Back معارضة سورية Arabic ܣܩܘܒܠܝܘܬܐ ܫܐܡܝܬܐ ARC معارضه سوريه ARZ Сірыйская апазіцыя BE Сирийска опозиция Bulgarian সিরীয় বিদ্রোহী Bengali/Bangla Eneberezh sirian BR ئۆپۆزیسیۆنی سووریا CKB Syrská opozice Czech Συριακή αντιπολίτευση Greek
 | A request that this article title be changed to Syrian opposition to Bashar al-Assad is under discussion. Please do not move this article until the discussion is closed. |
 | 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. (December 2024) |
Syrian opposition المعارضة السورية al-Muʻaraḍat as-Sūrīyah | |||||||||
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 Areas under control of various opposition groups as of December 2024 Syrian opposition groups active in the Syrian civil war: | |||||||||
| Capital | Damascus Azaz (de facto by the SIG)[4][5] Idlib (de facto by the SSG) Al-Tanf Base (used by the Syrian Free Army) | ||||||||
| Largest city | Damascus Aleppo (until 8 December 2024) | ||||||||
| Official languages | Arabic and Turkish | ||||||||
| Establishment | |||||||||
• Start of the Syrian revolution | 15 March 2011 | ||||||||
| 2011–2024 | |||||||||
| 8 December 2024 | |||||||||
| Currency | Turkish lira[6][7] Syrian Pound United States dollar | ||||||||
| Time zone | UTC+3 (EET) | ||||||||
| Drives on | Right | ||||||||
| Calling code | +963 | ||||||||
| ISO 3166 code | SY | ||||||||
| Internet TLD | .sy سوريا. | ||||||||
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The Syrian opposition,[a] also known as the Syrian revolutionaries (Arabic: الثوار السوريين), is an umbrella term for the rebel groups that opposed the Assad regime in Syria. In July 2011, at the beginning of the Syrian civil war, defectors from the Syrian Armed Forces formed the Free Syrian Army. In August 2011, political 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. 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. From 2016, the SIG was present in Turkish-occupied zones while the SNC operated from Istanbul. In 2017, the Islamist group Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), 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 Syrian Liberation Front, the National Front for Liberation, 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.[8] 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.[9]
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.[10] The uprising, from March 2011 until the start of August 2011, was characterized by a consensus for nonviolent struggle among the participants.[11] 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.[12][13] This occurred in 2012, allowing the conflict to meet the definition of "civil war".[14]
After opposition groups united to form the Syrian National Council (SNC),[15] they 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]
The National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces, 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.[22] 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.[23] 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.[24] 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.
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).[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]
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.[27][28][29] On December 10, Mohammed al-Bashir, previously head of the Syrian Salvation Government, became prime minister of the Syrian transitional government that replaced both the SSG and the last Ba'athist government in Damascus.[30][31] With one exception, all ministers in the transitional government previously held similar portfolios in the SSG.[32]
- ^ S, T. (13 November 2018). "A New Flag for the Opposition - The Syrian Observer".
- ^ Shekani, Helbast (12 November 2018). "Syrian opposition changes flag, adds Islamic inscription". Kurdistan 24. Kurdistan 24. Retrieved 14 November 2018.
- ^ "Abu Mohammed al-Golani: the leader of Syrian HTS rebels steering shock offensive". Reuters. 6 December 2024.
On Wednesday he visited Aleppo's citadel, accompanied by a fighter waving a Syrian revolution flag - once shunned by Nusra as a symbol of apostasy but recently embraced by Golani, a nod to Syria's more mainstream opposition, another video showed.
"He's really important. The main rebel leader in Syria, the most powerful Islamist," said Lund.
"They have adopted the symbols of the wider Syrian uprising..., which they now use and try to claim the revolutionary legacy - that 'we are part of the movement of 2011, the people who rose up against Assad, and we are also Islamists'." - ^ Charles Lister (31 October 2017). "Turkey's Idlib Incursion and the HTS Question: Understanding the Long Game in Syria". War on the Rocks. Archived from the original on 4 June 2019. Retrieved 8 May 2019.
- ^ al-Khateb, Khaled (19 September 2018). "Idlib still wary of attack despite Turkish-Russian agreement". Al-Monitor. Archived from the original on 8 May 2019. Retrieved 8 May 2019.
