('Front for the Conquest'), have called for a general mobilization of the fighters of East-Aleppo. The moderates of the Free Syrian Army have advised the inhabitants of West-Aleppo to keep at distance from government buildings."[347] The Dutch NRC Handelsblad wrote: "Syrian rebel groups have on 28 October started a large offensive to break the siege of East-Aleppo. The Free Syrian Army declared: "It will be a large battle, with all rebel groups taking part"."[348] The New York Times wrote: "Syrian rebels counter-attacked the [Syrian] army on 28 October, aiming to break a siege on eastern Aleppo (…) The assault included Jabhat Fateh al-Sham and groups fighting under the Free Syrian Army banner."[349]

On 14 November 2016, Reuters reported that earlier in November the "Zinki group and the allied jihadist Jabhat Fateh al-Sham tried to crush the Fastaqim faction, which is part of the FSA" in eastern Aleppo.[350]

2017 – Internal divisions, rise of Turkish-backed FSA[edit]

Further information: Turkish-backed Free Syrian Army
Turkish-backed Free Syrian Army fighters during the Battle of al-Bab
Emblem of Syrian Interim Government

The year 2017 saw the FSA further divided. Rebel factions operating under the banner of the Syrian Interim Government have merged in a unified armed group. Jawad Abu Hatab, the head of the opposition's Interim government and the Defense Minister, announced its official formation after meeting with moderate rebel commanders in the town of Azaz in Aleppo province. The newly-formed body has 22,000 fighters, some of them have been trained and equipped by Turkey.

On 23 February 2017, the important city of al-Bab was completely captured from ISIL by Turkish-backed FSA, along with the towns of Qabasin and Bizaah.[351][352][353][354] As of 25 February 2017, 50,000 Syrian refugees in Turkey have returned to the areas which were taken from ISIL by the Turkish-backed FSA.[355]

Also, in the south of the country at the frontier with Jordan, FSA units (the largest being Southern Front) remain on frontlines with the Syrian government and ISIL in Daraa and Quneitra Governorates.

On the other hand, in September 2017, the founder of the FSA, Col. Riad al-Asaad, was appointed as deputy prime minister for military affairs of the Syrian Salvation Government (an alternative government of the Syrian Opposition seated within Idlib Governorate).[356][357]

Armed groups with the Free Syrian Army[edit]

Free Syrian Army fighters near Jandiris district northern Aleppo's countryside, 11 February 2018

Original FSA units[edit]

During the announcement of the formation of the FSA by Riad al-Asaad on 29 July 2011, he listed 4 small subunits which claimed to the founding members of the FSA:[358]

  • Hamza al-Khatib Battalion
  • Freedom Battalion
  • Saladin Battalion
  • Al-Qashash Battalion

Prominent groups who have been part of the FSA at some point in time[edit]

Further information: List of armed groups in the Syrian Civil War

Northwestern Syria[edit]

Syrian Democratic Forces[edit]

Abu Layla (right) was one of the most prominent FSA commanders among the Syrian Democratic Forces. Of mixed Kurdish-Arab origin, he fought with the Free Syria Brigade, Kurdish Front, and Northern Sun Battalion until being killed during the Manbij offensive.

Southern Syria[edit]

International support for Free Syrian Army groups[edit]

The Obama administration of the United States admitted to militarily supporting some, so-called "moderate", groups fighting under the banner of the FSA. FSA is said to have received substantial weapons, financing and other support from the Obama administration of the United States, Turkey, the United Kingdom, Saudi Arabia and the other Gulf states. As of July 2017 under the newly formed Trump administration, support for the FSA in the United States has ceased.[377]

Arms deliveries from U.S., Turkey, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, others[edit]

Further information: Syrian Train and Equip Program and Timber Sycamore
An FSA fighter loads a US-made M2 Browning heavy machine gun in northern Aleppo, November 2016.

