Syrian Civil War (2011-onwards) (Syria) (original) (raw)


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[[2011/2012 Anti-Assad Revolt (Syria)]](../images/s/sy-1946.gif)image by Eugene Ipavec, 09 May 2007

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Description

In footage of the recent demonstrations against the Assad regime in Syria it appears that in several cases the protesters wave the old [1932-1958] Syrian flag (green-white-black horizontal stripes, with three five-pointed red stars on the white stripe).
Luca Peliti, 10 September 2011

I have seen this too, but only in one news report (so far). The old flag does not appear to have enjoyed the widespread spontaneous acceptance that the royal-era Libyan flag did among anti-Qadaffi protesters.
Eugene Ipavec, 11 September 2011

Today's picture shows deserters from the Syrian army who have joined the opposition; they have an old flag on the wall behind them and are holding what seems to be a handmade version. Wikipedia shows protesters holding what seems to be a sign painted to look like it.
Nachum Lamm, 17 November 2011

In recent television reports showing Syrian dissidents there does seem to be an increasingly large number of old-style Syrian flags, but not consistently so.
Kenneth Fraser, 18 November 2011

Recent news photos consistently show the pro-Assad groups waving the current flag, and the resistance (including the Free Syrian Army) are waving the gree-white-black banner. The old flag seems to be on its way to being the official resistance banner, in the same way the old Libyan flag was adopted by the NTC.
J. Tate, 25 November 2011

In a number of pictures, the stars seem to be upside-down, but that may just be the homemade quality of some of the flags. All Egyptian factions seem to be sticking with the same flag, but we'll see.
Nachum Lamm, 27 November 2011

On 20 November 2011, members of the "France Syrie Démocratie" association have draped the facade of the Arab World Institute in Paris (France) with a huge "Syrian revolution flag". A video footage of the event can be seen onYouTube. The event's place was not randomly chosen. The Arab World Institute is a foundation established on 14 October 1980 by the governments of France and of 22 Arab countries. To promote the Arab culture in Europe, the Arab World Institute aims at "building bridges between the Arab and European cultures". Designed by the architect Jean Nouvel and built close to the Jussieu University, the Arab World Institute was inaugurated on 30 November 1987 by President François Mitterrand. The Institute, especially under the direction of Dominique Baudis (2007-2011), has often been criticized as a "showroom" conveniently used by the dictators of the region.
Ivan Sache, 29 November 2011

Civil War Actors

The Syrian uprising began in Deera, when 15 teenagers from the same family (Al-Abazeed) were arrested in early March 2011 for writing an anti-regime slogan on the wall of their school. After attempts to negotiate the release of the children were rejected by the local government, a few hundred protesters gathered in front of al-Omari Mosque on March 18, 2011 calling for reforms and end of corruption.
Soon after the gathering increased in size and it is reported that over 3000 people protested on the first day. According to activists, this protest was faced with Syrian security forces opening fire on the protesters killing 3 people. Protests continued daily and on the 20th of March, 7 police men were killed as well as least 4 protesters. During this time the local courthouse, the Ba'ath party headquarters in the city, and the Syriatel building owned by Rami Makhlouf, a cousin of President Assad, were set on fire. Between 25 April and 5 May 2011, the fourth armoured division of the Syrian Army, led by Maher al-Assad (brother of Bashar), besieged Daraa. Then other cities followed military attacks, like Homs, Hama, Damascus, etc. escalating violence throughout the whole country.
The Free Syrian Army (Arabic: الجيش السوري الحر‎, al-Jaysh as-Sūrī al-Ḥurr, FSA) is a group of defected Syrian Armed Forces officers and soldiers, which was founded after the escalation of violence afterwards, on, 29 July 2011. It was founded by five (or seven) defected Syrian officers. The group defined "all security forces attacking civilians" as their enemies, and said its goal to be "to bring down the system" or "to bring this regime down".
On September 23, 2011, the Free Syrian Army merged with the Free Officers Movement (Arabic: حركة الضباط الأحرار‎, Ḥarakat aḑ-Ḑubbāṭ al-Aḥrār).
The FSA coordinated with the Syrian National Council starting in December 2011, and supported the National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces after the coalition's November 2012 creation. Between July 2012 and July 2013, ill-discipline and infighting weakened FSA, while jihadist groups entered northern Syria and became more effective than FSA. In April 2013, the US promised $123 million aid to rebels, to be funneled through the then leader of the FSA, Salim Idriss. A coalition of moderate Muslim rebel groups fighting under the Supreme Military Council of Syria, which includes the FSA, on 25 September 2014 allied with a predominantly Christian coalition called Syriac Military Council, to unite their fight against the Assad government and ISIS.
The Free Syrian Army has adopted the configuration and tactics of a guerrilla force. There are five deputy chief of staffs who are in charge of five different regions of Syria. The field units are under the direct command of nine regional commanders.
As of January 2012, the army had around 37 named battalion units, 17�23 of which appeared to be engaged in combat.
In October 2013, some 66 units fighting with the FSA in the south seceded to join the new Southern Front
Sources:http://www.longwarjournal.org).

