SUMMARY
Levant Front was formed on 25 December 2014, as a coalition of the biggest rebel factions in Aleppo: the Islamic Front, Army of Mujahedeen, Harakat Nour al-Din al-Zenki, Fastaqim Kama Umirt, and the Authenticity and Development Front. As a coalition, Jabhat al-Shamiyya split up just months later, on 18 April, reportedly due to internal disputes over funding and the group's broad ideological makeup. On 18 June it was announced that part of the former coalition, particularly the former Liwa al-Tawhid/Islamic Front elements and the Jaysh al-Mujahideen splinter group Kataib Thuwar al-Sham, would continue fighting under the name.
Levant Front was a member of the Fatah Halab Operations room and the Mare'a Operation Room.
The new Levant front was led by Abu Amr an Ahrar ash-Sham commander.
Levant Front 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
The Authenticity and Development Front (Jabhat Asala wa-Tanmiya) was an alliance of around twenty factions, originally formed in November 2012, at which time it had around 5,000 fighters. Its main areas of operation was Aleppo, Deir ez Zor and Rif Dimashq. In 2014 it suffered major blows by being forced out of Deir ez Zor by IS (see IS - Mujahideen Shura Council), though portions of Authenticity and Development Front covertly remained behind in the province as a military formation known as the White Shroud (Al-Kafn Al-Abyad), which conducted targeted assassinations of IS members in the area between Albu Kamal town and Deir ez Zor city (Authenticity and Development Front - IS. Most of the Authenticity and Development Front fled Deir ez Zor and set up in other areas, mainly in the Qalamoun mountains of Rif Dimashq and Aleppo, where they fought IS in other constellations (e.g. Eastern Qalamoun Operations Room – IS and Fatah Halab – IS). During the 2014 offensive against IS, its major Aleppo branch, Nour al-Din al-Zenki movement, fought as part of Mujahideen Army and later defected. Its largest Rif Dimashq group, Jaysh Usud al-Sharqiya, left the Front in December 2015.
Authenticity and Development Front was led by Gulf-based Salafist preacher Khaled al-Hamad, who was reportedly close to Saudi Arabia, which supported the alliance financially. The Authenticity and Development Front also reportedly cooperated with the United States in its train and equip program. Khaled al-Hamad described the group’s ideology as a “moderate Salafi approach”.
Authenticity and Development Front 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 during the Syrian civil war.
Fistaqim Kama Umirat was created by a merger of several smaller Aleppo-based factions in December 2012. In 2014 the group was part of the Mujahideen Army and of Levant Front from 25 December 2014 to 18 April 2015. The group branded itself as an FSA group.
Fistaqim Kama Umirat was a member of the Fatah Halab Operations room and the Mare'a Operation Room.
The group was led by Mustafa Berro.
Fistaqim Kama Umirat 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.
Jama'at was a member of the Fatah Halab Operations room during the civil war in Syria. Although Jabhat al-Nusra was not part of this coalition Jama'at was by some observers seen as a subunit of Jabhat al-Nusra. The group was allied to Fajr al Khilafa Brigades.
Jama'at 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.
Fajr al Khilafa Brigades was a member of the Fatah Halab Operations room and the Ansar al Sharia Operations room during the civil war in Syria.
The group was Sunni Salafist militant group that aimed at replacing the Assad Regime with an Islamic government.
Tarek Aour was the leader of Fajr al-Khilafa.
Fajr al Khilafa Brigades 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.
Harakat Mujahidi al-Islam was a member of the Fatah Halab Operations room and the Ansar al Sharia Operations room during the civil war in Syria.
Harakat Mujahidi 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.
The Mujahideen Army (Jaysh al-Mujahideen) was an alliance formed during the civil war in Syria on 2 January 2014 with the goal of defeating the Islamic State (IS) in Aleppo. As such it was a leading faction in the anti-IS offensive that begun in January 2014 (see IS - Islamic Front, Mujahideen Army, SRF. It was based in the countryside of western Aleppo, mainly around Atarib, but participated in fighting IS on several more fronts in northern Syria.
The alliance was composed by the following groups: Nour al-Din al-Zenki, Fastaqim Union, 19th Division, Islamic Freedom Brigade, Battalion of the Martyr Muhammad Sha'ban, Farouq Battalion, 5th Battalion, Revolutionaries of Atarib Gathering, Atarib Martyrs Brigade, Battalion of the Martyr Alaa al-Ahmad, Central Force for the City of Atarib, Ansar al-Haqq Battalion, Loyalty to God Battalion, Shells of Justice Brigade. At the time of its formation it was estimated to have around 5,000 fighters, making it a prominent fighting force in Aleppo.