In February 2012 Britain pledged to send advanced communications equipment to the FSA to help them coordinate their forces.[378] On 1 March 2012, Kuwait's parliament declared support for the FSA.[379] By mid-May, it was reported that, according to opposition activists and foreign officials, the FSA had started to receive significant financial support from the Persian Gulf nations for the purchase of arms.[380]

In April 2012, the Lebanese Navy intercepted a Sierra Leone-registered vessel carrying a large number of arms and ammunition believed to be destined for the Free Syrian Army. Some of the arms were labeled as Libyan.[381]

In July 2012 the Syrian Support Group based in Washington DC received clearance from the U.S. Treasury Department to fund the Free Syrian Army.[382] As of August 2012, US President Obama started funding 'Syrian rebels' -- presumably FSA—with money, weapons and goods.[383]

In December 2012, security officials from the United States, United Kingdom, France, Germany, the Gulf Cooperation Council and Jordan were present at an FSA meeting that elected a new leadership council.[257][258][259] By December 2012 the international diplomatic collective 'Friends of Syria Group' had pledged non-military aid to unspecified militant rebels.[258]

Since December 2012, Saudi Arabia has supplied groups identifying with the FSA, in addition to other rebel groups, with weapons from Croatia.[384]

In April 2013, the US promised to funnel $123 million nonlethal aid to Syrian rebels through the Supreme Military Council, a then coordination body of FSA groups.[288]

In June 2013, rebels reported to have received 250 9M113 Konkurs anti-tank missiles with a range of 4 kilometers and accuracy of 90%.[385]

In April 2014, according to Charles Lister at the U.S. Brookings Institution, 40 different rebel groups first began receiving U.S.-made BGM-71 TOW missiles costing $50,000 each, through the CIA.[386] FSA-identified and other rebel groups posted videos of TOW missile launches online.[386] In December 2014, the Institute for the Study of War reported that the U.S.-led Military Operations Command was leading training and assist missions for FSA groups in Daraa, at the Jordanian border.[297]

The Washington Post stated in late 2014 that the US and European friends had "in recent years" given training, financial and military support to Syrian "rebel groups", more or less suggesting that FSA was among them.[298] Also an ISIL commander then stated that FSA rebels who in 2014 ran over to ISIL had received training from United States', Turkish and Arab military officers at an NATO base in southern Turkey.[298]

The Dutch government stated in December 2014 that the 59 countries strong US-led coalition that had convened in Brussels that month was militarily supporting "the moderate Syrian opposition".[387] After being pressed by their Parliament to be more precise, they admitted that 'moderate Syrian opposition' meant: some, but not all, groups that are part of the Free Syrian Army – but squarely refused to name the FSA groups that were being supported.[388]

Fighters of the Northern Storm Brigade during the Turkish military operation in Afrin, February 2018

Since 2014, dozens of rebel groups that identified as part of the FSA in southern, central, and northern Syria have been provided with BGM-71 TOW missiles. In February 2015, The Carter Center listed 23 groups within the Southern Front of the Free Syrian Army that have been documented using US-supplied TOWs.[389] Groups provided with TOWs in northern and central Syria include the Hazzm Movement, the 13th Division, Syria Revolutionaries Front, Yarmouk Army, Knights of Justice Brigade, and the 101st Division.[390]

In 2015, the International Business Times wrote the U.S. has sent weapons shipments to FSA-identified groups through a U.S. CIA program for years.[391] In October 2015 Reuters reported that the U.S. (CIA) and allied countries had broadened the number of rebel groups clandestinely receiving TOW missiles.[392] The International Business Times reported that TOW missile attacks against Syrian government tanks increased by 850% between September and October 2015.[386] Rebel groups associated with the FSA in November 2015 released numerous videos showing them launching TOW missiles against Syrian government forces.[392] According to Russian and Syrian sources, the missiles were delivered through Turkish territory.[392]

In October 2015 Reuters reported that the U.S., Saudi Arabia and Qatar had broadened the number of rebel groups clandestinely receiving TOW missiles.[392] Also the BBC reported in October 2015 that a Saudi official confirmed the delivery of 500 TOW missiles to FSA fighters.[393]

The U.S. supplied a considerable amount of weapons and ammunition, generally of Soviet-type from Eastern Europe, to Syrian rebel groups under operation Timber Sycamore. For example, Jane's Defence Weekly reported a December 2015 shipment of 994 tonnes of weapons and ammunition (including packaging and container weight) to Syrian rebel groups. A detailed list of weapon types and shipment weights had been obtained from the U.S. government's Federal Business Opportunities website.[394][395]

