Multiple Islamist factions and rebels backed by Turkey are leading the offensive against the Syrian government of Bashar al-Assad and the Syrian Kurds. From Idlib and northern Aleppo in northwestern Syria, they have advanced in two simultaneous operations: one towards the province of Aleppo (in the east); and another, towards the south to Hama (in the center).
They are a myriad of factions with different names, which vary as they split and merge. But, in general, they are led by two large groups that bear the brunt of the armed opposition to Assad.
Levant Liberation Agency
The Levant Liberation Organization (Hayat Tahrir el Sham or HTS in Arabic), leader of the “Deterrence of Aggression” offensive launched last Wednesday in northwestern Syria, heads a coalition of Sunni Islamist armed groups whose stronghold is Idlib, on the border with Turkey.
Its ranks are estimated to include some 30.000 fighters who have managed to establish themselves in the region of some 3 million people, most of whom have been displaced from other parts of Syria. It maintains its power in the area through the so-called Syrian Salvation Government, which is considered the group's "political arm."
Its leader, Abu Mohamed al-Jolani, founded the al-Nusra Front, the Syrian branch of al-Qaeda created to fight al-Assad, in January 2012. However, in 2016, he broke off all ties with al-Qaeda and split off to form the Levant Liberation Organization shortly after.
The group has recently attempted to publicly distance itself from al-Qaeda and present itself as a legitimate civilian authority, but has continued to commit extrajudicial killings, arbitrary arrests and unlawful detention of civilians, according to the UN Security Council.
He is designated a terrorist by several countries, including the United States, which is still demanding $10 million for Al Jolani's head.
Syrian National Army
The Syrian National Army (SNA) is an umbrella group of rebel groups backed by Turkey and the Persian Gulf countries. It used to be the Free Syrian Army, which flew the three-star flag – the symbol of the Syrian revolution – instead of the two-star flag of the national flag at the start of the popular uprising in 2011.
This was joined in 2019 by the National Liberation Front, made up of 11 other groups. The aim, in addition to defeating Al Assad, is to go against the Syrian Democratic Forces, an alliance made up mostly of Syrian Kurds that controls northeastern Syria and is backed by the United States.
With its political leaders in Istanbul, it militarily controls two areas bordering the Turkish border: the first covers the northern countryside of Aleppo, from Afrin to Jarablus; and the second extends from Tal Abyad to Ras al Ain, in the north of the provinces of Al Raqqa and Hasaka.
The Syrian National Army is made up of around 40 factions, with some 80.000 fighters, and plays a vital role in the day-to-day affairs of the areas under its control in northern Syria, “from the security situation to property sales, business, the work of NGOs and local government institutions,” according to the UN Security Council.
Other factions
Within these two large alliances led by HTS and SNA, there are other significant factions participating in the offensive, such as the Ahrar al Sham movement, also very powerful in Idlib and western Aleppo.
When the Syrian civil war broke out in 2011, some of the Islamist and Salafi groups merged to form Ahrar Al Sham, which is heavily influenced by the Afghan Taliban. It is one of the most radical opposition groups.
Another of the most extremist groups that joined the offensive is the Sultan Murad Division, a faction of the Turkmen opposition that has very close ties to Turkey. The group claims to have 9.000 members and some of its members have even been deployed to Libya as mercenaries.
One of the curious things about these groups is that they also include numerous foreign fighters, from France to Chechnya and China.
Islamic State
Although the Islamic State (IS) is not involved in this offensive and is in fact a rival of Hayat Tahrir al Sham, some of its members managed to escape to Idlib and Aleppo after the Kurdish and US offensive against its last territories in Syria, which culminated in 2019.
When Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi proclaimed IS in 2014, he took advantage of the instability and power vacuum to expand across Syria and occupy large territories, an issue that is now on the table given that the jihadists still have a presence in the country's vast desert. EFE