Esteban Rivera, 20 November 2014

As the revolutionary wave commonly referred to as theArab Spring began to take shape in early 2011, Syrian protesters began consolidating opposition councils. The Civil uprising began in the city of Deera, capital of the Deera Governorate, in early March, 2011. After the government siege of this city by military means, and other cities as well as mass protests began to take place throughout the country, the first armed groups started to emerge, such as the FSA (Free Syrian Army).
However it should be noted that before this general violence erupted, there was indeed a true political and civil opposition to theBa'athist regime much long before the protests, into what is called the Syrian
opposition. The Syrian opposition (Arabic: المعارضة السورية‎ - Al-Mu'aradah Al-Suriyah) is an umbrella term for groups and individuals calling for regime change in Syria and who oppose its Ba'athist government. The term "opposition" (Arabic "mu'araDah") is typically used to refer to traditional political actors; that is, groups and individuals who have a history of dissent against the Syrian state, rather than to describe all participants in the uprising against Assad rule in Syria. The first structures to form in the Syrian uprising were local protest-organizing committees. These formed in April, 2011, as protesters graduated from spontaneous protests to protests organized by meetings beforehand.
"The core of the grassroots civil opposition is the youth, mainly from the working and middle-classes, in which women and diverse religious and ethnic groups play active roles. Many of these activists remain non-affiliated to traditional political ideologies but are motivated by concerns for freedom, dignity, social justice and basic human rights."
The first phase of the Syrian Revolution, from March 2011 until the start of August 2011, was characterized by a consensus for nonviolent struggle among the uprising's participants. Thus the conflict cannot be characterized as a "civil war" until the organization of armed struggle began on the anti-government side. This occurred on 29 July 2011, the date when the FSA announced its formation, allowing the conflict to meet the international political definition of "civil war."
Opposition groups in Syria took a new turn in 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 has been recognised or supported in some capacity by at least 17 member states of the United Nations, with three of those (France,United Kingdom and theUnited States being permanent members of the Security Council. A new 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.
Both the Syrian National Council and the the National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces use this flag (as already mention here)

Currently the opposing forces to the Ba'athist government are:

Other minor parties and political movements that were allowed to be established in 2012 as peaceful and loyal opposition groups, but in recent events have actully shifted towards the opposition itself (A new law on political parties was enacted along with constitutional reforms in 2012, allowing for new parties outside the National Progressive Front and thus officially permitting opposition to the government. New parties were subsequently licensed: the National Development Party, Al-Ansar Party, People's Party, Solidarity Party, Syria the Homeland Party (Souria al-Watan), Democratic Vanguard Party, Syrian Democratic Party, Syrian National Youth Party for Justice and Development, Syrian National Youth Party, and Arab Democratic Solidarity Party. It is thought the new parties would function as "loyal opposition", although those that took part enjoyed little success in the 2012 parliamentary election. Some, such as the National Development Party and Al-Ansar, have subsequently shifted towards an anti- government stance, including talks with groups closer to the SNC).
So, all in all, the Syrian opposition can be classified as the following (and sometimes they have had armed confrontations among some of them.

Source:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inter-rebel_conflict_during_the_Syrian_Civil_War:
- Anti Ba'ahtisth political parties and personalities
- Syrian Civilians
- Syrian armed groups (including its political movements)
- Islamists (political and armed groups)
- Kurds (political and armed groups)
- Syriacs (Assyrians) (political and armed groups)
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Syrian_opposition
Esteban Rivera, 20 November 2014

Pro-government Forces

National Defence Force is a branch of Syrian Armed Forces, formed after summer 2012 as a part-time volunteer reserve component of the Syrian military, organized by the Syrian government during the Syrian Civil War.

The Syrian Resistance formerly known as the "Popular Front for the Liberation of the Sanjak of Iskandarun"; c. 2015.

