SUMMARY
Jaysh al-Thuwar (Army of Revolutionaries) was a multi-ethnic rebel coalition and participant in the Syrian Civil War as a part of the Syrian insurgents. The coalition was founded 3 May 2015 and consisted of rebel groups with Arab, Kurdish and Turkmen backgrounds, such as Northern Sun Battalion (up to this point the main component group of Dawn of Freedom Brigades), Jabhat al-Akrad and Seljuq Brigade. It was founded primarily to fight Syrian Baath regime and IS with the aim of creating a democratic Syria. Jaysh al-Thuwar was allied to PYD and Jabhat Thuwar ar-Raqqa, and fought alongside these against IS in the Euphrates Volcano operations room. It joined the SDF on 10 October 2015 as one of the founding groups, and thus ceased to exist as an independent organization.
The areas of operation were Aleppo, Al Hasakah, Idlib and Ar Raqqah Governorates in Northern Syria. As Jaysh al-Thuwar entered SDF coalition the areas of operations were mainly focused on Syrian Kurdistan (Rojava). The headquarters were found in villages of Tel Rifaat and Maryamin in Afrin district in Aleppo Governorate. The leaders of Jaysh al-Thuwar were Ahmed Sultan Abu Araj, Mohammad Abu Adel (also commander of Northern Sun Battalion) and Abu Juma Abannawi. Leader of Seljuq Brigade and Jaysh al-Thuwar member, Talal Selo, was also the spokesperson for SDF.
Jaysh al-Thuwar has been involved in the non-state category of UCDP organized violence. It is also considered part of the Syrian insurgents active in the intrastate and one-sided categories of UCDP organized violence.
The PYD’s (Partiya Yektîya Demokrat, Democratic Union Party) was a Kurdish political party in Syria. It advocated Kurdish nationalism and the right for Kurds to self-government.
Its relationship to PKK (Partiya Karkerên Kurdistan, Kurdistan Workers’ Party (for more information, see Turkey: Kurdistan Aside from Turkey, PKK has further been involved in violence in Iraq)) – the Kurdish rebel group in Turkey is somewhat ambiguous: it is thought to have been created by the PKK as its Syrian arm in 2003. PYD itself however claims it is not a PKK-offshoot, although it holds membership in the Kurdish umbrella organisation KCK (Koma Civakên Kurdistan, Union of Kurdish Communities), which has PKK’s charter as well as leadership. PYD and PKK are further linked through YPG (Yekîneyên Parastina Gel, People’s Defence Corps), the armed wing of PYD, which was trained by PKK. It is possible that the denial of ties to the PKK is a strategy to gain support among Syria’s Kurds by depicting itself as a Kurdish party for them, and to gain increased legitimacy internationally, although the PKK likely determines PYD’s decisions to a large extent.
PYD opposes the anti-Assad groups’ relationship with Turkey (which is seen as opposing Kurdish goals) as well as their espousal of Islamism and Arab nationalism. It is a member of the NCB (National Coordination Body for Democratic Change), which is opposed to intervention in Syria by foreign countries. The group has both cooperated with and clashed with the Syrian government. In 2014 PYD was one of the main actors fighting IS in Syria.
On 10 October 2015 PYD joined the SDF alliance after this date all PYD violence adhere to this actor.
PYD has been involved in the intrastate and non-state and one-sided categories of UCDP organised violence.
Liwa Thuwar ar-Raqqa (Raqqa Revolutionaries’ Brigade), for a while known as Jabhat Thuwar ar-Raqqa, was a rebel group formed in September 2012 with its headquarters in Ain Issa in Ar Raqqah Governorate in northern Syria. It participated in the Syrian Civil War as a part of the Syrian insurgents. The group was a founding member of the SDF coalition on 10 October 2015, at which point the group ceased to exist as an independent organization. It branded itself as an FSA faction.
Liwa Thuwar ar-Raqqa allied with several factions to fight IS during the 2014 anti-IS offensive. In Raqqa it fought in IS - Islamic Front, Jabhat Fateh al-Sham, Liwa al-Jihad fi Sabeel Allah, Liwa Thuwar ar-Raqqa and later Euphrates Islamic Liberation Front, Islamic Front, Jabhat Fateh al-Sham, Liwa Thuwar ar-Raqqa - IS in Ar Raqqah Governorate, and in Aleppo in Dawn of Freedom Brigades, Euphrates Islamic Liberation Front, Islamic Front, Jabhat al-Akrad, Liwa Thuwar ar-Raqqa - IS. From September 2014, Liwa Thuwar ar-Raqqa was allied with PYD to fight jointly in the operations room Euphrates Volcano, which fought IS in Aleppo and Ar Raqqah Governorates during 2014-2015. Late 2015, Liwa Thuwar ar-Raqqa allied with a tribal army in Raqqah countryside to form Jabhat Thuwar ar-Raqqa. However, it stated its disbandment shortly thereafter due to a dispute involving other local groups and lack of equipment and support. Liwa Thuwar ar-Raqqa thereafter reappeared to join SDF in October 2015, though parts of the group appears to have at first rejected the merger.
The leader of Jabhat Thuwar ar-Raqqa was Abu Issa.
Liwa Thuwar ar-Raqqa has been involved in the non-state category of UCDP organized violence. It is also considered part of the Syrian insurgents active in the intrastate and one-sided categories of UCDP organized violence.
Dawn of Freedom Brigades (Tajamu Alwiya Fajr al-Hurriya) originated as the Descendants of the Messengers Brigade (or Descendants of the Missionaries, Liwa Ahfad al Mursaleen), an offshoot of Ghuraba al-Sham, and included the Northern Sun Battalion and the Euphrates Knights Brigade. It changed its name to Dawn of Freedom Brigades in March of 2014.
The group was created and led by Nizar al-Khatib "Abu Laith" in July 2012. From the start of the anti-IS offensive at the start of 2014, it was actively engaged in fighting IS as part of various coalitions in northern Aleppo and Raqqah governorates (see Dawn of Freedom Brigades, Euphrates Islamic Liberation Front, Islamic Front, Jabhat al-Akrad, Liwa Thuwar ar-Raqqa – IS, Dawn of Freedom Brigades, Jabhat al-Akrad, Northern Storm Brigade – IS and Dawn of Freedom Brigades, Baz al-Islamiya, Islamic Front, Jabhat al-Akrad, Jabhat Fateh al-Sham, Liwa al-Sultan Murad, Majd al-Sham - IS). After being forced to seek refuge in Kurdish-controlled areas, it begun fighting as part of the PYD-led operations room Euphrates Volcano in September 2014. Dawn of Freedom Brigades became defunct in May 2015 when the Northern Sun Battalion left the group and formed Jaysh al-Thuwar.
Dawn of Freedom Brigades has been involved in the non-state category of UCDP organized violence. It is also considered part of the Syrian insurgents active in the intrastate and one-sided categories of UCDP organized violence.
