SUMMARY

SNA (Syria National Army, Jaysh al-Watani al-Suri) was a Syrian rebel group supported by Turkey. As many other rebel groups in Syria, SNA was formed as an alliance by several opposition movements and brigades. On 30 December 2017, at least 30 groups merged into SNA, claiming to represent Syria’s interim government formed in Turkey. SNA had its base in Azaz in northern Aleppo province and controlled 22 000 troops by the time of its formation. In 2019, another attempt at unifying the opposition resulted in the alliance National Front for Liberation joining SNA. National Front for Liberation was based in Idlib, and consisted of 11 rebel factions with Turkish support. Following pressure from Turkey to unite all ‘moderate’ Islamist groups in Syria, National Front for Liberation joined SNA on 4 October 2019.

SNA had its roots in Free Syrian Army (FSA), which was created in July 2011 to protect and support the protests in Syria and to overthrow the Syrian government. During the initial years of the Syrian civil war, FSA came to function as a brand name of the insurgency, rather than a de facto rebel group.

SNA had a faction-based structure, meaning that the separate factions within the group maintained its own structure. Given this high degree of fragmentation, there was no clear, unified SNA ideology. Instead, many of the groups had their own agendas, and they frequently fought each other. However, the groups that joined forces in SNA had in common that they opposed the Assad regime, and many of them had also fought against IS (Islamic State), SDF (Syrian Democratic Forces) ), and the Salafi-jihadi groups of the opposition, such as HTS (Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham). Most members were Arabs from northern Syria, but there were also Turkmen and Kurds among the ranks. Formally, the president of the opposition’s government, Salem al-Meslet, was the leader of SNA. In practice, the separate factions maintained their own command structures.

When SNA was formed, its area of influence was limited to northern Aleppo province. Following the merger with Idlib-based National Front for Liberation, and the so-called Operation Peace Spring in northern Hasakah and Raqqa in October 2019, this area grew. The unification of the opposition groups also meant that the number of troops controlled by SNA increased, from around 22 000 at its formation in 2017 to around 80 000 by the end of 2019. The biggest factions were Ahrar al-Sham, Ahrar al-Sharqiya, Sham Legion, Hamza Division, Liwa al-Sultan Murad, Free Idlib Army, Levant Front, and Jaysh al-Islam.

The substantial Turkish support increased the military capabilities of SNA. Turkey provided military training, weapons, and military vehicles, as well troop support on the ground and air support in the form of airstrikes, drone strikes, and shelling.

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.