Political groups opposed to Bashar al-Assad during the Syrian Civil War
This article is about Syrian opposition during the Syrian civil war. For other historic opposition in Syria, see Syrian opposition (disambiguation).
Parts of this article (those related to governance, territorial control, military forces and recognition, to better reflect the state of the, now former, opposition in the latter stages of the war) need to be updated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information.(December 2024)
During the earliest stages of the Syrian uprising, the opposition in Syria was represented by grassroots organizations that emerged during the mass demonstration against the Ba'athist regime. In July 2011, at the situation turned into a civil war, defectors from the Syrian Armed Forces formed the Free Syrian Army. In August 2011, dissident groups operating from abroad formed a coalition called the Syrian National Council. A broader organization, the Syrian National Coalition (SNC), was formed in November 2012. Although the groups based abroad established contact with those in Syria, the Syrian opposition suffered during the whole conflict from infighting and a lack of unified leadership, as well as lack of foreign aid as the war became deadlocked. The Free Syrian Army went into a decline while rebel groups with conflicting aims clashed with each other, and the Syrian National Coalition came to operate mostly with Turkish backing.
Syria has been an 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. In 1970, Hafez al-Assadseized power, beginning the rule of the Assad family. Syria was under emergency law from the time of the 1963 Syrian coup d'état until 21 April 2011, when it was rescinded by Bashar al-Assad, Hafez's eldest surviving son and his successor as president of Syria.[5]
The rule of Assad dynasty was marked by heavy repression of secular opposition factions such as the Arab nationalistNasserists and liberal democrats. The largest organised resistance to the Ba'athist rule has been the Syrian Muslim Brotherhood, which successfully capitalised on the widespread Sunni resentment against the Alawite hegemony. An islamist uprising developed in Syria from 1976. In response, the Assad regime introduced Law No. 49 in 1980 which banned the movement and instituted death penalty of anyone accused of membership in the Brotherhood. The Syrian Muslim Brotherhood rose as the most powerful opposition force in Syria until it was brutally crushed in 1982.[6][7]
Prior to the civil war that started in 2011, "opposition" (Arabic: المعارضة, romanized: al-muʕāraḍat) referred to traditional political actors such as political exiles, the public platforms that had emerged during the Damascus Spring and those who later formed the Damascus Declaration alliance; that is, groups and individuals with a history of dissidence against the Syrian state.[8]
As the revolutionary wave commonly referred to as the Arab Spring began to take shape in early 2011, Syrian protesters began consolidating opposition councils. Spontaneous protests became more planned and organized.[9] The uprising, from March 2011 until the start of August 2011, was characterized by a consensus for nonviolent struggle among the participants.[10]
The opposition councils inside the country became known as the Local Coordination Committees of Syria.[11][12]
The Istanbul Meeting for Syria, the first convention of the Syrian opposition, took place on 26 April 2011, during the early phase of the civil uprising. There followed the Antalya Conference for Change in Syria or Antalya Opposition Conference, a three-day conference of representatives of the Syrian opposition held from 31 May until 3 June 2011 in Antalya, Turkey.
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 Lévy, a French author who was involved at the same time in support for the Libyan uprising.[13] 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,[14][15] which received significant international support and recognition as a partner for dialogue. The Syrian National Council was recognized or supported in some capacity by at least 17 member states of the United Nations, with three of those (France, the United Kingdom, and the United States) being permanent members of the Security Council.[16][17][18][19][20][21]
Opposition control (in green and white; Rojava control in yellow; Islamic State control in grey; Assad regime control in pink) in April 2016.Opposition control in August 2024.Areas under control of the former opposition groups as of December 2024.
The National Coalition of Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces (commonly known as the Syrian National Coalition), a broader umbrella organization formed in November 2012, 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. The Friends of Syria Group transferred its recognition from the Syrian National Council to the Syrian National Coalition.[22] The Syrian National Coalition subsequently took the seat of Syria in the Arab League, with the representative of Bashar Al-Assad's government suspended that year.[23] 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.[24] Despite tensions, the Syrian National Council retained a degree of ties with the Syrian National Coalition.