Its largest member group was Nour al-Din al-Zenki, which was also a part of the Authenticity and Development Front, but fought as part of the Mujahideen Army in Aleppo during the 2014 anti-IS offensive. Mujahideen Army was greatly weakened when Nour al-Din al-Zenki left the alliance in May 2014, and thereafter stopped playing as prominent role in the opposition. On 6 May 2015, the Mujahideen Army joined the Fatah Halab joint operations room. The group finally dissolved after merging into Ahrar al-Sham on 24 January 2017, after being defeated by HTS.
The Mujahideen Army had a joint leadership including Lt. Col. Abu Bakr, Captain Mohammed Shakerdi and Nour al-Din Zinki commander Sheikh Tawfiq Shahabuddin. The Mujahideen Army branded themselves as an FSA group and received US backing. It was originally a moderately Islamist oriented movement which opposed conflict with any other factions than IS, including al-Qaida linked Jabhat Fateh al-Sham (at the time known as Jabhat al-Nusra). It would, however, later also fight the Kurdish-led SDF as part of the Fatah Halab operations room.
The Mujahideen Army 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 organized violence.
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.
First Regiment was formed as they splintered with the Levant Front in March 2015. The group branded themselves as an FSA group.
The group consisted of 500-1500 fighters.
First Regiment was led by Khaled Kengo.
In 2015 the First Regiment joined the Fatah Halab joint operations room.
First Regiment 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.
Jabhat Fateh al-Sham (Front for the Conquest of the Levant), commonly known as Jabhat al-Nusra or al-Nusra only, was one of several jihadi groups to enter the Syrian scene to fight against Bashar al-Assad and the Government of Syria. Even though al-Nusra was not the largest it soon became the most noticed group and remained an important actor on the Syrian scene. In July 2016, leader al-Julani changed the name of the group from Jabhat al-Nusra to Jabhat Fatah al-Sham. Since January 2017, al-Nusra is part of the alliance Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS).
Al-Nusra advocated a new Syrian order, based on a vision of a globally reaching Islamic caliphate and ruled by Sharia-legislation, and was explicitly anti-Western. Its rhetoric was greatly sectarian, and full of Salafi-jihadi references.
The origins of al-Nusra can be traced back to the turmoil in Iraq during the early 2000s. What would become al-Nusra developed from a network run by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi dedicated to send jihadist fighters to Iraq via Syria. In 2007, the Syrian regime reevaluated its stance towards Iraq and subsequently struck down on the network which moved into Iraq. The loosely organized network remained in Iraq until late 2011/early 2012 when it reemerged as Jabhat al-Nusra in Syria.
When it emerged, there were speculations regarding the groups authenticity. Some within the opposition suggested the regime was behind attacks carried out by the group, as a way to bolster its claims of facing an opposition of Salafi terrorists, to wean support for the mainstream opposition, and to instill fear among Western countries and the minorities in Syria.
There are different reports concerning al-Nusra's relationship with the Free Syrian Army (FSA), with information suggesting that al-Nusra's hardline jihadi stance caused a reluctance to cooperate with FSA, whose approach was more nationalist and not opposed to Western assistance.
In September 2013, al-Nusra was among 13 rebel outfits which declared their rejection of the Syrian National Coalition, which enjoys the support of the FSA.
However, the UCDP has registered cooperation between FSA and al-Nusra, and other sources say that cooperation between al-Nusra and FSA did take place.
Al-Nusras relationship with al-Qaeda has been discussed. In terms of tactics, rhetoric and targets, its similarities to ISI (Islamic State in Iraq) also known as AQI (al-Qaeda in Iraq) were noted. Al-Qaeda's network for media distribution endorsed al-Nusra propaganda. In April 2013, the leader of ISI announced that his group and al-Nusra had merged and would be known as ISIS (Islamic State in Iraq and al-Sham/Syria). However, the al-Nusra leader shortly thereafter denied this, and instead confirmed al-Nusra's allegiance to al-Qaeda central's leader Ayman al-Zawahiri.
In terms of strategies employed, al-Nusra was known for its use of suicide bombings. Information indicates that the group sought to avoid civilian casualties in its attacks, which earned them more popularity among Syrians, although many feared their radical ideology.
Al-Nusra 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. Since January 2017, al-Nusra is part of the alliance Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS).
Jaysh al-Sunna was a coalition formed during the civil war in Syria On 20 March 2015. The group was composed by Kataeb al-Farouq, Liwa al-Iman, Battalion 13 and some other small units from Homs. Some of its members had been part of FSA.
Jaysh al-Sunna became a member of the Fatah Halab Operations room and became a member of Jaish al-Fatah on 24 March 2015.
Jaysh al-Sunna consisted of approximately 500 fighters. On 26 February 2016, Jaysh al-Sunna's Hama branch merged with Ahrar al-Sham, though its northern Aleppo branch was not a part of this merger.
The group was led by Ammar Bouqai.
Jaysh al-Sunna 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.
