Syria’s war, now in its sixth year, is is three conflicts in one. It is a regional proxy war, an international counter-terrorism operation, and a popular uprising against a dictator. Developments on the ground are murky, with a plethora of armed groups involved in the fighting.
Since the start of the conflict in 2011, groups have come and gone, alliances have formed and dissolved, complicating facts on-the-ground even further. Most recently, after the fall of east Aleppo and the launch of peace talks in Astana and Geneva in January, rebel factions in northern Syria have formed significant coalitions.
The list below gives an overview of the most prominent current groups, and of their ideological outlook. It is not exhaustive, but covers the full range of opposition factions, from Kurds to Islamist extremists.
Chapter 1
A coalition of factions in northern Syria. HTS seen as a new version of the coalition formerly known as Jaish al-Fatah, mostly comprising the following groups:
Jabhat Fatah al-Sham (JFS)
Harakat Nour al-Din al-Zenki
Liwa al-Haqq
Jabhat Ansar al-Din
Jaish al-Sunna
Leader: Abu Jaber Hashem al-Sheikh
Date of Establishment: 28 January 2017
Number of Fighters: Approximately 14,000
Funding/Support: Allegedly individuals from the Gulf; ransom payments from the merged factions; seizures from rival factions.
Ideology: Nationalist Salafi
Additional ideologies: As a coalition, its factions have varying ideologies, ranging from Salafi-Jihadi to Internationalist Islamist.
Objectives:
To depose Assad
To establish an Islamic state or emirate in Syria
Location: North and north-east Syria
Key Facts:
HTS claims to be a Syrian nationalist project. However, the coalition is formed largely on religious lines. Its political approach is based on opposing Russia and rejecting externally negotiated peace agreements.
The coalition's leader, Abu Jaber Hashem al-Sheikh, formerly led a dissident faction of Ahrar al-Sham.
Jabhat Fatah al-Sham is the main faction in HTS.
Chapter 2
Member of Tahrir al-Sham (HTS)
Leader: Abu Mohammad al-Jolani
Date of Establishment: 23 January 2012
Number of Fighters: Approximately 5-7,000
Funding/Support: Allegedly individuals from Gulf states; seizures from rival factions; ransoms from hostages.
Ideology: Salafi-Jihadi (Internationalist)
Additional Ideologies: Factions within the group believe that it should pursue a Nationalist Salafi agenda.
Objectives:
To depose Assad
To establish an Islamic state/emirate in Syria
Location: Damascus, Latakia, Aleppo and Idlib provinces
Former Name: Jabhat al-Nusra
Key Facts:
JFS was affiliated with al-Qaeda until it came to an amicable split with the group in 2016. It initially faced hostility from some rebels, but developed a strong reputation that led to a number of groups, including from the Free Syrian Army coalition (FSA), protesting the decision by the US to label JFS a terrorist organisation in December 2012.
At the core of JFS' organisational structure is a Sharia council. It believes in the establishment of a Salafi vision of Sharia law within an Islamic emirate, the protection of Muslims against their perceived enemies, and the strengthening of "God's religion on earth."
Chapter 3
Member of Tahrir al-Sham (HTS)
Leader: Sheikh Tawfiq Shahabuddin
Date of Establishment: Late 2011
Number of Fighters: Approximately 3,000
Funding/Support: The group has an 'economic office' to collect donations from inside and outside Syria
Ideology: Nationalist Salafi
Objectives:
To depose Assad.
To establish an Islamic state/emirate in Syria
Location: Idlib and Aleppo provinces
Key Facts:
This group was US-vetted, however, Washington cut support ties with it in early 2015 in light of atrocities committed by its members, including the beheading of a captive child in Aleppo.
Until recently, this group was part of the Military Operation Command (MOC) funded by the US, Turkey, and other Gulf states.
Chapter 4
Member of Tahrir al-Sham (HTS)
Leader: Abu Abdullah Taftanaz
Date of Establishment: Late 2011
Number of Fighters: Approximately 1,000
Funding/Support: Allegedly individuals from Gulf states
Ideology: Nationalist Salafi
Additional Ideologies: Nationalist Islamist. The group contains individuals that believe in building a new Syria based on Sharia law, locally applied and inspired
Objectives:
To depose Assad
To establish an Islamic state/emirate in Syria
Location: Idlib provinces
Key Facts:
Three leaders were killed in a Russian raid in Taftanaz, Idlib, in 2015. The leader of the group called the Russians "infidel Russians," and threatened to "slaughter" them "like pigs."
Chapter 5
Member of Tahrir al-Sham (HTS)
Leader: Abu Abdullah al-Shami
Date of Establishment: 25 July 2014
Number of Fighters: Unknown
Funding/Support: Allegedly individuals from Gulf states
Ideology: Salafi-Jihadi (Internationalist)
Objectives:
To depose Assad
To establish an Islamic state/emirate in Syria
Location: Aleppo, Idlib, Hama, Homs, and Latakia provinces
Former Name: Originally a coalition of four groups: Harakat Sham al-Islam, Harakat Fajr al-Sham al-Islamiya, Jaish al-Muhajireen wal-Ansar, and Green Battalion
Key Facts:
Harakat Sham al-Islam, one of the faction's components, was created by a Moroccan former Guantanamo Bay detainee called Ibrahim bin Shukran. He was killed in Latakia in 2014. The Green Battalion comprises Saudi fighters. Fajr al-Sham al-Islamiya is considered to be Syrian.
