The first opposition structures to form in the Syrian uprising were local protest-organizing committees. These formed in April 2011, as protesters graduated from spontaneous protests to protests organized by meetings beforehand.[citation needed]
"The core of the grassroots civil opposition is the youth, mainly from the working and middle-classes, in which women and diverse religious and ethnic groups play active roles. Many of these activists remain non-affiliated to traditional political ideologies but are motivated by concerns for freedom, dignity, social justice and basic human rights."[4]
The Syrian uprising phase, from March 2011 until the start of August 2011, was characterized by a consensus for nonviolent struggle among the uprising's participants.[citation needed] Thus the conflict could not have been yet characterized as a "civil war", until the organization of armed struggle began on the anti-government side. This occurred beginning from 29 July 2011, allowing the conflict to meet the international political definition of "civil war."[citation needed]
A broader opposition umbrella group, the National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces, was formed in November 2012 and has gained recognition as the "legitimate representative of the Syrian people" by the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf (CCASG) and as a "representative of aspirations of Syrian people" by the Arab League.[12] The Syrian National Coalition was subsequently considered to take the seat of Syria in the Arab League, with The Syrian Government representative suspended that year. The Syrian National Council, initially a part of the Syrian National Coalition, withdrew on 20 January 2014 in protest at the decision of the coalition to attend the Geneva talks.[13] Despite tensions, the Syrian National Council retained a degree of ties with the National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces. Syrian opposition groups held reconciliation talks in Astana, Kazakhstan in October 2015.[14] In late 2015, the Syrian Interim Government relocated its headquarters to the Turkish-occupied areas in North Syria and began to execute some authority in the area. In 2017, the opposition government in the Idlib Governorate was challenged by the rival Syrian Salvation Government, backed by the Islamist faction Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS).
Syria has been a independent republic since 1946 after the expulsion of the French forces. For decades, the country was partially stable with a series of coups until the Ba'ath Party seized power in Syria in 1963 after a coup d'état. The head of state since 1971 has been a member of the al-Assad family, beginning with Hafez al-Assad (1971–2000). Syria was under emergency law from the time of the 1963 Syrian coup d'état until 21 April 2011, when it was rescinded by Bashar al-Assad, Hafez's eldest surviving son and the current President of Syria.[15] As the revolutionary wave commonly referred to as the Arab Spring began to take shape in early 2011, Syrian protesters began consolidating opposition councils.
Organized by Ammar al-Qurabi's National Organization for Human Rights in Syria and financed by the wealthy Damascene Sanqar family, it led to a final statement refusing compromise or reform solutions, and to the election of a 31-member leadership.
After the Antalya conference, a follow-up meeting took place two days later in Brussels, then another gathering in Paris that was addressed by Bernard Henri Levy.[16] It took a number of further meetings in Istanbul and Doha before yet another meeting on 23 August 2011 in Istanbul set up a permanent transitional council in form of the Syrian National Council.[17]
The Syrian opposition does not have a definitive political structure. In December 2015, members of the Syrian opposition convened in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia: 34 groups attended the convention, which aimed to produce a unified delegation for negotiations with the Syrian government.[18] Notable groups present included:
National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces[edit]
Official logo of the National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces.
The National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces is a coalition of opposition groups and individuals, mostly exilic, who support the Syrian revolution side and oppose the Assad government ruling Syria. It formed on 11 November 2012 at a conference of opposition groups and individuals held in Doha, Qatar. It has relations with other opposition organizations such as the Syrian National Council, the previous iteration of an exilic political body attempting to represent the grassroots movement; the union of the two was planned,[by whom?] but has failed to realize. Moderate Islamic preacher Moaz al-Khatib, who had protested on the Syrian street in the early nonviolent phase of the uprising, served a term as the president of the coalition, but soon resigned his post, frustrated with the gap between the body and the grassroots of the uprising inside Syria.[19]Riad Seif and Suheir Atassi, both of whom had also protested on the street in Syria early in the uprising, were elected as vice presidents. Mustafa Sabbagh is the coalition's secretary-general.[20]
Notable members of the Coalition include:
the Assyrian Democratic Organization: a party representing Assyrians in Syria and long repressed by the Assad government, it has participated in opposition structures since the beginning of the conflict. Abdul-Ahad Astepho is a member of the SNC.[21][22]
the Syrian Democratic People's Party, a socialist party which played a "key role" in forming the SNC.[37] The Party's leader George Sabra (a secularist born into a Christian family) is the official spokesman of the SNC, and also ran for chairman.[38]
the Supreme Council of the Syrian Revolution, a Syrian opposition group supporting the overthrow of Bashar al-Assad's government. It grants local opposition groups representation in its national organization.
