Free Syrian Army Armed force

The Free Syrian Army (Arabic : ﺍﻟﺠﻴﺶ ﺍﻟﺴﻮﺭﻱ ﺍﻟﺤﺮ , translit. al-Jaysh as-Sūrī al-Ḥurr ; abbreviated FSA ) is a loose faction in the Syrian Civil War [6][7] founded on 29 July 2011[8] by officers of the Syrian Armed Forces who said their goal was to bring down the government of Bashar al-Assad .[7][8][9] A formal organisation at its founding, its structure gradually dissipated by late 2012, and the FSA identity has since been used arbitrarily by various opposition groups. [10][11][12][13]
In late 2011, it was considered the main Syrian military defectors group. [14][15] It had success against vastly better armed government forces. From July 2012 onward, ill-discipline, infighting and lack of funding by Western countries weakened the FSA, while Islamist groups became dominant within the armed opposition. [16][17]
The Free Syrian Army aims to be "the military wing of the Syrian people's opposition to the regime", [1] and it aims to bring down the government by armed operations, encouraging army defections and by carrying out armed action. [18] As the Syrian Army is highly organized and well-armed, the Free Syrian Army has adopted
guerrilla-style tactics in the countryside and cities. The FSA's
military strategy is focused on a dispersed countrywide guerrilla campaign with a tactical focus on armed action in the capital of
Damascus. The campaign was not meant to hold territory, but rather, to spread government forces and their
logistics chains thin in battles for urban centers, to cause attrition in the security forces, to degrade morale and to destabilize Damascus, the center of government. [19]
After the Turkish military intervention in Syria in 2016, an informal group of
Turkish-backed Arabs and Turkmen was established under the name "Free Syrian Army", [20] with on-ground support of an organised military backed by Turkish and British airpower. [21] Some analysts said the group closely cooperated with
Turkish troops in Syria .[22]
Logos and flags
Logos and flags of the Free Syrian Army
History
2011 – Formation
The first defections from the Syrian Army during the Syrian uprising may have occurred end of April 2011 when the army was sent into Daraa to quell ongoing protests. There were reports that some units refused to fire on protesters and had split from the army. [25] Video footage showed civilians helping defecting soldiers who had been shot for refusing orders. [26]
Defections, according to unverified reports, continued throughout the spring as the government used lethal force to clamp down on protesters and lay siege to protesting cities across the country, such as Baniyas ,
Hama, Talkalakh, and Deir ez-Zor , and there were reports of soldiers who refused to fire on civilians and were
summarily executed by the army. [27]
At the end of July 2011, with the
Syrian uprising (or civil war) running since March 2011, a group of defected Syrian Army officers established the 'Free Syrian Army' to bring down the Assad government. On 29 July 2011, Colonel Riad al-Asaad and a group of uniformed officers announced the formation of the Free Syrian Army or 'Syrian Free Army', [28] with the goals of protecting unarmed protesters and helping to "bring down this regime", in a video on the Internet where Riad al-Asaad spoke alongside several other defectors. [8][18]
Colonel Al-Asaad explained that the Free Army's formation resulted from the defecting soldiers' sense of nationalistic duty, loyalty to the people, the need for decisive action to stop government killings, and the army's responsibility to protect unarmed people. He proceeded to announce the formation of the Free Syrian Army, and its intention to work hand in hand with the people and with demonstrators to achieve freedom and dignity, bring the government ("the regime"/"the system") down, protect the revolution and the country's resources, and stand in the face of the irresponsible military machine that protects the "system".[7]
[18]
Colonel Al-Asaad called on the officers and men of the Syrian army to "defect from the army, stop pointing their rifles at their people's chests, join the free army, and form a national army that can protect the revolution and all sections of the Syrian people with all their sects." He said that the Syrian army "[represents] gangs that protect the regime", and declared that "as of now, the security forces that kill civilians and besiege cities will be treated as legitimate targets. We will target them in all parts of the Syrian territories without exception"; [18] "you will find us everywhere at all times, and you will see that which you do not expect, until we re-establish the rights and freedom of our people." [29]
Defectors from the Syrian Arab Army
Desertion of soldiers to the Free Syrian Army was documented in videos. [30][31] On 23 September 2011, the Free Syrian Army merged with the
Free Officers Movement (Arabic: ﺣﺮﻛﺔ ﺍﻟﻀﺒﺎﻁ ﺍﻷﺣﺮﺍﺭ , Ḥarakat aḑ-Ḑubbāṭ al-Aḥrār); The Wall Street Journal considered the FSA since then the main military defectors group. [14][15]
From 27 September to 1 October, Syrian government forces, backed by tanks and helicopters, led a major offensive on the city of Rastan in
Homs province , which had been under opposition control for a couple weeks. [32][33] There were reports of large numbers of defections in the city, and the Free Syrian Army reported it had destroyed 17
armoured vehicles during clashes in
Rastan , [34] using RPGs and booby traps. [35] A defected officer in the Syrian opposition claimed that over a hundred officers had defected as well as thousands of conscripts, although many had gone into hiding or home to their families, rather than fighting the loyalist forces. [35] The Battle of Rastan between the government forces and the Free Syrian Army was the longest and most intense action up until that time. After a week of fighting, the FSA was forced to retreat from Rastan. [33] To avoid government forces, the leader of the FSA, Col. Riad Asaad, retreated to the Turkish side of Syrian-Turkish border. [36]
By October 2011, the leadership of the FSA consisting of 60–70 people including commander Riad al-Assad was harbored in an 'officers' camp' in
Turkey guarded by the Turkish military. [37] In early November 2011, two FSA units in the Damascus area confronted regime forces. [38] In mid-November, in an effort to weaken the pro-Assad forces, the FSA released a statement which announced that a temporary military council had been formed. [39]
In October 2011, an American official said the Syrian military might have lost perhaps 10,000 to defections.[40] By October, the FSA would start to receive military support from Turkey , who allowed the rebel army to operate its command and headquarters from the country's southern Hatay province close to the Syrian border, and its field command from inside Syria .[41] The FSA would often launch attacks into Syria's northern towns and cities, while using the Turkish side of the border as a safe zone and supply route.
