Syrian opposition

This article is about Syrian opposition during the Syrian Civil War. For other historic opposition in Syria, see Syrian opposition (disambiguation).

Syrian Opposition
المعارضة السورية (Arabic)
al-Muʻaraḍatu al-Sūrīyah
Flag of Syrian opposition
Areas under control of various opposition groups as of January 2024      Interim Government (National Army)      Salvation Government (Tahrir al-Sham)      al-Tanf (Revolutionary Commando Army)
Areas under control of various opposition groups as of January 2024
     Interim Government (National Army)
     Salvation Government (Tahrir al-Sham)
     al-Tanf (Revolutionary Commando Army)
CapitalDamascus (claimed)
Azaz (de facto by SIG)[1][2]

Idlib (de facto by SSG)

Al-Tanf Base (used by Syrian Free Army)
Largest cityDamascus (claimed)
Official languagesArabic
Demonym(s)Syrian
GovernmentUnitary provisional government
• President of the Syrian National Coalition
Hadi al-Bahra
• Prime Minister of interim government
Abdurrahman Mustafa
LegislatureGeneral Assembly / General Shura Council
Establishment
• Formation
15 March 2011
CurrencyTurkish lira,[3][4] Euro, United States dollar and Syrian pound (SYP)
Time zoneUTC+3 (EET)
Drives onright
Calling code+963
ISO 3166 codeSY
Internet TLD.sy
سوريا.
Preceded by
Syrian Arab Republic
Politics of Syrian opposition
Symbols
Constitution
Executive
Legislature
Administrative divisions
Political parties
Foreign relations

The Syrian opposition (Arabic: المعارضة السورية al-Muʻaraḍatu s-Sūrīyah, [almʊˈʕaːɾadˤɑtu s.suːˈɾɪj.ja]) is the political structure represented by the Syrian National Coalition and associated Syrian anti-Assad groups with certain territorial control as an alternative Syrian government.

The Syrian opposition has evolved since the beginning of the Syrian conflict from groups calling for the overthrow of the Assad government in Syria and who have opposed its Ba'athist government.[5] Prior to the Syrian civil war, the term "opposition" (Arabic: المعارضة) had been used to refer to traditional political actors, for example the National Coordination Committee for Democratic Change; that is, groups and individuals who have had a history of dissidence against the Syrian state.[6]

The first opposition 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.[7]

The Syrian uprising phase, from March 2011 until the start of August 2011, was characterized by a consensus for nonviolent struggle among the uprising's participants.[8] 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.[9][10] This occurred 2012, allowing the conflict to meet the definition of "civil war."[11]

Opposition groups in Syria took a new turn in late 2011, during the Syrian Civil War, as they united to form the Syrian National Council (SNC),[12] which has 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, United Kingdom and the United States) being permanent members of the Security Council.[13][14][15][16][17][18]

A broader 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.[19] 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.[20] 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.[21] 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 (HTS).

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 (71 percent in the areas it controlled).[22] 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).[23]

  1. ^ 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.
  2. ^ 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.
  3. ^ Ashawi, Khalil (28 August 2018). "Falling lira hits Syrian enclave backed by Turkey". Reuters.
  4. ^ 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.
  5. ^ "Bashar al-Assad: Facing down rebellion". BBC News. 3 September 2018. Retrieved 29 January 2020.
  6. ^ Sayigh, Yezid. "The Syrian Opposition's Leadership Problem". Carnegie Middle East Center. Retrieved 29 January 2020.
  7. ^ Ghattas, Kim (22 April 2011). "Syria's spontaneously organised protests". BBC News. Retrieved 29 January 2020.
  8. ^ Kouddous, Sharif Abdel (23 August 2012). "How the Syrian Revolution Became Militarized". The Nation. ISSN 0027-8378. Retrieved 29 January 2020.
  9. ^ "Asad's Armed Opposition: The Free Syrian Army". www.washingtoninstitute.org. Retrieved 19 September 2020.
  10. ^ "We Live as in War". Human Rights Watch. 11 November 2011. Retrieved 19 September 2020.
  11. ^ "Syrian Civil War | Facts & Timeline". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 29 January 2020.
  12. ^ "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.
  13. ^ 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.
  14. ^ 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.
  15. ^ "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.
  16. ^ "UK Recognizes Syrian Opposition". International Business Times. 24 February 2012. Retrieved 29 February 2012.
  17. ^ "Libya NTC says recognises Syrian National Council". Khaleej Times. 11 October 2011. Archived from the original on 11 October 2011. Retrieved 10 October 2011.
  18. ^ "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.
  19. ^ "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.
  20. ^ "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.
  21. ^ "Syrian opposition sign joint document in Kazakhstan's Astana". Tengri News. Archived from the original on 10 October 2015. Retrieved 7 November 2015.
  22. ^ "ORB/IIACSS POLL IN IRAQ AND SYRIA GIVES RARE INSIGHT INTO PUBLIC OPINION." ORB International July 2015. PDF link (see tables 1 and 8).
  23. ^ 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.