Foreign combatants[edit]

The Libyan National Transitional Council in November 2011 reportedly dispatched 600 fighters or more of the Libyan National Liberation Army to the Free Syrian Army, entering Syria through Turkey.[396][397]

The number of foreign militants active within the FSA is hard to assess. In late May 2012, based on interviews with FSA fighters, it was reported that 300 Lebanese had joined the FSA. The presence of Algerians, Tunisians, Jordanians and fighters from Saudi Arabia was also confirmed.[398][399] A leader of the FSA told an AFP correspondent that five Libyan combatants have been killed in clashes with the Syrian Army. The same leader, while denying the presence of many foreign fighters, said that there are few of different nationalities. Peter Harling, from the International Crisis Group, told the AFP that the proportion of foreign fighters is currently very small, but might grow after Saudi Arabia and Qatar announced their support for arming the rebels.[400]

Croatian General Marinko Krešić confirmed that there are between 80 and 100 Croat mercenaries between the ages of 40 and 60 helping the Free Syrian Army. They are veterans from the Croatian War of Independence (1991–95) or Bosnian War (1992–95), but also fought as mercenaries in Iraqi War (2003–11), Libyan Civil War, Tunisian revolution and Egyptian revolution. Krešić stated that some are serving as security, instructors while others are killing. He also stated that they are very well trained and that "they are the one who will probably kill rather than be killed". Krešić stated that their payment is up to 2,000 US$ a day due to "rich foreign donators". He also added that the majority of the volunteers coming from the Balkans to help the FSA are Albanians .[401][402][403] Sources close to the Belgrade military circles confirmed that the former members of the Kosovo Liberation Army are also aiding the FSA. They are mostly instructors who train the rebels mostly for the urban and the guerrilla warfare.[404] A first reported death of a member of the Kosovo Liberation Army was announced on 13 November. Naman Demoli, a former member of the KLA was killed near Syrian-Turkish border.[405] According to Al Monitor, there exist also Turkmen Brigades within the FSA.[406]

There are dozens of Kuwait's volunteers entering from Turkey that are fighting in ranks of the FSA. The volunteers are given Syrian IDs as a precautionary measure in case they are arrested, before they are armed and sent to fight in different locations across the troubled country.[407]

Debates over the FSA's viability and unity as a fighting force[edit]

In 2013, the U.S. broadcast network NBC News stated that the FSA "is an army in name only. It is made up of hundreds of small units, some secular, some religious – whether mainstream or radical. Others are family gangs, or simply criminals."[293]

Over the years, many journalists from The Independent have dismissed the FSA. For example, in November 2014, Robert Fisk, drew a picture of the FSA as being rather harmless and non-combating.[408] Also, in October 2015, he stated that the FSA had fallen to pieces and their fighters had defected to al-Nusra Front or ISIL or retired to the countryside maintaining a few scattered checkpoints, and stated that the US government had already admitted the disappearance of the FSA.[409] In the same month, his colleague Patrick Cockburn stated that "The Free Syrian Army was always a mosaic of factions and is now largely ineffectual."[410]

In March 2015, Rami Jarrah, a prominent Syrian-British activist, claimed: "There is no such thing as the Free Syrian Army, people still use the term in Syria to make it seem like the rebels have some sort of structure. But there really isn't."[22]

In May 2015, an al-Nusra Front spokesman said that fighters identifying as FSA in southern Syria alone numbered roughly 60,000,[411] although another Nusra leader in December 2015 denied the existence of the FSA to the astonishment and intense displeasure of FSA fighters throughout Syria on social media.[412]).