By the beginning of October, clashes between loyalist and defected army units were being reported fairly regularly. During the first week of the month, sustained clashes were reported in Jabal al-Zawiya in the mountainous regions of Idlib province . On 13 October, clashes were reported in the town of Haara in
Daraa province in the south of Syria that resulted in the death of two rebel and six loyalist soldiers, according to the London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. [42] Clashes were also reported in the city of Binnish in Idlib province with a total of 14 fatalities for both affected towns, including rebels, loyalists and civilians. [43] A few days later on 17 October, five government troops were killed in the town of Qusair in the central province of Homs, near the border with Lebanon , and 17 people were reported wounded in skirmishes with defectors in the town of Hass in Idlib province near the mountain range of Jabal al-Zawiya , although it was unclear if the wounded included civilians. [44] According to the London-based organization, an estimated 11 government soldiers were killed that day, four of which were killed in a bombing. It was not clear if the defectors linked to these incidents were connected to the Free Syrian Army. [45]
On 20 October, the opposition reported that clashes occurred between loyalists and defectors in Burhaniya, near the town of Qusair in the central province of Homs, leading to the death of several soldiers and the destruction of two military vehicles. [46] A week later on 25 October, clashes occurred in the northwestern town of Maarat al-Numaan in Idlib province between loyalists and defected soldiers at a roadblock on the edge of the town. The defectors launched an assault on the government held roadblock in retaliation for a raid on their positions the previous night.[47] The next day on 26 October, the opposition reported that nine soldiers were killed by a rocket-propelled grenade when it hit their bus in the village of Hamrat, near the city of
Hama. The gunmen who attacked the bus were believed to be defected soldiers. [48]
On 29 October, the opposition reported that 17 pro-Assad soldiers were killed in the city of Homs during fighting with suspected army deserters, including a defected senior official who was aiding the rebel soldiers. Two armoured personnel carriers were disabled in the fighting. Later the number of casualties was revised to 20 killed and 53 wounded soldiers in clashes with presumed army deserters, according to Agence France Presse. In a separate incident, 10 security agents and a deserter were killed in a bus ambush near the Turkish border , opposition activists reported. The Syrian Observatory of Human Rights reported that the bus was transporting security agents between the villages of Al-Habit and Kafrnabuda in Idlib province when it was ambushed "by armed men, probably deserters". [49][50][51]
In November 2011, the FSA operated throughout Syria, both in urban areas and countryside, in the northwest of Syria (Idlib and Aleppo Governorates ), the central region (Homs and Hama Governorates , Al-Rastan District), the coast around Latakia , the south (Daraa Governorate and the Houran plateau ), the east (Deir ez-Zor Governorate , Abu Kamal District), and the Damascus Governorate .[38] FSA was then armed with rifles, light and heavy machine guns, rocket-propelled grenades and explosive devices. [38] Their largest concentrations were in Homs, Hama and surrounding areas. [38]
The FSA, after consultation with the
Syrian National Council (SNC) in November 2011, agreed to not attack Syrian army units that are staying in their barracks, and concentrate on protecting and defending civilians. [52]
In November 2011, "The Free Syrian Army boasts it has as many 25,000 fighters in its ranks, a number challenged by its critics who say the true figure is closer to 1,000". [2] early December, the US International Business Times stated that the FSA counted 15,000 ex-Syrian soldiers. [53]
On 1 November, dozens of armored vehicles converged on a village in the Kafroma in Idlib , as defected soldiers killed an unknown number of Syrian soldiers. [citation needed] A few days later on 5 November, at least nine people died in clashes between soldiers, protesters and defectors, and four Shabeeha were killed in Idlib reportedly by army deserters. [54] On the same day, the state-news agency
SANA reported the deaths of 13 soldiers and policemen as a result of clashes with armed groups. [55] According to SANA, four policemen were also wounded in clashes with an armed group in Kanakir in the
Damascus countryside while one of the armed individuals died, additionally that day, two explosive devices were dismantled.[56]
Defections and checkpoint raids
More army defections were reported in Damascus on 10 November, three out of at least nine defectors were shot dead by loyalist gunmen after abandoning their posts. The same day, clashes reportedly resulted in the death of a fifteen-year-old boy in
Khan Sheikhoun, when he was caught in crossfire between Assad loyalists and the free army. [57] Also on the 10 November "at least four soldiers in the regular army were killed at dawn in an attack, headed by armed men – probably deserters – on a military checkpoint in Has region, near Maaret al-Numan town" according to the
Syrian Observatory For Human Rights . [58] However, the number has also been put at five soldiers. [57] A checkpoint in Maarat al-Numaan three kilometers south of Homs also came under attack by defectors, resulting in an increase in tank deployment by Syrian security forces in the city. [57]
In November, there were conflicting reports of the number of Syrian soldiers injured and killed. On 11 November, Reuters reported that 26 soldiers were killed, [59] while Syrian state media reported the lower figure of 20 soldiers killed at this time.[60]
[61] For the month up until 13 November, the Local Coordination Committees reported the death of about 20 soldiers, [59] the Syrian Observatory of Human Rights reported the death of more than 100 soldiers, [59] and the Syrian state media SANA reported the death of 71 soldiers. [60][61][62][63][64][65][66] Increased Clashes in Daraa province began on the 14 November when 34 soldiers and 12 defectors were killed in an ambush by the free army. The death toll as a result of the fighting also included 23 civilians. [67] One day later on 15 November, eight soldiers and security forces troops were killed by an assault on a checkpoint in Hama province, according to activists. [68]
Damascus Intelligence complex attack
On 16 November, in a coordinated attack , an air force intelligence complex in the Damascus suburb of