The Syrian Democratic Council is considered an "alternative opposition" bloc.[50] Its leaders included former NCC members such as Riad Darar, a "key figure" in the Syrian opposition, and Haytham Manna, who resigned from the SDC in March 2016 in protest of its announcement of the Northern Syria Federation.[51] The SDC was rejected by some other opposition groups due to its system of federalism.[52]
Other groups affiliated with Syrian opposition[edit]
Muslim Brotherhood: Islamist party founded in 1930. The brotherhood was behind the Islamic uprising in Syria between 1976 until 1982. The party is banned in Syria and membership became a capital offence in 1980. The Muslim Brotherhood has issued statements of support for the Syrian uprising.[53][54] Other sources have described the group as having "risen from the ashes",[55] "resurrected itself"[56] to be a dominant force in the uprising.[57] The Muslim Brotherhood has constantly lost influence with militants on the ground, who have defected from the Brotherhood affiliated Shields of the Revolution Council to the Islamic Front.[58]
Coalition of Secular and Democratic Syrians: nucleus of a Syrian secular and democratic opposition that appeared during the Syrian civil war. It came about through the union of a dozen Muslim and Christian, Arab and Kurd parties, who called the minorities of Syria to support the fight against the government of Bashar al-Assad.[59][60] The Coalition has also called for military intervention in Syria, under the form of a no-fly zone similar to that of Kosovo, with a safe zone and cities.[61][62] The president of the coalition, who is also a member of the SNC, is Randa Kassis.[63][64][65][66]
Syrian Turkmen Assembly: A recently formed assembly of Syrian Turkmens which constitutes a coalition of Turkmen parties and groups in Syria. It is against the partition of Syria after the collapse of Baath government. The common decision of Syrian Turkmen Assembly is: "Regardless of any ethnic or religious identity, a future in which everybody can be able to live commonly under the identity of Syrian is targeted in the future of Syria."[67]
Syrian Turkmen National Bloc: An opposition party of Syrian Turkmens, which was founded in February 2012. The chairman of the political party is Yusuf Molla.
Syrian National Democratic Council: formed in Paris on 13 November 2011 during the Syrian civil war by Rifaat al-Assad, uncle of Bashar al-Assad. Rifaat al-Assad has expressed the wish to replace Bashar al-Assad with the authoritarian state apparatus intact, and to guarantee the safety of government members, while also making vague allusions to a "transition".[72] Rifaat has his own political organisation, the United National Democratic Rally.[73]
At a conference held in Istanbul on 19 March 2013, members of the National Coalition elected Ghassan Hitto as prime minister of an interim government for Syria. Hitto has announced that a technical government will be formed which will be led by between 10 and 12 ministers. The minister of defense is to be chosen by the Free Syrian Army.[75] The SIG is based in Turkey. It has been the primary civilian authority throughout most of opposition-held Syria. Its system of administrative local councils operate services such as schools and hospitals in these areas, as well as the Free Aleppo University.[76][77] By late 2017, it presided over 12 provincial councils and over 400 elected local councils. It also operates a major border crossing between Syria and Turkey, which generates an estimated $1 million revenue each month.[76] It is internationally recognized by the European Union and the United States, among others. It maintains diplomatic ties with some non-FSA rebel groups, such as Ahrar al-Sham, but is in conflict with the more extreme Tahrir al-Sham, which is one of the largest armed groups in Idlib Governorate.[76]
The Syrian Salvation Government is an alternative government of the Syrian opposition seated within Idlib Governorate, which was formed by the General Syrian Conference in September 2017.[78] The domestic group has appointed Mohammed al-Sheikh as head of the Government with 11 more ministers for Interior, Justice, Endowment, Higher Education, Education, Health, Agriculture, Economy, Social Affairs and Displaced, Housing and Reconstruction and Local Administration and Services. Al-Sheikh, in a press conference held at the Bab al-Hawa Border Crossing has also announced the formation of four commissions: Inspection Authority, Prisoners and missing Affairs, Planning and Statistics Authority, and the Union of Trade Unions.[79] The founder of the Free Syrian Army, Col. Riad al-Asaad, was appointed as deputy prime minister for military affairs.[citation needed] The SSG is associated with Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and not recognised by the rest of the opposition, which is in conflict with HTS.[79]
