Jaysh al-Ahrar

Jaysh al-Ahrar
Army of the Free
Arabic: جيش الأحرار
Leaders
  • Hasim al-Shaykh ("Abu Jaber", founder and commander until Sept. 2017)[1]
  • Khalil Ismail Arslan ("Abu Ismail Gubas", deputy commander) †[2]
  • Walid al-Mushayil ("Abu Hashim", artillery commander)[3]
Dates of operation1 December 2016 – present
Split from Ahrar al-Sham[4]
Group(s)
  • Liwa al-Tamkeen[5]
  • Liwa Ahrar al-Jabal al-Wastani[5]
  • Martyr Ali Mutlaq Battalion[6]
  • al-Naasan Bloc[7]
Active regionsNorthwestern Syria
IdeologySunni Islamism
Size1,500–2,000 (Jan. 2017)[8]
Part of Tahrir al-Sham (Jan.–Sep. 2017) [9]

National Front for Liberation (since Aug. 2018)[3]

Defeat the Invaders Operations Room (Feb.–May 2018)[10]
Allies Tahrir al-Sham Turkistan Islamic Party in Syria
Ahrar al-Sham
Sham Legion
Free Syrian Army[10]
Opponents Syria
 Iran
 Russia
Hezbollah
Battles and warsSyrian Civil War
Websitehttps://twitter.com/jishalahrar

Jaysh al-Ahrar (Arabic: جيش الأحرار, lit. 'Army of the Free'), is an armed Salafi Islamist rebel group in northwestern Syria that originated as a clique composed of 16 units in Ahrar al-Sham that opposed involvement in Operation Euphrates Shield, after a fatwa was released by religious clerics in Jabhat Fatah al-Sham, which led to the group's separation from Ahrar al-Sham.[4]

Most members of the group joined Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) in January 2017. The founding leader of Jaysh al-Ahrar, Hashim al-Shaykh ("Abu Jaber") was appointed as the head of HTS. Jaysh al-Ahrar left HTS in September 2017, and have since then closely cooperated with both HTS and Ahrar al-Sham, as well as other rebel groups in the area.[13]

  1. ^ "16 formations of Ahrar al-Sham unite under "Jaysh al-Ahrar"". Orient News. 21 December 2016. Archived from the original on 17 February 2022. Retrieved 8 August 2018.
  2. ^ "Number-Two man assassinated of "Jaish Al Ahrar" by unknown gunmen". Syria Call. 18 June 2018. Archived from the original on 12 May 2020. Retrieved 8 August 2018.
  3. ^ a b "Meet the leading leaders of the "National Liberation Front"". Enab Baladi. 1 August 2018.
  4. ^ a b c Haid Haid (21 December 2016). "Why Ahrar al-Sham is fighting itself - and how this impacts the battle for Syria". Middle East Eye.
  5. ^ a b Aymenn Jawad Al-Tamimi (7 January 2017). "Syrian Rebel Mergers: A Harakat Nour Al-Din Al-Zinki Perspective".
  6. ^ https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DW0_6NjW0AAmymC.jpg[permanent dead link‍] [bare URL image file]
  7. ^ https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DW_NU9JWsAE-sc1.jpg[permanent dead link‍] [bare URL image file]
  8. ^ "Jaish al-Ahrar: A New Crisis Threatens to Split Ahrar al-Sham". Syrian Observer. 5 January 2017. Archived from the original on 11 August 2018. Retrieved 8 August 2018.
  9. ^ "Jaish al-Ahrar leaves Tahrir al-Sham alliance: statement". Zaman al-Wasl. 14 September 2017.
  10. ^ a b "New FSA Operations Room To Repel Regime Attacks In Northern Syria". Revolutionary Forces of Syria Media Office. 4 February 2018.[permanent dead link‍]
  11. ^ Joško Barić. "Syrian War Daily – 20th of December 2017". Archived from the original on 2017-12-22. Retrieved 2018-08-08.
  12. ^ "Idlib Rebel Groups Unite Under New Joint Operations Room". Enab Baladi. 6 January 2018.
  13. ^ "Tahrir Al-Sham Shrinks to its First Core". Enab Baladi. 17 September 2017.