In August 2013, Ansar al-Din's manifesto stated that it was "independent" and aimed to establish an Islamic state. This illustrated a broader trend of jihadi groups seizing their own territory in Syria.
Chapter 6
A northern Syrian rebel faction with a Nationalist Salafi ideology. Since 2014, it has absorbed various Islamist armed groups. From January 2017, it brought several groups that had been attacked by JFS under its protection. These groups include:
Suqour al-Sham
Thawar al-Sham Brigades
Jaish al-Mujahideen
Fastaqim Kama Umirta
Jaish al-Islam (Idlib wing)
Levant Front (West Aleppo wing)
Leader: Ali al-Omar
Date of Establishment: Late 2011
Number of Fighters: Approximately 20,000
Funding/Support: Allegedly the intelligence agencies of Turkey and Gulf states through the Military Operations Command (MOC)
Ideology: Nationalist Salafi
Objectives:
To depose Assad
To establish an Islamic state/emirate in Syria
Location: Idlib and Aleppo provinces
Key Facts:
Early in 2017, it was reported that six armed groups pledged allegiance to Ahrar al-Sham after JFS attacked them over their participation at talks in Astana. Most of the factions that joined Ahrar al-Sham are Islamists, albeit of slightly different stripes, but most of them seem to have evolved from fairly secular nationalist FSA factions. Those factions came out of the villages and towns of the Aleppo hinterland
The new HTS leader, Abu Jaber al-Sheikh, was a leader of a dissident faction of Ahrar al-Sham called Jaish al-Ahrar denounced by Ahrar al-Sham's leader Ali al-Omar. This reflects the divisions between various ideological wings inside Ahrar al-Sham, which has always focused on maintaining consensual leadership through its Shura council and other religious institutions
Although Ahrar al-Sham has opposed UN-brokered peace talks in Geneva, it eventually succeeded in negotiating its first ceasefire with the Syrian army and Hizbullah on August 12 2015, suspending hostilities for 48 hours in Zabadani, Foua, and Kefraya
Chapter 7
Member of Ahrar al-Shah
Leader: Ahmad Issa al-Sheikh
Date of Establishment: Late 2013
Number of Fighters: Approximately 1,800
Funding/Support: Previously Saudi Arabia, but now believed to be Turkey and Qatar
Ideology: Nationalist Salafi
Additional Ideology: Nationalist Islamist
Objectives:
To depose Assad
To establish an Islamic state/emirate in Syria
Location: Idlib province
Key Facts:
In 2016, Suqour al-Sham's leader had an exchange on Twitter with the Jordanian al-Qaeda ideologue Abu Mohammad al-Maqdisi, over the fighting of various Islamist groups against the ISIS-linked faction Jund al-Aqsa. Maqdisi opposed the fighting, on the basis that it was not targeted against "apostates"
Chapter 8
Ahrar al-Shah
Leader: Mohammad Alloush
Date of Establishment: 29 September 2013
Number of Fighters: Approximately 15-20,000
Funding/Support: Mainly Saudi Arabia and Qatar
Ideology: Nationalist Salafi
Additional Ideology: Jaish al-Islam is a coalition of 45 to 50 groups, including Islamic and Secular Nationalist factions
Objectives:
To depose Assad
To establish an Islamic state/emirate in Syria
Location: East Ghouta (Damascus suburbs), Aleppo, and Idlib provinces
Former Name: Liwa al-Islam
Key Facts:
Liwa al-Islam is considered to be one of the main components of Jaish al-Islam. It was responsible for the assassination in July 2012 of the former Syrian defence minister and Assad's brother-in-law in Damascus
Jaish al-Islam's leader has denounced democracy and called for an Islamic state to succeed Assad. But in a May 2015 interview with McClatchy journalists, Alloush said that Syrians should decide what sort of state they wanted to live under and that Alawis were "part of the Syrian people"
The group was part of the Islamic Front, a dissolved umbrella group of 40,000-70,000 fighters
Chapter 9
Member of Ahrar al-Shah
Leader: Captain Mohammad Shakerdi
Date of Establishment: 2 January 2014
Number of Fighters: Approximately 10,000
Funding/Support: Member of the Military Operations Command (MOC)
Ideology: Nationalist Salafi
Additional Ideology: National Islamist
Objectives:
To fight ISIS
To depose Assad
To establish an Islamic state/emirate in Syria
Location: East Ghouta (Damascus suburbs), Aleppo, and Idlib provinces
Key Facts:
Jaish al-Mujahideen attended the first round of Russian-Turkish sponsored talks in Astana. In response, it was attacked by JFS, as a result of which it allied itself with Ahrar al-Sham for protection
Chapter 10
Member of Ahrar al-Sham
Leader: Engineer Husam Yasin
Date of Establishment: 25 December 2014
Number of Fighters: Approximately 3,000
Funding/Support: Member of the Military Operations Command (MOC)
Ideology: Nationalist Salafi