There is a sharp ideological divide between the two competing opposition civil authorities: The SIG espouses secular, moderate values and regularly participates in international peace talks; the SSG enforces a strict interpretation of Islamic law and stringently rejects talks with the Syrian regime.[76]
Various Syrian opposition groups have at least some presence in seven Syrian governorates, though none is fully under the control of the entity. Governorates with partial opposition control include:
Governorates under partial control of opposition groups aligned with the Syrian Interim Government:
Turkish-occupied territories and territories controlled by the Syrian Interim Government[edit]
In April 2015, after the Second Battle of Idlib, the interim seat of the Syrian Interim Government was proposed to be Idlib, in the Idlib Governorate. However, this move was rejected by the al-Nusra Front and Ahrar al-Sham-led Army of Conquest, which between them controlled Idlib.[80] According to the Syrian National Coalition, in 2017 there were 404 opposition-aligned local councils operating in villages, towns, and cities controlled by rebel forces.[81] In 2016, the Syrian Interim Government became established within the Turkish occupied areas.
Territories governed by the Salvation Government[edit]
The Salvation Government extends authority mostly in the Idlib Governorate.
The foreign relations of the Syrian Opposition refers to the external relations of the self-proclaimed oppositional Syrian Arab Republic, which sees itself as the genuine Syria. The region of control of Syrian opposition affiliated groups is not well defined. The Turkish government recognizes Syrian opposition as the genuine Syrian Arab Republic and hosts several of its institutions on its territory. The seat of Syria in the Arab League is reserved for the Syrian opposition since 2014, but not populated.
Initially, the Free Syrian Army was perceived as the ultimate military force of the Syrian Opposition, but with the collapse of many FSA factions and emergence of powerful Islamist groups, it became clear to the opposition that only a cooperation of secular military forces and moderate Islamists could form a sufficient coalition to battle both the Syrian Government forces and radical Jihadists such as ISIL and in some cases al-Nusra Front.
Free Syrian Army: Paramilitary that has been active during the Syrian civil war.[82][83] Composed mainly of defected Syrian Armed Forces personnel,[84][85] its formation was announced on 29 July 2011 in a video released on the Internet by a uniformed group of deserters from the Syrian military who called upon members of the Syrian army to defect and join them.[86] The leader of the group, who identified himself as Colonel Riad al-Asaad, announced that the Free Syrian Army would work with demonstrators to bring down the system, and declared that all security forces attacking civilians are justified targets.[87][88] It has also been reported that many former Syrian Consulates are trying to band together a Free Syrian Navy from fishermen and defectors to secure the coast.[89]
Syrian Turkmen Brigades: An armed opposition structure of Syrian Turkmens fighting against Syrian Armed Forces. It is also the military wing of Syrian Turkmen Assembly. It is led by Colonel Muhammad Awad and Ali Basher.
Islamic Front: An Islamist rebel group formed in November 2013 and led by Ahrar al-Sham.[90] It was always a loose alliance and was defunct by 2015.[91]
Other rebel fighting forces:
Syrian Islamic Liberation Front: The major rebel fighting coalition independent of the FSA in the period 2012-2013, including the moderate Islamist groups Suqour al-Sham, Al-Tawhid Brigade and Jaysh al-Islam, deploying up to half the opposition's fighting force. It main members joined the Islamic Front in 2013.
Turkish-backed Free Syrian Army: A coalition of mainly Arab and Turkmen opposition fighters in Northern Syria, armed and backed by Turkey since May 2017, partially reorganized as the Syrian National Army in December 2017.
Abdulrazak Eid, Syrian writer and thinker, participated in finding the Committees for the Civil Society in Syria, wrote the first draft of the Statement of 1000, and participated in drafting the Damascus Declaration, president of the national council of Damascus Declaration abroad.
Ammar Abdulhamid, leading Human-Rights Advocate, Founder of Tharwa Foundation, first Syrian to testify in front of American Congress 2006/2008, briefed Presidents of the United States, and called for Syria Revolution in 2006.[92]
Samar Yazbek, Syrian author and journalist. She was awarded the 2012 PEN Pinter International Writer of Courage Award for her book, A Woman in the Crossfire: Diaries of the Syrian Revolution. She fled Syria in 2011 but continues to be an outspoken critic of the al-Assad government from abroad, from Europe and the US.