Harasta was attacked. [69] According to the Free Syrian Army, they did so with machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades, leading to the death of at least six soldiers with twenty others wounded. A western diplomat said the assault was "hugely symbolic and tactically new". [39][70] The attack on the air force intelligence complex was a continuation of clashes in Damascus. The next day, the Free Syrian Army launched an assault against the Baath party youth headquarters in Idlib province with RPG's and small arms. [71] The state news agency SANA reported the deaths of three Syrian troops as a result of a bomb blast, with an officer also critically wounded and two law-enforcement agents injured. [72] Three members of the security forces were reportedly killed on between the 18 to 19 November by the Free Syrian Army. [54] Multiple attacks on 19 December by armed groups were also reported by the state news agency SANA. [73] State news also reported that ten wanted armed individuals were captured in Maarat al-Numan . [74]
According to Reuters, two rocket propelled grenades hit a Baath party building in Damascus on 20 December. This if true is highly significant; it is the first attack of this kind within the capital itself and would lend weight to the Free Syrian Army's claim that it can strike anywhere in Syria. According to Reuters, a witness said: "Security police blocked off the square where the Baath's Damascus branch is located. But I saw smoke rising from the building and fire trucks around it." The building was reportedly mostly empty in the attack which took place before dawn and was seemingly a message to the government. [75] However, an AFP reporter went to the area and saw no signs of the claimed attack while residents said that there had been no explosions. [76] Colonel Asaad himself denied that the Free Syrian Army was responsible for the attack. On 22 November, the Free Syrian Army claimed responsibility for killing eight members of the security forces. [ citation needed ] On 23 November, five defected soldiers were killed; four in a farm near
Daraa where they were hiding and one near the Lebanese border , according to Reuters. If there was a confrontation between the soldiers and government troops is unclear. Any government troop casualties as a result of these clashes are also unknown. [77]
Homs airbase attack
According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, on the 24 November soldiers and Shabiha with armoured vehicles started operations in farmland west of Rastan in Homs province to track down defectors. 24 people died as a result (if they were soldiers, defectors or civilians was not stated). At least fifty tanks and other armoured vehicle opened fire with 50 cal. machine guns and anti-aircraft weapons on positions held by the Free Syrian Army on Rastan's outskirts. Deaths were also reported in Daraa and Homs [78] On 24 November, 11 defectors were killed and four wounded during clashes on the western outskirts of Homs. [79]
In an attack on an airbase in Homs province on 25 November, six elite pilots, one technical officer and three other personnel were killed. The Syrian government vowed to "cut every evil hand" of the attackers as a result. [80][81] On that same day, at least 10 troops and security service agents were killed in clashes with mutinous soldiers in the east of Syria. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the deaths occurred in
Deir Ezzor , while early the next day a civilian was also killed in the eastern city. Several defectors were also killed or wounded. [82][83][84]
Army convoy ambushes
Sustained clashes in Idlib province began on 26 November between loyalist and opposition fighters. At least 8 soldiers were killed and 40 more wounded that day when the free army attacked them in Idlib, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported. "A group of deserters attacked a squad of soldiers and security agents in a convoy of seven vehicles, including three all-terrain vehicles, on the road from Ghadka to
Maarat al-Numaan ", the Britain-based watchdog said. "Eight were killed and at least 40 more were wounded. The deserters were able to withdraw without suffering any casualties," it added. The FSA claimed to be behind the attack. [85]
Syrian human rights activists claimed that the Free Syrian Army had killed three loyalist soldiers and captured two others on 29 November, although they did not specify where. [86] According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, seven soldiers were killed on 30 November in
fighting in the town of Deal in Daraa province after security forces moved on the town in force. The fighting went on from the early morning to the late afternoon. "Two security force vehicles were blown up. Seven (troops) were killed," said Rami Abdel Rahman, head of the observatory. An activist from the town, in the province of Daraa, said some 30 busloads of security men stormed Deal and two of the buses were blown up in fighting "between security forces and defectors," the Observatory reported. One of the destroyed buses was allegedly empty. [87]
Idlib intelligence building raid
On 1 December, FSA troops launched a raid on an intelligence building in Idlib , leading to a three-hour firefight in which eight loyalists were killed. [88] This came the same day the United Nations announced it considered Syria to be in a state of civil war. [89] On 3 December, clashes in the city of Idlib in the north of Syria the next day resulted in the death of seven Assad loyalist soldiers, five defectors and three civilians. [90] On 4 December, heavy fighting raged in Homs during which at least five FSA insurgents were killed and one wounded. [91] Defected soldiers killed four members of the security forces, including an officer, at the southern city of Deal in Daraa province on 5 December. [92] On 7 December, there were clashes between the Syrian regular army and groups of army defectors near the radio broadcasting centre in the town of Saraqeb , in Idib district . An armoured personnel carrier (APC) of the regular army was destroyed during the clashes. Meanwhile, joint security and military forces raided the houses at the edges of Saraqeb and arrested three activists, at dawn time. This was according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. [citation needed] Between 1 December and 7 December, the Syrian state news agency SANA reported the deaths of 48 members of the state security forces. [93][94]
[95][96][97][98]
Escalating clashes in Daraa
A military tank was destroyed in Homs on 9 December. [99] Four defected soldiers also apparently died in fighting on 9 December. [100] On 10 December, activists say clashes between Syrian troops and army defectors killed at least two people. The British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says two army armoured carriers were burned in the pre-dawn clash in the northwestern town of Kfar Takharim. [101] On 11 December, it was reported that a battle was fought between defectors and the Syrian army in Busra al-Harir and Lujah. Troops, mainly from the 12th Armoured Brigade, based in Isra, 40 km from the border with Jordan, stormed the nearby town of Busra al-Harir, the Reuters news agency reported. It was apparently the largest battle to take place in the conflict so far. [102][103] At least five soldiers, including a military officer, are reported to have been killed the same day in an unspecified location. [104] In one of Sunday's clashes, which took place before dawn in the northwestern town of Kfar Takharim, two of the military's armored vehicles were set ablaze, said the British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. [105] Three other vehicles were burned in another clash near the southern village of Busra al-Harir, the group said. Similar battles took place in several other parts of the south, said the Observatory and another activist group called the Local Coordination Committees. [105]