In June 2015, the International Business Times stated that since the emergence of ISIL on the Syrian battlefield in 2014, the FSA had "all but dissipated",[391] and reported that the remnants of the FSA had joined the coalitions of the Army of Conquest (Islamist) and the Southern Front (ranging from secularist to moderate religious[413]) in their assault on Dera'a, south of Damascus.[391]

In September 2015 a rebel commander told CBS News that only a small proportion of US-approved fighters under a $500 million US aid program were receiving training, weapons, and ammunition, and much of this material was being taken over by the al-Nusra Front.[414] According to Western sources like the BBC, Russia on 30 September 2015, as part of its military intervention in Syria, started air strikes on groups identified as part of the FSA[415] such as the Mountain Hawks Brigade[416] and the Army of Glory confirmed being hit by missiles from Russia airstrikes on the same day.[417]

Early October 2015, Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov stated: "They tell us about the Free Syrian Army, but where is it? It remains a phantom group, nothing is known about it (...) I've asked [US Secretary of State] John Kerry to provide us with information about the whereabouts of this Free Syrian Army and who commands it".[418][419]

Allegations of war crimes against FSA-affiliated groups[edit]

On 20 March 2012, Human Rights Watch issued an open letter to the opposition (including the FSA), accusing them of carrying out kidnappings, torture and executions, and calling on them to halt these unlawful practices.[420] The United Nations-sponsored "Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic" has documented war crimes in Syria since the start of the civil war. It said that rebels had committed war crimes, but that they "did not reach the gravity, frequency and scale" of those by state forces.[421][422] Some FSA-aligned groups have also been criticized for their alleged affiliation with Islamists.[citation needed]

In 2012, the FSA was accused of summarily executing numerous prisoners who it claims are government soldiers or shabiha,[423] and people who it claims are informers. A rebel commander in Damascus said that over the months his unit had executed perhaps 150 people that the "military council" had found to be informers. He explained: "If a man is accused of being an informer, he is judged by the military council. Then he is either executed or released".[424] Nadim Houry, a Middle East researcher for Human Rights Watch argued that "Intentionally killing anyone, even a shabiha, once he is outside of combat is a war crime, regardless of how horrible the person may have been".[425] On 10 August 2012, a report indicated that Human Rights Watch was investigating rebel forces for such killings. The FSA, for its part, stated that they would put those fighters that had conducted the unlawful killings on trial.[426]

In 2012, witnesses also reported rebels conducting 'trial by grave' in which an alleged government soldier was given a mock trial next to a pre-made grave and executed on the spot by members of the FSA Amr bin al-Aas brigade. One rebel said: "We took him right to his grave and, after hearing the witnesses' statements, we shot him dead".[427][428]

The Daoud Battalion, operating in the Jabal-al-Zawiya area, reportedly used captured soldiers in proxy bombings in 2012. This involved tying the captured soldier into a car loaded with explosives and forcing him to drive to an Army checkpoint, where the explosives would be remotely detonated.[424][429][430]

In 2012, the UN noted some credible allegations that rebel forces, including the FSA, were recruiting children as soldiers, despite stated FSA policy of not recruiting anyone under the age of 17.[431] One rebel commander said that his 16-year-old son had died fighting government troops.[432]

In a video uploaded to the Internet in early August 2012, an FSA representative announced that, in response to international concerns, FSA units would follow the Geneva Convention's guidelines for the treatment of prisoners and would guarantee its captives food, medical attention and holding areas away from combat zones. He also invited Red Cross workers to inspect their detention facilities.[424] On 8 August, FSA commanders distributed an 11-point code of conduct signed by scores of brigade commanders and rebel leaders. It states that all fighters must "respect human rights … our tolerant religious principles and international human rights law – the same human rights that we are struggling for today".[433][434]

Timeline of some prominent alleged war crimes by groups considered to be part of the FSA:

