Free Idlib Army

Free Idlib Army
جيش إدلب الحر
LeadersTop commanders, since July 2017:[1]
  • Col. Afif Suleiman (overall commander, since 2019)[2]
  • Lt. Col. Suhaib Leoush (overall commander, until 2019)
  • Capt. Naji Mustafa (deputy commander)
  • Capt. Dumar Qanatri (chief of staff)

Other commanders:

  • Lt. Col. Nasha'at Haj Ahmad (Mountain Hawks Brigade)[3]
  • Lt. Col. Ahmed al-Saud (13th Division)[4]

Former:

  • Capt. Hassan Haj Ali (Mountain Hawks Brigade and overall commander, until July 2017)[5][better source needed]
  • Col. Ali al-Samahi † (chief of staff, assassinated in April 2017)[6]
  • 1st Lt. Mohamed Khalid Bayoush (Northern Division and alternate deputy commander, until July 2017)[7]
  • Lt. Col. Fares Bayoush (former Northern Division and deputy commander, resigned in January 2017)[8][9]
  • Amin Haj Ali † (field commander, killed in March 2019)[10][11][better source needed]
Dates of operation19 September 2016 – present
Group(s)
Active regionsNorthwestern Syria
IdeologySyrian nationalism[13]
Size
  • 6,000 fighters (including 200 officers, late 2016)[14][15]
Part ofSyrian opposition Free Syrian Army Fatah Halab (2016)
Allies
Opponents
Battles and warsSyrian Civil War

The Free Idlib Army (Arabic: جيش إدلب الحر Jaysh ʾIdlib al-Ḥarr) is a Syrian rebel coalition consisting of 3 armed groups from northwestern Syria affiliated with the Free Syrian Army: the 13th Division, the Northern Division, and the Mountain Hawks Brigade[17]

  1. ^ "Free Idlib Army is making adjustments at the level of the chief of staff". Al-Etihad Press. 11 July 2017. Archived from the original on 29 May 2018. Retrieved 29 May 2018.
  2. ^ "HTS arrested Colonel Afif Suleiman, commander of the so-called "Free Army of Idlib"". RûMaf. 1 August 2019.
  3. ^ "جيش إدلب الحر (@free_idleb_army) - Twitter".
  4. ^ "Free Idlib Army is Close to Form … Learn its main factions". El-Dorar. 20 September 2016. Archived from the original on 25 October 2016. Retrieved 21 September 2016.
  5. ^ "New rebel group formed in Idlib". Al-Masdar News. 20 September 2016. Archived from the original on 23 September 2016. Retrieved 20 September 2016.
  6. ^ "Activists: Sham Liberation Army assassinated a senior commander of Idlib Free (Photos)". Arabi 21. 5 April 2017.
  7. ^ "Najat leader of the free Idlib Jaish Albyosh an assassination attempt Brive Idlib". Al-Etihad Press. 23 November 2016. Archived from the original on 16 January 2017. Retrieved 15 January 2017.
  8. ^ "The resignation of a leader of the «army Idlib free» to face the «black banners of cross-border»". Al-Hayat. 2 February 2017. Archived from the original on 4 February 2017. Retrieved 2 February 2017.
  9. ^ "Syria rebels form Free Idlib Army". Now News. 23 September 2016. Archived from the original on 5 November 2018. Retrieved 23 September 2016.
  10. ^ "Free Idlib Army's Field commander Amin Haj Ali has been killed tonight in IED blast in Kafransa (Jebal Zawiyah, S. Idlib)". 7 March 2019.
  11. ^ "The commander of the Free Idlib army, Amin Haj Ali, was killed by an explosive device in his car at a petrol station in the town of Kanafra in Jabal al Zawiya south of Idlib Kansafra, Idlib Governorate".
  12. ^ "Jabhat Thuwar Saraqib today joined Free Idlib Army". 16 January 2018.
  13. ^ Abdul Rahman al-Masri (3 May 2017). "Analysis: The Free Idlib Army's Role in the U.S. Battle Against Al-Qaida in Syria". Syria Deeply.
  14. ^ "FSA in Idlib… A new launch towards unified military action". RFS Media Office. 20 September 2016.[permanent dead link‍]
  15. ^ "Russian raid kills 22 fighters from the Free Army in Hama". Feda News. 24 September 2016. Archived from the original on 24 September 2016. Retrieved 23 September 2016.
  16. ^ "11 FSA Factions in New Command in of "National Front Liberation"". Syria Call. 28 May 2018. Archived from the original on 18 November 2018. Retrieved 29 May 2018.
  17. ^ Alwsl, Zaman (August 23, 2016). "Syria rebels form Free Idlib Army". Zaman Alwsl | جريدة زمان الوصل. Retrieved November 11, 2023.