Urban fighting in Homs
Syrian army defectors, who operate under the banner of the Free Syrian Army, say that a senior army officer was killed on 11 December after refusing to fire on civilians in Homs. Maher al-Nueimi, a spokesman for the FSA, said that Brigadier-General Salman al-Awaja was given instructions to fire on residents of al-Quseir in Homs. When he refused, Nueimi said, he was killed. The FSA says that a large number of defections took place after the killing, as clashes broke out between al-Awaja's supporters in the army and the other soldiers who killed him. [106] The Observatory said two people were killed in the clash with defectors in Kfar Takharim and two armoured vehicles were destroyed. [107] On 12 December, three civilians and two defectors were killed during clashes in Idlib province. [108] Fighting in Ebita, in the northwestern province of Idlib, continued throughout the night and into the early hours on 12 December. At least one fighter was killed and another injured in the assault. [109] The FSA killed ten troops in an ambush on a convoy in Idlib, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. This attack was allegedly done to avenge the deaths of 11 civilians previously killed. A Syrian officer was also killed in a revenge attack. [110][111] Loyalist soldiers reportedly fired upon a civilian car near Homs on 14 December, killing five people, in response, the Free Syrian Army staged an ambush against a loyalist convoy consisting of four jeeps, killing eight soldiers. [112] The same day, three anti-government military defectors were wounded in clashes with Syrian security forces in the village of Hirak in Daraa province. [113] The FSA engaged loyalist army units and security service agents south of Damascus on 15 December, leading to 27 loyalist deaths and an unknown number of FSA casualties. The clashes broke out at three separate checkpoints in Daraa province around dawn[114] Between 8 December and 15 December, the Syrian state news agency SANA reported the deaths of 68 members of the state security forces. [115][116][117][118][119][120]
[121][122] A lieutenant colonel of the FSA was killed by the Syrian army on 17 December according to Local Committee, and opposition source. [123]
Unsuccessful defection in Idlib
On 19 December, the FSA suffered its largest loss of life when new defectors tried to abandon their positions and bases between the villages of Kensafra and Kefer Quaid in Idlib province . Activist groups, specifically the Syrian Observatory for Human rights, reported that 72 defectors were killed as they were gunned down during their attempted escape. The Syrian Army lost three soldiers during the clashes. [124] The next day, S.O.H.R. stated that in all 100 defectors were killed or wounded. [125] The clashes continued into the next day, and another report, by Lebanese human rights activist Wissam Tarif, put the death toll even higher with 163 defectors, 97 government troops and nine civilians killed on the second day alone as the military tracked down the soldiers and civilian that managed to initially escape. [126] On 21 December, it was reported that the FSA had taken control over large swathes of Idlib province including some towns and villages. [127] It was also reported on 24 December that the FSA stronghold in the Bab Amr neighbourhood of
Homs was under attack by security forces, with two FSA soldiers killed. [128] A week later, a minute long fire fight erupted between FSA forces and government security forces, on a road near the village of Dael in Daraa province . Four government soldiers were killed in the ambush.[129] The FSA grew in size, to about 20,000 by December 2011. [130]
Religious and ethnic character
In the early days of their existence, 90% of the FSA consisted of Sunni Muslims , [131] a small minority were (Shia) Alawites[131] Druze [132] Christians, Kurds and Palestinians. [133]
Western sources in December 2011 again gave estimates of 10,000 Syrian deserters, indicated that half the Syrian army conscripts had not reported to army duty in the last three call-ups, and that lower-level officers were deserting in large numbers; in some cases, whole units had deserted
en masse. [134] An anonymously speaking U.S. official however estimated in December 2011 1,000 to 3,500 defectors in total. [135]
In 2011, The Turkish government provided free passage to defecting Syrian Army fighters and allowed the FSA to operate from a special refugee camp in Southern Turkey near the Syrian border. [136] Turkey would allow the FSA to begin operating in nearby towns and encouraged foreign intervention in the Syrian Civil War. [136]
In August 2012, the National Unity Brigades was formed. Known for its
non-sectarianism . The group included rebels from minority groups such as
Christians , Druze, Ismailis , and
Alawites .[137] The goal of the group was to establish a civil, democratic state for "all ethnicities and social identities ".[138]
2012 – Height of the Free Syrian Army
January/February – High-ranked officer defections
On 6 January 2012, General Mustafa al-Sheikh of the Syrian Army defected from the government forces to join the FSA. [140] General Mustafa al-Sheikh told Reuters that up to 20,000 soldiers in total had deserted the army since the beginning of the conflict, and that the FSA had taken control of large swathes of land. He said in an interview on 12 January 2012: "If we get 25,000 to 30,000 deserters mounting guerrilla warfare in small groups of six or seven it is enough to exhaust the army in a year to a year-and-a-half, even if they are armed only with rocket-propelled grenades and light weapons". [141]
On 7 January 2012, Colonel Afeef Mahmoud Suleima of the Syrian Air Force logistics division defected from Bashar Al Assad's regime along with at least fifty of his men. He announced his group's defection on live television and ordered his men to protect protesters in the city of
Hama. Colonel Suleiman declared: "We are from the army and we have defected because the government is killing civilian protesters. The Syrian army attacked Hama with heavy weapons, air raids and heavy fire from tanks . … We ask the Arab League observers to come visit areas affected by air raids and attacks so you can see the damage with your own eyes, and we ask you to send someone to uncover the three cemeteries in Hama filled with more than 460 corpses."[142]