^Masi, Alessandria (9 March 2015). "Aleppo Battle: Al Qaeda's Jabhat Al-Nusra is Friend To Syrian Rebel Groups". International Business Times. Retrieved 10 March 2015. In 2013, the Syrian opposition included a large number of Islamist brigades that were neither moderate nor jihadist but were aligned with the Syrian Muslim Brotherhood, under an umbrella organization called the Commission of the Shields of the Revolution. Two years later, the brigades have begun to slowly disperse.
The Muslim Brotherhood of Syria, formerly the Islamic Socialist Front, has been described as "a branch" of the Sunni Islamist Muslim Brotherhood, and as "very loosely affiliated" to the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood. In its most recent April 2012 manifesto, it "pledges to respect individual rights", to promote pluralism and democracy and does not even "mention the word Islam".
Idlib Governorate
Idlib Governorate is one of the fourteen governorates (provinces) of Syria. It is situated in northwestern Syria, bordering Turkey. Reports of its area vary, depending on the source, from 5,933 km² to 6,097 km². The Governorate had a pre-war population of 1,464,000. The provincial capital is Idlib.
Saraqib
Saraqib is a city in northwestern Syria, administratively belonging to the Idlib Governorate, located east of Idlib. It has an elevation of 370 meters above sea level. The ancient site of Ebla is situated five kilometers south of the city. Nearby localities include Mardikh and Maar Dibsah to the south, Trunbah and al-Nayrab to the west, Sarmin to the northwest, Taftanaz to the north, Talhiyah to the northeast, Tell Touqan to the east and Kafr Amim to the southeast.
Syrian National Council
The Syrian National Council, sometimes known as the Syrian National Transitional Council or the National Council of Syria, is a Syrian opposition coalition, based in Istanbul, Turkey, formed in August 2011 during the Syrian civil uprising against the government of Bashar al-Assad.
Syrian Revolution General Commission
Syrian Revolution General Commission (SRGC) is a Syrian coalition of 40 Syrian opposition groups to unite their efforts during the Syrian civil war that was announced on 19 August 2011 in Istanbul, Turkey.
National Coordination Committee for Democratic Change
The National Coordination Committee for the Forces of Democratic Change (NCC), or National Coordination Body for Democratic Change (NCB), is a Syrian bloc chaired by Hassan Abdel Azim consisting of 13 left-wing political parties and "independent political and youth activists". It has been defined by Reuters as the internal opposition's main umbrella group. The NCC initially had several Kurdish political parties as members, but all except for the Democratic Union Party left in October 2011 to join the Kurdish National Council. Some opposition activists have accused the NCC of being a "front organization" for Bashar al-Assad's government and some of its members of being ex-government insiders.
International recognition of the Syrian National Council
The Syrian National Council (SNC) is recognised by 7 UN members, the Republic of Kosovo and the European Union as a legitimate representative of the Syrian people in the midst of the Syrian Civil War, with three of those being permanent members of the Security Council. One country, Libya, recognises the SNC as the legitimate government of Syria.
Sectarianism and minorities in the Syrian Civil War
The Syrian Civil War is an intensely sectarian conflict. The focus of the conflict has been identified by some as a ruling minority Alawite government and allied Shi'a governments such as Iran, pitted against the country's Sunni Muslim majority who are aligned with the Syrian opposition and their Sunni Turkish and Persian Gulf state backers. However Sunni Muslims make up the majority of the Syrian Arab Army and many hold high governmental positions. Others identify it as the secular Syrian government, made up of all religious groups pitted against the Islamist opposition. The conflict had drawn in other ethno-religious minorities, including Armenians, Assyrians, Druze, Palestinians, Kurds, Yazidi, Mhallami, Arab Christians, Mandaeans, Turkmens and Greeks.
