SUMMARY
Harakat Ahrar al-Sham al-Islamiyya or Ahrar al-Sham was formed in December 2011 as part of the civil war in Syria. The group has increasingly become one of the most prominent groups within the opposition.
Ahrar al-Sham was Sunni Salafist militant group that aimed at replacing the Assad Regime with an Islamic government.
Ahrar al-Sham was the largest group within the Islamic Front. The group has also been the main component of the Fatah Halab, Jaysh al-Fatah Idlib, Eastern Qalamoun, Eastern Ghouta Unified Military Command Operation Rooms. Ahrar al-Sham has also been fighting together with Jabhat al-Nusra. On 18 February 2018, Ahrar al-Sham created Syrian Liberation Front together with Nour al-Din Zenki. Syrian Liberation Front merged with National Front for Liberation in August 2018, which in turn joined the Turkish-backed rebel alliance SNA (Syria National Army) in October 2019.
Ahrar al-Sham consisted of 10 000 - 20 000 fighters. Qatar Supported Ahrar al-Sham with weapons and money in 2014, Saudi Arabia and Turkey joined the support in 2015 providing the group with weapons and money.
Ahrar al-Sham was led by Hassan Abboud until he was killed in clashes with IS on 9 September 2014. On 11 September 2014 Sheikh Hashim al-Sheikh became the interim leader of Ahrar al-Sham until September 2015 when he stepped down in favour of Abu Yahya al-Hamawi.
Ahrar al-Sham has been involved in the non-state category of UCDP organised violence. It is also considered part of the Syrian insurgents active in the intrastate and one-sided categories of UCDP organised violence.
Jaysh al-Islam (meaning the Army of Islam) was formed as Liwa al-Islam (Islam Brigade) by Zahran Alloush in September 2011 during the civil war in Syria with an aim of toppling Assad and replacing him with an Islamic government. The group was particularly active around Damascus, with Eastern Ghouta as its stronghold. Jaysh al-Islam was one of the main Syrian insurgent groups in Damascus and its countryside until 2018. On 29 September 2013, 50 small rebel factions from the area joined Liwa al-Islam and they changed their name to Jaysh al-Islam.
In 2014, Jaysh al-Islam was part of the Islamic Front. During 2015, it participated in several coalitions while remaining an independent actor. Most notably, on 26 April 2015 they established the Fatah Halab Operations room with other groups active in the Aleppo area. The group was also a leading member in the Eastern Ghouta Unified Military Command and the Eastern Qalamoun Operations Room, both active in fighting IS in Rif Dimashq. It continued fighting IS in several coalitions (2015, 2017, 2018) in Damascus countryside until it was driven out by the regime in mid-2018. In April 2018, Jaysh al-Islam joined the Turkish-backed rebel alliance SNA (Syria National Army)
Jaysh al-Islam consisted of between 17 000 and 25 000 fighters, and was for much of the uprising one of the strongest groups in Syria.
Jaysh al-Islam was led by Zahran Alloush until his death on 25 December 2015. Essam al-Buwaydhani then became the military leader of the group.
Jaysh al-Islam has been involved in the non-state category of UCDP organised violence. It is also considered part of the Syrian insurgents active in the intrastate and one-sided categories of UCDP organised violence.