Syrian forces clashed with army deserters in an area near the capital Damascus, opposition activists said. The town of Reef Damascus saw fighting on 1 January as the government forces were hunting for suspected defectors, according to the activists. There were no immediate reports of casualties.[143] According to the London-based Syrian Observatory for Human rights, despite a self-declared ceasefire, Free Syrian Army soldiers in Idlib, on 2 January, overran two checkpoints belonging to security forces and captured dozens of loyalist troops, and launched an attack on a third checkpoint killing and wounding several loyalists. [144] More than a dozen people, including 11 soldiers, were killed in clashes between defectors and loyalists in Basr al-Harir , a town in southern Daraa Governorate , according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. [145] Shelling and gunfire were also reported in Deir ez-Zor by the LCC. [146] On 14 January, the Syrian Observatory For Human Rights said there was fighting between deserters and loyalist troops in Hula, Homs province, after the defectors destroyed a barricade and a number of security forces were killed or wounded. [147]
In mid-January, the FSA managed to
take control over the border town of Zabadani , just 14 miles away from the capital, Damascus. Regular army forces tried to assault the town several times but as of 16 January all attacks were repelled. [148]
On 16 January General Mouaffac Hamzeh in the city of Qusayr in Homs province was announced to have defected to the opposition. [149]
By 26 January, the Damascus suburb of Douma had fallen under control of the Free Syrian Army, with occasional raids by security forces failing to dislodge the rebels, mainly made of armed civilians, and some army defectors, mostly armed with assault rifles and hand grenades. [150] Because of the growing number of defectors, some defectors managed to take their tanks with them. A spokesman for the Free Syrian Army said that more than 100 soldiers defected on 28 January 2012, bringing three tanks along with them. [151] By the end of January and the beginning of February, videos surfaced showing BMP-2 armoured personnel carriers in Homs carrying the Syrian independence flag firing at government forces, supported by FSA soldiers. [152]
On 29 January, there were reports of a new round of high-ranking defections after the Syrian Army was deployed to fight in the Damascus suburbs, some of them joining FSA. At least two generals and hundreds of soldiers with their weapons defected at this time. [153][154][151]
Between the 29 and 30 January, government forces massed over 2,000 troops and at least 50 tanks and launched a major offensive to reclaim the northern suburbs – held by the FSA – and drive them from the city. By the end of 30 January, it appeared that the operation had been mostly successful, and the FSA had made a tactical withdrawal. [155] 10 FSA fighters and eight government soldiers were killed during the day in the whole country. Two of the defectors died in the Damascus suburb of Rankus, which had been retaken by the military. [156] Another report put the day's death toll in the suburbs at 19 civilians and 6 FSA fighters, while the overall number of those killed in the previous three days, since the fighting in the area started, was 100. [157] The same day, it was reported by opposition activists that one of the original founders of the FSA, Colonel Hussein Harmush, who was captured in late August by Syrian special forces, was executed several weeks earlier. [156]
On 31 January, the Syrian army continued to advance in order to remove the last FSA pockets.[158] The army fired into the air, as they advanced with tanks even beyond the positions from where the FSA withdrew. Activists told that the suburbs were on unannounced curfew while others were allowed to flee. The army was conducting arrests on suspected people in the district of Arbin .[159]
[ need quotation to verify ] In some instances, curfews were defied by some citizens, who put up a large opposition flag in the centre of Damascus. [160]
On 1 February, the Syrian army extended their operations around Damascus, with more troops moving into the mountainous area of Qaramoun, north of Damascus. Further north, the troops which took the control of Rankous, started to extend their control into farmland surrounding the city. In the eastern suburbs of Mesraba, activist reported that army snipers were positioned and that tanks were in the streets. [161] Initially, 12 people, including six FSA rebels, were killed in fighting in Wadi Barada, located north-west of Damascus in the Rif Damashk governorate, according to the Local Committee of Coordination. [162] Later, the death toll of FSA fighters in the area was raised to 14. [163] The town of Deir Kanoun and Ein al Fija were also under army assaults according to the London-based SOHR.[164] At the same time, SANA reported that, further south in the suburbs Daraa, security forces killed 11 armed fighters and wounded two when they attacked a military bus killing one Army sergeant and wounding two others. [165] Also, the Al-Watan newspaper reported that 37 rebel fighters were killed in fighting in Homs and 15 in Rastan, while four soldiers died in Bab Dreib and two in Rastan. [166]
According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights , troops and army defectors clashed in the northwestern province of Idlib and the southern province of Daraa on 5 February. They report two civilians and nine soldiers killed in Idlib. [167] The FSA seems to have taken over another checkpoint in Homs on 2 February. [168] Five government troops were shot in clashes with rebel fighters in Qalaat al-Madyaq town in restive Hama area, on 14 February. [169]
On the night of 3 February and in the early hours of 4 February, government forces launched a major offensive against Homs, leading to over 200 deaths and 800 injuries. FSA forces engaged loyalist forces and threatened reprisals particularly in Damascus. [170] On 10 February, Sky News reported that the FSA had taken full control of the northern city of
Idlib . However, Syrian tanks were surrounding Idlib, and citizens and defected soldiers feared a new offensive. Renewed fighting in the Idlib province was reported on 11 February. [171]
On 6 February 2012, Riad al-Asaad voiced his concern about the SNC's lack of political and material support for the FSA, and stated that if differences could not be resolved the FSA would break off its relations with the SNC. [172]
Heavy fighting had taken place in the town of Al-Qusayr in Homs since 13 February, when the FSA captured the headquarters of the secret service in Homs, killing five agents in the process. Remaining government troops retreated to the town hall and hospital in the city. Four tanks came to reinforce them.[173] However, 1 of the 4 tanks as well as 30 soldiers defected to the opposition, where the tank, aided by tractors and trucks, took out remaining government positions and the other 3 tanks. During the Battle of Al-Qusayr , FSA fighters were able to establish full control of the city. They said 20 government soldiers had been killed and 80 had fled. FSA fighters said 1 of their men had been killed and another 6 wounded during the battle. [174]
Around 18 February 2012, General Fayez Amro of the Syrian Air Force, who was from the Bab Amr district in Homs and of Turkmen origin, defected to Turkey.