  • On 22 May 2012, the Northern Storm Brigade kidnapped 11 Lebanese pilgrims coming from Iran.[435] Four of them were killed in an airstrike by the Syrian Air Force and the rest were released unharmed.[436]
  • On 20 July 2012, Iraq's deputy interior minister, Adnan al-Assadi, said that Iraqi border guards had witnessed the FSA take control of a border post, detain a Syrian Army lieutenant colonel, and then cut off his arms and legs before executing 22 Syrian soldiers.[437]
  • On 21 July 2012, Turkish truck drivers said that they had their trucks stolen by members of the FSA when it captured a border post. They said that some of the trucks were burnt and others sold back to their drivers after the goods were looted.[438]
  • The United Nations report on war crimes states that the FSA's execution of five Alawite soldiers in Latakia, post-July 2012 was a war crime. The report states, "In this instance, the FSA perpetrated the war crime of execution without due process."[422]
  • On 13 August 2012, a series of three videos surfaced showing executions of prisoners, apparently by rebel forces, in Aleppo province. In one video, six postal workers were being thrown off the main postal building in Al-Bab to their deaths, purportedly by FSA fighters. The gunmen claimed they were shabiha.[439][440][441][442]
  • On 9 September 2012 the FSA exploded a car bomb near al-Hayat Hospital and the Central Hospital in Aleppo. According to Syrian state media, at least 30 people were killed[443] and more than 64 wounded.[444] The FSA claimed that the Army had occupied the hospital buildings and were using them as a base.[445]
  • On 10 September 2012 the FSA's Hawks of Syria brigade executed more than 20 Syrian soldiers captured in Hanano military base.[446]
  • On 2 November 2012 the FSA's al-Siddiq Battalion kidnapped and executed prominent Syrian actor Mohammed Rafeh. It claimed he was a member of the shabiha and was carrying a gun and military ID.[447][448]
  • In May 2013, a video was posted on the internet showing a rebel cutting organs from the dead body of a Syrian soldier and putting one in his mouth, "as if he is taking a bite out of it". He called rebels to follow his example and terrorize the Alawite sect, which mostly backs Assad. Humans Rights Watch (HRW) confirmed the authenticity of the footage, and stated that "The mutilation of the bodies of enemies is a war crime". The rebel was Khalid al-Hamad, known by his nom de guerre "Abu Sakkar", a commander of the Independent Omar al-Farouq Brigade. The BBC called it an offshoot of the FSA's Farouq Brigades, while HRW said it is "not known" whether the Brigade is part of the FSA. The incident was condemned by the FSA's Chief of Staff and the Syrian National Coalition said that Abu Sakkar would be put on trial.[449][450] Abu Sakkar said the mutilation was revenge. He claimed to have found a video on the soldier's cellphone in which the soldier sexually abuses a woman and her two daughters,[451] along with other videos of Assad loyalists raping, torturing, dismembering and killing people, including children.[452] He further stated that if the war was to continue, "all Syrian people" would be like him.[452] He was killed in northwest Latakia province on 6 April 2016 by the Syrian Army, while being affiliated to the al-Qaeda linked Al-Nusra Front.[453]
  • In December 2012, militants abducted an NBC News Team of six journalists around NBC's chief foreign correspondent Richard Engel. Engel initially blamed pro-regime Shabiha militants, but it turned out the perpetrators were most likely the FSA-affiliated rebel group North Idlib Falcons Brigade.[454]
  • Since July 2013, the al-Nusra Front, at times in coordination with other armed groups, carried out a series of killings of Kurdish civilians in al-Youssoufiyah, Qamishli and al-Asadia (al-Hasakah). During a raid by ISIL, al-Nusra, the Islamic Front and FSA groups, fighters killed a Kurdish Yazidi man in al-Asadia who refused to convert to Islam.[455]
  • After their capture of the town of Jarabulus from ISIL in September 2016, opposition militias of the Sultan Murad Division published pictures of themselves torturing four YPG members prisoners of war, who were captured by the rebel group while, according to YPG claims, trying to evacuate civilians.[456]
  • The FSA group Army of Victory have taken civilians, including children, as prisoners, mainly from Latakia. 112 of them were released in February 2017 as part of a prisoner exchange.[457]

Child soldiers[edit]

The FSA was mentioned in a 2014 Human Rights Watch report detailing the widespread practise of using child soldiers by non-state armed groups; the report interviewed children as young as 14 who fought with the FSA.[458]

In 2014, the United Nations verified that the Free Syrian army had recruited more than 142 child soldiers. The UN reported stated "fragmentation of FSA resulted in localized and variable recruitment, training and salary practices. During armed battles, children were used for fighting, attending to the wounded or for recording events for propaganda purposes."[459]

In 2016, the United Nations verified another 62 cases where Free Syrian Army had recruited and used child soldiers.[460]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

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External links[edit]

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