- ^ Ashawi, Khalil (28 August 2018). "Falling lira hits Syrian enclave supported by Turkey". Reuters.
- ^ Ghuraibi, Yousef (1 July 2020). "Residents of northwestern Syria replace Syrian pound with Turkish lira". Enab Baladi. Idlib. Archived from the original on 5 July 2020. Retrieved 28 January 2022.
- ^ "Bashar al-Assad: Facing down rebellion". BBC News. 3 September 2018. Retrieved 29 January 2020.
- ^ Sayigh, Yezid. "The Syrian Opposition's Leadership Problem". Carnegie Middle East Center. Retrieved 29 January 2020.
- ^ Ghattas, Kim (22 April 2011). "Syria's spontaneously organised protests". BBC News. Retrieved 29 January 2020.
- ^ Kouddous, Sharif Abdel (23 August 2012). "How the Syrian Revolution Became Militarized". The Nation. ISSN 0027-8378. Retrieved 29 January 2020.
- ^ "Asad's Armed Opposition: The Free Syrian Army". www.washingtoninstitute.org. Retrieved 19 September 2020.
- ^ "We Live as in War". Human Rights Watch. 11 November 2011. Retrieved 19 September 2020.
- ^ "Syrian Civil War | Facts & Timeline". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 29 January 2020.
- ^ "The main components of the Syrian opposition". London: BBC Arabic. 24 February 2012. Archived from the original on 24 February 2014. Retrieved 1 September 2013.
- ^ thejournal.ie (27 February 2012). "EU ministers recognise Syrian National Council as legitimate representatives". Archived from the original on 29 February 2012. Retrieved 29 February 2012.
- ^ Andrew Rettman (24 October 2011). "France recognises Syrian council, proposes military intervention". EUObserwer. Archived from the original on 26 November 2011. Retrieved 24 November 2011.
- ^ "Clinton to Syrian opposition: Ousting al-Assad is only first step in transition". CNN. 6 December 2011. Archived from the original on 28 September 2013. Retrieved 2 September 2013.
- ^ "UK Recognizes Syrian Opposition". International Business Times. 24 February 2012. Retrieved 29 February 2012.
- ^ "Libya NTC says recognises Syrian National Council". Khaleej Times. 11 October 2011. Archived from the original on 11 October 2011. Retrieved 10 October 2011.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "Syria's newly-formed opposition coalition draws mixed reaction". Xinhua. 13 November 2012. Archived from the original on 16 November 2012. Retrieved 25 January 2013.
- ^ "Main bloc quits Syrian National Coalition over Geneva". The Times of Israel. 21 January 2014. Archived from the original on 22 January 2014. Retrieved 20 January 2014.
- ^ "Syrian opposition sign joint document in Kazakhstan's Astana". Tengri News. Archived from the original on 10 October 2015. Retrieved 7 November 2015.
- ^ "ORB/IIACSS POLL IN IRAQ AND SYRIA GIVES RARE INSIGHT INTO PUBLIC OPINION." ORB International July 2015. PDF link (see tables 1 and 8).
- ^ NEW ORB POLL: 52% SYRIANS BELIEVE ASSAD REGIME WILL WIN THE WAR Archived 9 November 2019 at the Wayback Machine. ORB International. 15 March 2015.
- ^ "Ousted Syrian leader Assad flees to Moscow after fall of Damascus, Russian state media say". AP News. 8 December 2024. Retrieved 10 December 2024.
- ^ jcookson (8 December 2024). "Experts react: Rebels have toppled the Assad regime. What's next for Syria, the Middle East, and the world?". Atlantic Council. Retrieved 10 December 2024.
- ^ "HTS, overthrown Syrian PM task Mohammed al-Bashir with forming transitional government". The Jerusalem Post | JPost.com. 9 December 2024. Retrieved 10 December 2024.
- ^ "Syrian rebels name Mohammed al-Bashir head of transitional government". Le Monde. 10 December 2024. Retrieved 10 December 2024.
- ^ "Der Islamist im Anzug: Wer ist der syrische Übergangspremier Mohammed al-Bashir?" [The Islamist in a suit: who is the Syrian interim prime minister Mohammed al-Bashir?]. Die Presse (in German). 10 December 2024. Retrieved 10 December 2024.
- ^ Al Jazeera Staff. "What to know about Syria's new caretaker government". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 16 December 2024.
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