Another intelligence general from the Syrian army also defected at this time to Turkey. His name was not disclosed due to security reasons, opposition forces said. [175]
22 February, a brigadier general defected in Idlib with 200 of his soldiers. [176] In March, General Adnan Farzat from the city of Rastan and two other generals defected. [177]
[178] Turkish government sources reported that same month a surge in desertions with 20,000 desertions in the past month alone bringing the total number of deserters from the Syrian army to over 60,000 soldiers. [179]
In late February 2012, the Syrian National Council established a military bureau to oversee military operations. This initiative was met with criticism by Free Syrian Army leaders who said that they had not been informed. [180] Defected General Mustafa al-Sheikh created a similar discord in the army when he established a rival group called the Higher Military Revolutionary Council which was rejected by the FSA leadership and field units. [181]
Earlier the Muslim Brotherhood had also tried to coopt the FSA but the leadership rejected their attempt. [180] Colonel Al Kurdi, the deputy leader of the FSA, dismissed the internal disputes and said that despite disagreements, the opposition remained united against the government and in their call for arms. [180]
In late 2011, the FSA established control over a number of towns and villages across Idlib province. [182]
[183]
Later in January 2012, the Free Syrian Army succeeded in taking control of the town of Zabadani in Damascus province , following intense clashes with the regular troops.
On 21 January, the FSA temporarily
captured the town of Douma , near
Damascus. [184]
The Free Syrian Army also for three months controlled around two-thirds of Homs, Syria's third largest city, according to Syrian military officers inside the city. [185]
In January, some Damascus suburbs fell under partial opposition control. For example, the town of Saqba , an eastern suburb of Damascus fell under opposition control for a week until the FSA was forced to tactically retreat into the local population after sustaining heavy bombardment by the Syrian Army. [186][187] In late February, the city of Idlib was under opposition control, with opposition flags flying in the city centre.[171]
Methods and Tactics
As deserted government soldiers had no armored vehicles and only light weaponry and munitions, FSA in August–October 2011 mostly ambushed security forces and the state's Shabiha (ghost) militia, and attacked trucks and buses bringing in security reinforcements by planting bombs or with hit-and-run attacks, but seldom confronted other regular army soldiers. [131]
The FSA uses guerrilla warfare tactics when it fights and does not aim to occupy terrain once a fight is over, however, by late 2011 large swathes of area in Syria had fallen under partial control of the Free Syrian Army. [188][189]
The Free Syrian Army's armed actions focus on the government's combat advantages, which include the ability to mount coordinated operations on a large scale, the ability to move its forces at will, and the ability to employ heavy firepower. [190] To counter these advantages, the FSA has mounted attacks on the government's command and control and logistical infrastructure. A sabotage campaign has begun in Syria, with reports of attacks on different government assets. The FSA has mounted attacks on security service command centers, and posts information on Syrian social media sites about blocking roads, attacking logistics vehicles, cutting coaxial communications cables servicing airfields, destroying telecommunications towers, sabotaging government vehicles by sugaring fuel tanks, and attacking railways and pipelines. [191][192]
An FSA fighter engaged in a firefight in Aleppo
The Free Syrian Army on the local level engages and ambushes the state's shabiha militia[131] and confronts the army during which it encourages defections.[193] Some members of the Free Syrian Army have stated that the organization does not have the resources to occupy and take control of territories, and instead relies primarily on hit and run attacks to prompt the Syrian army into withdrawing.[194] The FSA also uses improvised explosive devices to attack military convoys of buses, trucks and tanks that are transporting supplies and security reinforcements and engages in attack and retreat operations on government checkpoints. [131][195] In neighborhoods opposed to the government, the FSA has acted as a defense force, guarding streets while protests take place and attacking the militias, known as shabiha, which are an integral part of the government's efforts to suppress dissent. [196] In
Deir ez-Zor , Al-Rastan , Abu Kamal and other cities the Free Syrian Army, however, engaged in street battles that raged for days with no particular side gaining the advantage. [131] The FSA has also sought international help in bringing down the Assad government. It has asked the international community for arms and the implementation of a no fly zone and naval blockade of Syria [197]
Communication inside the battalion unit is carried out by walkie talkie .[198] The FSA battalion units work closely with the local population and defectors typically join units from the region or town that they come. [199] The FSA is closely interlinked with ad hoc activist networks and it works closely with the civilian formed local councils. [200][201] Around key population centers, such as Damascus, Aleppo, Daraa and Hama, the FSA operates military councils that coordinate operations in the area. [202][203]
The army's command and control is exercised through a variety of means, including mobile phones, voice over IP, email, couriers and social media. [38] In November 2011, the army spent $2 million to improve communication links between opposition fighters in Syria. [204] The Bashar al-Assad government captured a number of sophisticated communications devices from opposition fighters, including Thuraya mobile satellite phones , very high and ultra-high frequency (VHF/ UHF ) devices, and Inmarsat mobile communication satellite systems. [38] In February 2012, Qatar had supplied the army with 3,000 satellite phones. [205] The United States has also provided communication equipment to help create a more structured army. [206][207][208]
At the outset, the Free Syrian Army was mainly armed with AK-47s ,
DShKs and RPG-7s . [209] As defecting soldiers lack air cover , deserting soldiers have to abandon their
armoured vehicles. Soldiers defected carrying only their army issued light arms and hide in cities, suburbs or the cover of the countryside. [131] Besides AK-47s, some FSA soldiers also have M16s , Steyr AUGs, FN FALs,
SVDs and shotguns , [210] G3 Battle Rifles, [211] and PK machine guns .[212] Photos have surfaced of some rebels using salvaged StG 44 assault rifles.[213] The FSA has a few heavy weapons captured from the Syrian government.