A July 2015 ORB International poll of 1,365 adults across all of Syria's 14 governorates found that about 26 percent of the population supported the Syrian opposition (41 percent in the areas it controlled), compared to 47 percent who supported the Ba'athist government (73 percent in the areas it controlled), 35 percent who supported the Al-Nusra Front (58 percent in the areas it controlled), and 22 percent who supported the Islamic State (74 percent in the areas it controlled).[25] A March 2018 ORB International Poll with a similar method and sample size found that support had changed to 40% Syrian government, 40% Syrian opposition (in general), 15% Syrian Democratic Forces, 10% al-Nusra Front, and 4% Islamic State (crossover may exist between supporters of factions).[26]
While rebel forces, initially made significant advances against government forces, the Iranian and Russian interventions in support of the Assad regime shifted the balance of the conflict. Syrian rebel forces were also under attack by the Islamic State as the conflict became multi-sided. Ba'athist forces gradually recaptured most rebel strongholds except the Idlib Governorate and Turkish-occupied zones. A major battle between rebel groups and government forces took place in Aleppo, which was recaptured by the regime in late 2016. In the meantime, Syrian opposition groups, including the Syrian National Coalition, tried to negotiate with the regime as part of a peace process that failed to produce results. The Syrian National Coalition remained fraught with internal conflict and leadership problems. Qatar and Saudi Arabia competed for influence over it.[27] Eventually, the Istanbul-based SNC became essentially a platform for Turkish influence and lost much of its international clout.[28]
The Syrian opposition never had 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.[37] Notable groups present included:
Official logo of the National Coalition of Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces
The National Coalition of Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces, commonly known as the Syrian National Coalition (SNC), is a coalition of opposition groups and individuals, mostly exilic, who support the Syrian revolutionary 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, 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.[38]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.[39]
Notable members of the Coalition include:
the Assyrian Democratic Organization: a party representing the Assyrian minority 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.[40][41]
the Syrian Democratic People's Party, a socialist party which played a "key role" in forming the SNC.[56] 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.[57]
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.[69] 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.[70] The SDC was rejected by some other opposition groups due to its system of federalism.[71]
Other groups affiliated with the Syrian opposition
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.[72][73] Other sources have described the group as having "risen from the ashes,"[74] "resurrected itself"[75] to be a dominant force in the uprising.[76] 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.[77]
Coalition of Secular and Democratic Syrians: a grouping of Syrian secular and democratic opposition members, which 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.[78][79] This group, chaired by Randa Kassis,[80][81] 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.[82][83] Kassis, who chaired talks as part of the Astana Platform,[84] has expressed support for the Russian intervention in Syria.[85] Kassis' initiatives proved controversial among other members of the opposition, who considered them to be part of an "acceptable" opposition backed by Russia.[85][86]
Syrian Turkmen Assembly: An assembly of Syrian Turkmens, formed in 2012, 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."[87] In 2019, Abdurrahman Mustafa, president of the Syrian Turkmen Assembly, became the president of the Turkish-supported Syrian Interim Government. He also chaired the Syrian National Coalition between 2018 and 2019.
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."[92] Rifaat has his own political organisation, the United National Democratic Rally.[93]
Several political parties and organizations existed inside Syria, and they reached the dome of the People's Assembly. Among these parties are included:
The Popular Front for Change and Liberation: The front was founded in August 2011 in Damascus.[100] It established in its national charter the launch of public freedoms, the start of a national dialogue, and work on drafting a new constitution. The Front participated in the 2012 elections and achieving 5 seats in the People's Assembly.[101][102] Among the different parties united in the Front are:
Syrian Social Nationalist Party: Founded in 1932 in Lebanon, the party believes that the Syrian nation is one community together with the Fertile Crescent region. This also includes Kuwait, Cyprus, the Sinai Peninsula and southeastern Turkey.[103] This ideology was more attractive to minorities in that region, at the expense of Arab nationalism and Islamic ideologies.[104] Therefore, ethnic and religious minorities constituted the largest proportion of party members.
