- Source: Authenticity and Development Front
The Syrian opposition (Arabic: المعارضة السورية, romanized: al-Muʻaraḍat as-Sūrīya), also known as the Syrian revolutionaries (Arabic: الثوار السوريين) is an umbrella term for the groups that opposed the Assad regime in Syria. In July 2011, at the beginning of the Syrian civil war, defectors from the Syrian Arab Armed Forces formed the Free Syrian Army, a name that was later used by several armed factions during the conflict. In November 2012, political groups operating from abroad formed the Syrian National Coalition (SNC). In turn, the Coalition formed the Syrian Interim Government (SIG) which operated first as a government-in-exile and, from 2015, in certain zones of Syria. In 2017, the Islamist group Tahrir al-Sham, unaffiliated to the SNC, formed the Syrian Salvation Government (SSG) in the areas it controlled. Rebel armed forces during the civil war have included the Turkish-backed Syrian National Army, affiliated to the SIG, the Southern Operations Room and the Revolutionary Commando Army. Other groups that challenged Bashar al-Assad's rule during the civil war were the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria, and the jihadist organization known as the Islamic State.
The Syrian opposition evolved over time to include groups calling for the overthrow of the Assad government and opponents of its Ba'athist government. Prior to the war, "opposition" (Arabic: المعارضة, romanized: al-muʕāraḍat) referred to traditional political actors such as the National Coordination Committee for Democratic Change; that is, groups and individuals with a history of dissidence against the Syrian state.
The first opposition groups in the Civil uprising phase of the Syrian Civil War were local protest-organizing committees established in April 2011, as spontaneous protests became more planned and organized. The uprising, from March 2011 until the start of August 2011, was characterized by a consensus for nonviolent struggle among the participants. Thus the conflict could not have been yet characterized as a "civil war", until army units defected in response to government reprisals against the protest movement. This occurred 2012, allowing the conflict to meet the definition of "civil war".
Opposition groups in Syria took a new turn in late 2011 during the Syrian civil war, as they united to form the Syrian National Council (SNC), which has 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.
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. The Syrian National Coalition was subsequently considered to take the seat of Syria in the Arab League, with the representative of Bashar Al-Assad's government 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. 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. In late 2015, the Syrian Interim Government relocated its headquarters to the city of Azaz 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).
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 Syrian Arab Republic's 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). 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).
In late 2024, various Syrian opposition groups launched simultaneous offensives that led to the fall of the Assad regime and the establishment of a transitional government. On December 10, Mohammed al-Bashir, previously head of the Syrian Salvation Government, became prime minister of the Syrian transitional government.
Background
The coalition includes Islamists, military defectors, and former civilians. Although the alliance uses Syrian independence flags and symbols, it does not identify itself as part of the Free Syrian Army. One of the groups involved was the Nour al-Din al-Zenki Movement, which was also part of the Army of Mujahideen, though the Army of Mujahideen announced on 4 May 2014 that the Nour al-Din al-Zenki Movement had withdrawn from the coalition. The Authenticity and Development Front operated American-made BGM-71 TOW anti-tank missiles captured from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.
Member Groups
= Current
=The White Shroud
Army of Tawhid
Tajamuu Alwiyat al-Iman Billah
Liwa Hamah al-Aqidah
Tajamuu Jund al-Badr Brigade 313
Lions of Islam Brigade
Talbisah Brigade
Falcons of Talbisah Brigade
Muawiyah Ibn Abi Sufyan Brigade
Sword of Islam Battalion
Tajamuu Alwiyat wa Kataib Suyuf al-Haq
Battalions of the People of Impact
Abd Al-Rahman Battalions
Miqdad Bin al-Aswad Battalion
Division 60
Jund al-Sham
= Former Groups
=Lions of the East Army
Liwa Basha’ir al-Nasr
Nour al-Din al-Zenki Movement
Liwa al-Fatah al-Mubin (Formerly part of the Allahu Akbar Battalions)
Ibn Taymiyyah Mujahideen Brigades (Joined Ahrar al-Sham)
New Syrian Army (Expelled from Authenticity and Development Front, continued operations as independent group)
Allahu Akbar Battalions
See also
List of armed groups in the Syrian Civil War