Al-Quds Brigade is a predominantly Palestinians in Syria brigade that operates as a part of pro-Syrian government forces in the Syrian Civil War (since 2013).
Esteban Rivera, 23 October 2023

Zainab Brigade
Harakat al-Nujaba (Iraq) - even though this group was established with influence in Iraq as it emerged in 2013 as an offshoot of the Iraqi Shi'ite militia group Asa'ib Ahl al-Haq(source: https://www.al-monitor.com) it has taken active action in the Syrian Civil War on the Pro-Government side (source:https://www.longwarjournal.org).
Esteban Rivera, 14 November 2023

Zulfiqar Brigade

Turkistan Islamic Party in Syria

[[TIPS]](../images/s/sy}tip-n.gif) [ [TIPS]](../images/s/sy}tip-b.gif) images located by William Garrison, 27 December 2024
based on photo and photo

The "Turkistan Islamic Party" (TIP) is a Uyghur [Sunni Muslim] Islamist-extremist organization founded by Hasan Mahsum in Pakistan. The party has operated since 1997 with the stated aim of establishing an Islamic state in Xinjiang, China, as well as Central Asia. Viewed by the Chinese government as a jihadist movement akin to the Mujahideen in Afghanistan, it has been primarily active in the Syrian civil war (2020s) through its sub-group the "Turkistan Islamic Party in Syria" (TIPS). The TIP sent the �Turkistan Brigade� ("Katibat Turkistani") also known as the "Turkistan Islamic Party In Syria" (TIPS) to take part in the Syrian Civil War (2010s-2024). It has cooperated with several al-Qaeda affiliate groups such as the "al-Nusra Front" in support of Syrian Pres. Bashar Assad. The group has also collaborated with the Turkish armed forces by sending its fighters to guard a Turkish military delegation. Both flags have been used since about 2017, but supposedly the blue flag is now the preferred one since the fleeing of Pres. Assad to Russia in early Dec. 2024. Info:https://greydynamics.com/the-turkistan-islamic-party-tip-in-china-syria-and-beyondandhttps://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2024/12/13/uyghur-fighters-in-syria-vow-to-come-for-china-next/

BLACK FLAG Variation: the large top line is the "Shahada"; the middle line reads: الحزب الاسلامی الترکستانی or spoken in Farsi as: "elhezb oleslami eltarkastani" or transliterated into English as: "al-Hizb al-Islami al-Turkestani" or as the "Turkistan Islamic Party"; the bottom line heralds the purpose of this party: لنصره اهل الشام or "Lansara Ahl al-Sham" that means for "helping people of Al-Sham". "Sham" was the old name for the greater area of Syria and portions of adjacent countries. So, when both combined: "Turkistan Islamic Party in Syria" [or "Greater Syria": Sham]. Besides thanking my Shiite contact in Tehran or the translations, he also wanted to explain the history of the control of Sham/Syria in terms of the larger Sunni v. Shia conflict. Muʿāwiyah I (born c. 602, Mecca, Arabia - died April/May 680, Damascus, Syria) was an early Sunni-Muslim leader and founder of the great Umayyad dynasty of caliphs In Damascus, Syria, and essentially, imposed Sunni-Islam upon the Syrians/Sham. He was of the "Abu Sufyan" clan. Upon his death, his successor was his son: Yazid, who demanded that all Muslim tribes pledge allegiance to him. However, Hussain, the leader of the Shia-Muslim sect refused, as he believed he should be the rightful successor. Hussain raised a small militia to try to depose Yazid. Yazid's Sunni army surrounded Hussain's Shia forces near Karbala, Iraq, and killed or captured them in Oct. 680. Nonetheless, ever since then, the Shia have remained split from the Sunni. During 2010s-2024, Shia-Iran militants supported the Alawite-Shia government of Pres. Al-Assad, but he was opposed by Sunni Al-Qaeda forces. In Dec. 2024, Sunni-oriented Ahmed al-Sharaa (a.k.a.: Abu Mohammed al-Golani) led militants that forced Shia-leaning Pres. Assad to flee to Russia. This Shia defeat is of theological concern to the Shia-theocratic rulers of Iran. They believe that at the "End of Times" that a Sunni warrior named Sofyani, of the Yazid-Sufyan clan in Syria/Sham, will arise to battle the Shia "hidden Imam Zaman Mahdi". If Sunni Sofyani is successful in defeating the Shia Mahdi, then the Mahdi will not be able to bring or reveal "true" (Shia) Islam at the "End of Times" to the world's masses, who will then come under the spell of "Dajjal" or "the Devil."

LIGHT-BLUE FLAG Variation: The top slogan is the "Shahada" with the "hilaal" or "lilal" or the combo "crescent-moon & star" image.

Sources:
https://asian-defence-news.blogspot.com/2016/03/al-qaeda-wing-uighur-jihadist-group.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turkistan_Islamic_Party_in_Syria