In February 2012, video footage was posted online showing a captured government tank, being used in Homs by FSA forces. The tank carried Syrian opposition flags and was seen firing with armed men in civilian clothes taking cover behind it. [214] An FSA spokesman has said that the organization received three tanks from a group of 100 deserters from the Syrian army. [151] The FSA has also reportedly acquired a number of anti-aircraft missiles. [215]
The Free Syrian Army later began manufacturing its own mortars and rockets. [216] Raids on government
checkpoints and arms depots are carried out to supply the FSA with much of its ammunition and new
arms . The FSA also purchases weapons on the Syrian black market which is supplied by arms smugglers from neighboring countries and corrupt loyalist forces selling government arms.
There have been reports that whole arms depots have been offered for sale, although these offers were refused because of fears of a potential trap. [204][217] FSA fighters are also sometimes able to purchase weapons directly from army supply bases, provided that they have enough money to satisfy the government troops guarding them. It is also reported that the FSA purchases much of its heavy weaponry from Iraqi arms smugglers. [218]
Col. Riad Asaad has asked the international community to supply the FSA with arms to alleviate the organization's supply issues. [37][219]
March to December – Issues of organization
A colonel (left) and a first lieutenant (right) in the FSA announce the formation of the Conquest Brigade, part of the FSA in Tell Rifaat , north of
Aleppo, 31 July 2012.
In March 2012, two reporters of The New York Times witnessed an FSA attack with a roadside bomb and AK-47 rifles on a column of armored Syrian tanks in Saraqib in Idlib Governorate , and learned that FSA had a stock of able, trained soldiers and ex-officers, organized to some extent, but were without the weapons to put up a realistic fight.
Baba Amr district in Homs fell to government forces on the morning of 1 March, as the Free Syrian Army claimed they had made a "tactical retreat" from the area, after running low on weapons and ammunition. They made the decision to withdraw from Baba Amr and into other parts of Homs because "worsening humanitarian conditions, lack of food and medicine and water, electricity and communication cuts as well as shortages in weapons." [220]
Shortly after their retreat from Baba Amr in Homs, the FSA suffered another setback on 3 March, when a defection of 50 soldiers from the Abu Athuhoor Military Airport in Idlib province was foiled after their plans were discovered. 47 of the soldiers were executed[221] and only three managed to escape. Their bodies were reportedly dumped in a lake. [222]
A raid was conducted in the Mezze area of Damascus, involving machine-gun fire and rocket propelled grenades. A defecting general was escorted from the area. A military helicopter flew over the area leading to the detection and deaths of 7 FSA fighters. [223] Also, 80 elements of the security forces including pro-government militia were reportedly killed and 200 wounded during the clashes. The deputy commander of the Free Syrian Army also said that two military tanks were destroyed during the operation. [224][225] However, neither the opposition-affiliated SOHR activist group or any independent media confirmed the high number of government casualties in the clashes.