Popular Will Party: Founded on August 21, 2012 by Qadri Jamil. It is a communist-associated Syrian political party that affirms the interests of the working class and other hard-working Syrians. They also fight for the recognition of them as a representative of these interests.[105]
The Popular Front for Change and Liberation decided to boycott the 2016 elections because the regime had not upheld its promise to amend to the constitution.[106]
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, the Syrian Interim Government (SIG). Hitto has announced that a technical government will be formed which will be led by between 10 and 12 ministers, with the Free Syrian Army choosing the Minister of Defense.[107] 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.[108][109] 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.[108] 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 has been in conflict with the more extreme Tahrir al-Sham, which is one of the largest armed groups in Idlib Governorate.[108]
The Syrian Salvation Government was an alternative government of the Syrian opposition seated within Idlib Governorate, which was formed by the General Syrian Conference in September 2017.[110] 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.[111] 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.[111]
There was a sharp ideological divide between the two competing opposition civil authorities: The SIG espouses secular, moderate values and regularly participated in international peace talks; the SSG enforced a strict interpretation of Islamic law and stringently rejected talks with the Syrian regime.[108]
The Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria is an area that extends in northeastern Syria and includes parts of the governorates Al-Hasakah, Al-Raqqa, Aleppo and Deir ez-Zor.[112] The capital of the area is Ain Issa, a town belonging to the Al-Raqqa governorate.[113] The Administration is headed by Siham Qaryo and Farid Atti with a joint head.[114] In January 2014, a number of parties, social actors, and civil institutions announced the formation of the Autonomous Administration to fill the power vacuum that existed at that time in the Syrian Kurdish regions.[115] Although its authority has not been recognized or authorized by any formal agreement involving the sovereign Syrian state or any international power, its presence in the region and its ability to wield power was unchallenged.[112]
Territorial control
This section needs to be updated. The reason given is: Progress with the 2024 Syrian opposition offensives. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information.(December 2024)
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:
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.[116] 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.[117] In 2016, the Syrian Interim Government became established within the Turkish-controlled areas.
Salvation Government
The Salvation Government extends authority in Idlib, Aleppo, Hama, Homs, and the coastal regions of Northwestern Syria.
Al-Tanf Garrison
The Al-Tanf Garrison controls the city of Palmyra and surrounding areas near the Al-Tanf military base.[citation needed]
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 Syrian National Coalition was granted Syria's seat in the Arab League in 2013, but the next year it was decided that the seat would remain vacant until the opposition stabilized its institutions.[120] SNC representatives were allowed to participate in the Arab League's meetings on an exceptional basis.[121]
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Afghan Taliban Administration issued a statement. "Afghanistan congratulates the leadership of the movement and the people of Syria on the recent developments, which have resulted in the removal of key factors contributing to conflict & instability."
"The capital, Damascus, has come under control of Syrian people under the leadership of Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham and we express hope that the remaining phases of the revolution will be managed effectively to establish a peaceful, unified, & stable governance system."[125]
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.[126][127] Composed mainly of defected Syrian Armed Forces personnel,[128][129] 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.[130] 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.[131][132] 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.[133]
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.
Syrian Free Army – Free Syrian Army unit trained by, and politically very close to, the United States. It remains the last unit in the Al-Tanf area, and functions as the de facto opposition government there.
Islamic Front: An Islamist rebel group formed in November 2013 and led by Ahrar al-Sham.[134] It was always a loose alliance and was defunct by 2015.[135]
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. Its main members joined the Islamic Front in 2013.
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.[138]
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.
^Rpberts, David (2015). The Ba'th and the creation of Modern Syria. 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN: Routledge. pp. 9, 19–20, 115–116, 120. ISBN978-0-415-83882-5.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location (link)
^"Libya to arm syrian rebels". The Sydney Morning Herald. Sydney Morning Herald. 27 November 2011. Archived from the original on 12 August 2013. Retrieved 8 August 2013.
Griswold, Eliza (17 December 2024). "Reasons to Leave Syria—and to Return". The New Yorker. Archived from the original on 17 December 2024. He wanted to see how Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, the head of Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham—an Islamist group formerly linked to the Islamic State and Al Qaeda—and now the de-facto leader of Syria, behaved.
^Masi, Alessandria (9 March 2015). "Aleppo Battle: Al Qaeda's Jabhat Al-Nusra is Friend To Syrian Rebel Groups". International Business Times. Archived from the original on 12 May 2019. 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. In 2015, the brigades began to slowly disperse.
^Szmolk, Inmaculada (2017). Political Change in the Middle East and North Africa: After the Arab Spring. Edinburgh, United Kingdom: Edinburgh University Press. pp. 415–416. ISBN978-1-4744-1528 6.
^ abAllsopp, Harriet; van Wilgenburg, Wladimir (2019). The Kurds of Northern Syria. Volume 2: Governance, Diversity and Conflicts. London; New York City; etc.: I.B. Tauris. ISBN978-1-83860-445-5
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