Additional Ideology: The member factions of the Levant Front range from Nationalist Islamist to FSA-linked Secular Nationalist
Objectives:
To fight ISIS
To depose Assad
Location: Aleppo province
Key Facts:
The Levant Front was created as an attempt to unite groups in the north. This failed because of a lack of cohesion between the factions ideological matters
Chapter 11
Member of Ahrar al-Sham
Leader: Captain Naji al-Mustafa
Date of Establishment: April 2015
Number of Fighters: Approximately 2,000
Funding/Support: Allegedly individuals from the Gulf
Ideology: Islamic Nationalist
Objectives:
To fight ISIS
To depose Assad
Location: Aleppo province
Key Facts:
Thuwar al-Sham Battalions includes dozens of officers who defected from Assad regime
Formerly a member of the Levant Front
Chapter 12
Member of Ahrar al-Sham
Leader: Mustafa Barro (also known as Saker Abu Qutaiba)
Date of Establishment: December 2012
Number of Fighters: Approximately 3,000
Funding/Support: Member of the Military Operations Command (MOC)
Ideology: Nationalist Islamist
Objectives:
To fight ISIS
To depose Assad
Location: Aleppo province
Key Facts:
Previously a member of the Levant Front
In 2014, the faction arrested a Christian anti-Assad activist in Aleppo for not wearing a veil, but after criticism from other opposition groups, its political office issued an apology saying the arrest was a mistake by a local commander
In 2016, the group clashed with Harakat Nour al-Din al-Zenki on ideological grounds
Chapter 13
Leader: Mondher Saras and Haitham Rahmeh
Date of Establishment: 4 March 2014
Number of Fighters: 7,000-10,000
Ideology: Nationalist Salafi
Objectives:
To fight ISIS
To depose Assad
Location: Homs, Hama, and Idlib provinces
Key Facts:
The faction, through its political office, has good relations with Turkey, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, France, and the UK
Chapter 14
Leader: Bashar al-Zoubi
Date of Establishment: 23 January 2012
Number of Fighters: Approximately 40,000
Funding/Support: Member of the Military Operations Command (MOC)
Ideology: Secular Nationalist
Objectives:
To fight ISIS
To depose Assad
Location: Deraa, Quneitra, and Suweida provinces
Key Facts:
The Southern Front was formed from dozens of rebel groups in southern Syria, including; Hamza Division (Deraa), The First Brigade, Sword of al-Sham Brigades, The First Legion, Jaish al-Ummah, Al-Furqan Brigades, Amoud Horan Brigade, Ahrar Nawa Division, Jabhat al-Sham Muwahidda, Martyrs of Islam Brigade, Syrian Revolutionary Front, Dawn of Islam Division (Forqat Fajr al-Islam), Quneitra Military Council, Yarmouk Army, First Division, Lions of Sunna Brigade.
Chapter 15
Leader: Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi
Date of Establishment: October 2006
Number of Fighters: 15-20,000 in Syria and Iraq (as of 2016)
Funding/Support:
Oil smuggling
Tax collection and extortion
Donations
Ideology: Salafi-Jihadi (Internationalist)
Objectives:
Establish a caliphate
Establish a Salafi vision of Islamic law
Location: Syria and Iraq (with affiliates in other countries)
Key Facts:
ISIS was a member of al-Qaeda until its expulsion in 2014.
Jabhat Fatah al-Sham was initially dispatched by ISIS in Iraq to fight in the Syrian civil war, but refused to submit when ISIS itself expanded into Syria in 2013.
Chapter 16
Leader: Salih Muslim
Date of Establishment: Late 2012
Number of Fighters: 45-65,000
Funding/Support:
Taxation in areas of control
Funding from the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK)
Individuals in the Kurdish diaspora
Ideology: Ethnic protection
Objectives:
To fight ISIS
To depose Assad
Protection of Kurdish interests
Location: North and north-east Syria
Key Facts:
The YPG is the armed wing of the Kurdish Democratic Unity Party (PYD), an affiliate of the Turkish terrorist group, the Kurdistan Workers' Party
The YPG includes an all-female brigade called the Women's Protection Units (YPJ), which fights ISIS. They operate in both Syria and Iraq.
Chapter 17
Associated with the YPG
Leader: Sipan Hemo
Date of Establishment: October 2015
Estimated Number of Fighters: 30-40,000 (of which three quarters are from the YPG)
Funding/Support: Financial and logistical support from the US
Ideology: Secular Nationalist
Sub-ideologies: Ethnic Protection
Objectives:
To depose Assad
To fight ISIS
To establish a secular, democratic state
Location: Hassakah, Raqqa, and Deir ez-Zour provinces
Key Facts:
SDF is a coalition of Arab and Kurdish factions, dominated by the YPG. The Arab factions are drawn from various tribal groups. The leaders of SDF units are usually Kurds.
There is a leadership council that includes former PKK commanders Shahin Jailo and Fahman Hussein.
The YPG fighters within the SDF are not included in the estimated number of fighters for the YPG.