FSA fighters claimed to control the back roads in the countryside, but also admitted that no one knew for certain where the Syrian Army would be at a given time.[226] On 24 March 2012, the Free Syrian Army united with the Higher Military Council. The groups agreed to put their differences behind them, and in a statement said: "First, we decided to unite all the military councils and battalions and all the armed battalions inside the country under one unified leadership of the Free Syrian Army and to follow the orders of the commander of the FSA, Col. Riad al-Asaad." [227]
By late April 2012, despite a cease-fire being declared in the whole country, heavy fighting continued in Al-Qusayr, where rebel forces controlled the northern part of the city, while the military held the southern part. FSA forces were holding onto Al-Qusayr, due to it being the last major transit point toward the Lebanese border. A rebel commander from the Farouq Brigades in the town reported that 2,000 Farouq fighters had been killed in Homs province since August 2011. At this point, there were talks among the rebels in Al-Qusayr, where many of the retreating rebels from Homs city's Baba Amr district had gone, of Homs being abandoned completely. [228][229]
Areas of conflict and displacement (light purple), refugee camps (red triangles), displaced in host homes (green houses), FSA held territory (red), June 2012. [230][231]
By late April 2012, despite a cease-fire being declared in the whole country, heavy fighting continued in Al-Qusayr, where rebel forces controlled the northern part of the city, while the military held the southern part. FSA forces were holding onto Al-Qusayr, due to it being the last major transit point toward the Lebanese border. A rebel commander from the Farouq Brigades in the town reported that 2,000 Farouq fighters had been killed in Homs province since August 2011. At this point, there were talks among the rebels in Al-Qusayr, where many of the retreating rebels from Homs city's Baba Amr district had gone, of Homs being abandoned completely. [228][229]
Despite the UN ceasefire, fighting between the Free Syrian Army and Syrian government forces continued throughout May. The FSA had used much of early May to regroup [232] and gradually launched more and more attacks on government forces as the month progressed (despite often being poorly armed)[233] and it became clear that the ceasefire had failed. Kofi Annan himself expressed exasperation at the ongoing violence. Footage in late-May appeared to show FSA forces had been destroying Assad forces' tanks in Idlib. [234]
In May, United Nations monitors confirmed media reports that large areas of Syria's countryside and provincial cities were under the de facto control of the FSA. [235] The Free Syrian Army has stated that it only has partial control over its held areas, and that in a head to head battle with the Syrian army was unable in most cases to hold the territory. The FSA's goal as of winter was to loosen government control over areas, rather than to impose firm control of its own. [236]
Areas of conflict and displacement (light purple), refugee camps (yellow triangles), displaced in host homes (green houses), FSA held territory (red), June 2012. [230][231]
By June 2012, CNN estimated opposition forces to have grown to 40,000 men. [237] The Free Syrian Army announced on 4 June it was abandoning its ceasefire agreement. Spokesman Sami al-Kurdi told Reuters that the FSA had begun attacking soldiers to "defend our people". At least 80 government soldiers were killed in escalating violence over that weekend. [238] By mid-June, the FSA controlled large swathes of land in Idlib governorate and Northern Hama governorate. In these areas, the FSA and local individuals administered justice and the distribution of supplies to residents. [239]
It was reported on 28 June that the opposition almost entirely controlled the city of Deir ez-Zor, while the government army had shelled it, trying to take it back. Human rights groups said that this assault with tanks and artillery had killed over 100 residents. The government also reportedly told doctors not to treat people at local hospitals and targeted hospitals that refused with mortar rounds. Humanitarian aid workers from the Syrian Arab Red Crescent were targeted by the army, one worker was killed. [240] In Homs, the FSA held out against government forces bombarding large parts of the city, including the opposition bastion of Khaldiyah. Also, renewed fighting between rebels and loyalists was reported in the Baba Amr neighourhood of Homs. [ citation needed ]
By July 2012, there were over 100,000 defectors from the armed forces reported. [241] In July, it was reported that the Free Syrian Army had taken control of a number of suburbs north of the capital Damascus, including Zamalka and Irbeen. FSA fighters openly patrolled the streets of the suburbs, and clashes occurred less than 10 kilometers from the center of Damascus city itself. [242]
It was reported that the Free Syrian Army also took control of a commercial crossing in Bab al-Hawa in Syria's northern frontier. FSA fighters had fought government forces there for ten days until they won. FSA fighters were seen in video footage, destroying portraits of Assad and celebrating their victory. [243]
Prior to September 2012, the Free Syrian Army operated its command and headquarters from Turkey's southern Hatay province close to the Syrian border with field commanders operating inside Syria. [37][244] In September 2012, the FSA announced that it had moved its headquarters to rebel-controlled territory of Idlib Governorate in northern Syria, [245]
[246] which was later overrun by the
Islamic Front in December 2013. [ citation needed ][247]
According to a France 24 report in October 2012, "rich businessmen from Damascus and Aleppo support the FSA as well as political organisations like the Muslim Brotherhood ." The ideology of various FSA groups depended on their sponsors and funders. "If a militia receives money from the Muslim Brotherhood, then it obviously going to be an Islamist militia", an observer stated. [248]
FSA fighters plan during the
Battle of Aleppo (October 2012).
The Syrian National Coalition , formed in November 2012 and by September 2013 based in Istanbul , dubbed the 'main opposition alliance', [citation needed] was recognized by the FSA by September 2013. [249]
On 18 November, rebels took control of one of the Syrian Army's largest military bases in northern Syria, Base 46 in the Aleppo Governorate after weeks of intense fighting with government forces. Defected General Mohammed Ahmed al-Faj, who commanded the assault, hailed the capture of Base 46 as "one of our biggest victories since the start of the revolution" against Bashar al-Assad, claiming nearly 300 Syrian troops had been killed and 60 had been captured with rebels seizing large amounts of heavy weapons and tanks. [250]
On 22 November, rebels captured the
Mayadin military base in the country's eastern Deir ez Zor province. Activists said this gave the rebels control of a large amount of territory east of the base, to the Iraqi border. [251]
On 7 December 2012, about 260 to 550 commanders and representatives of the Syrian armed opposition met in
Antalya and elected a new 30-person military council for the FSA, called
'Supreme Military Council' .[252] Colonel Riad al-Asaad, who was not present at the meeting, retained his formal role as Commander-in-Chief but lost effective power to Brigadier General Salim Idris , who was elected as the new Chief of Staff of the FSA and effective leader. [ citation needed ]
Security officials from the United States , United Kingdom , France, the
Gulf Cooperation Council and Jordan were present at the meeting, [253][254]
[255] days before a meeting of the
Friends of Syria Group that had pledged non-military aid to militant rebels. [