Suqour al-Sham Brigades
The Suqour al-Sham Brigades, also known as the Sham Falcons Brigades, is an armed rebel organisation formed by Ahmed Abu Issa early in the Syrian Civil War to fight against the Syrian Government. It was a member of the Islamic Front and a former unit of the Free Syrian Army and the Syrian Islamic Liberation Front. They have a history of coordinating with Ahrar al-Sham and al-Qaeda's al-Nusra Front, though clashes with the latter broke out in January 2017. In March 2015, the Suqour al-Sham Brigades merged with Ahrar ash-Sham, but left Ahrar al-Sham in September 2016. Also, in September 2016, they joined the Army of Conquest which Ahrar al-Sham is also a member. On 25 January 2017, Suqour al-Sham rejoined Ahrar al-Sham, but later became independent.
George Sabra
George Sabra is a member of the Syrian Democratic People's Party. He was elected president of the Syrian National Council, the main opposition group in Syria, on 9 November 2012 and later was acting president of the National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces from 22 April – 6 July 2013. He resigned from the National Coalition on 25 April 2018. Sabra is a Christian.
National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces
The National Coalition for Syrian Revolution and Opposition Forces, commonly named the Syrian National Coalition (SNC), is a coalition of opposition groups in the Syrian Civil War that was founded in Doha, Qatar, in November 2012. Former imam of the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus, Moaz al-Khatib, considered a moderate, was elected the president of the coalition, and resigned on 21 April 2013. Riad Seif and Suheir Atassi, both prominent democracy activists and the latter a secular human rights advocate, were elected vice presidents. The post of a third vice president will remain vacant for a Kurdish figure to be elected. Mustafa Sabbagh was elected as the coalition's secretary-general. The coalition has a council of 114 seats, though not all of them are filled.
Supreme Military Council (Syria)
The Supreme Military Council (SMC) was the highest military leadership of the Free Syrian Army (FSA) from late 2012 to at least mid-2014. The establishment of the organisation was announced on 7 December 2012 with the backing of western and Arab powers as a means of financing and arming Syrian rebel forces.
Sham Legion
The Sham Legion is an alliance of Sunni Islamist rebel groups formed in March 2014, during the Syrian Civil War. The alliance was formed from 19 different groups, some of which were previously affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood of Syria and the Shields of the Revolution Council.
Battle of Idlib (2015)
The Battle of Idlib was a military operation in the Idlib Governorate, during the Syrian Civil War, conducted by rebels against Syrian government forces defending Idlib city.
Army of Revolutionaries
The Army of Revolutionaries, or Jaysh al-Thuwar, is a multi-ethnic armed Syrian rebel coalition that is allied with the primarily Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) and participating in the Syrian Civil War as part of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).
Early insurgency phase of the Syrian Civil War
The early insurgency phase of the Syrian Civil War lasted from late July 2011 to April 2012, and was associated with the rise of armed oppositional militias across Syria and the beginning of armed rebellion against the authorities of the Syrian Arab Republic. Though armed insurrection incidents began as early as June 2011 when rebels killed 120–140 Syrian security personnel, the beginning of organized insurgency is typically marked by the formation of the Free Syrian Army (FSA) on 29 July 2011, when a group of defected officers declared the establishment of the first organized oppositional military force. Composed of defected Syrian Armed Forces personnel, the rebel army aimed to remove Bashar al-Assad and his government from power.
Northern Democratic Brigade
The Northern Democratic Brigade is a Free Syrian Army unit, led by Alexander Khalil, that is closely allied to the Syrian Kurdish YPG and YPJ in Afrin Canton since 2014. It also joined the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in November 2015. The initial members of the group originated from Jabal Zawiya in Idlib, and it has recruited Arabs from Idlib, Aleppo, and other cities in northern Syria since allying with the YPG.
Syrian Salvation Government
The Syrian Salvation Government is a de facto alternative government of the Syrian Opposition seated within Idlib Governorate. The General Conference, concluded on 11 September 2017, formed a constituent assembly and named a new prime minister. In early November 2017, the General Conference formed the Syrian Salvation Government. There followed weeks of conflict between the new government and the Syrian Interim Government (SIG), with reports of HTS unilaterally disbanding several SIG-supported local councils across northwestern Syria. The Salvation Government is seen as illegitimate by the opposition's main Syrian Interim Government.
Idlib demilitarization (2018–present)
The Idlib demilitarization is an ongoing agreement between Turkey and Russia to create a demilitarized zone in Syria's rebel held Idlib Governorate, to be patrolled by Russian and Turkish militaries. On 17 September 2018, the Russian president Vladimir Putin and Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, reached an agreement to create a buffer zone in Idlib.
