Southern Front (Syrian rebel group)

Southern Front
الجبهة الجنوبية
LeadersSee Leadership
Dates of operation13 February 2014[1][2] – 21 July 2018[3][4][5][6]
HeadquartersAmman[7]
Active regionsDaraa Governorate[8]
Quneitra Governorate[8]
As Suwayda Governorate[8]
Damascus[8]
IdeologySyrian nationalism[9][10]
Anti-authoritarianism[10]
Islamism (factions)[11]
Secularism (factions)[12]
Size25,000 (Nov. 2015);[13] 30,000 (July 2018)[14]
Part ofSyrian opposition Free Syrian Army (disputed)
See Nature of the Front
Allies
Opponents
Battles and warsSyrian Civil War See List of battles
Succeeded by
Syrian Army 5th Corps' and 8th Brigade

The Southern Front (Arabic: الجبهة الجنوبية) was a Syrian rebel alliance consisting of 54 or 58 Syrian opposition factions affiliated with the Free Syrian Army, established on 13 February 2014 in southern Syria.[1][11][17]

By June 2015, the Southern Front controlled about 70 percent of Daraa Governorate, according to the International Institute for Strategic Studies.,[18] but by 2018, the Front was defunct, with most of its fighters either reintegrating into the Syrian Army or fleeing to other FSA held lands in the north.

Claims have been made by the Southern Front itself[19] and by media in Britain,[17] Germany[11] and the United Arab Emirates[20] that the Southern Front is being funded by the US and its allies, possibly through a US-led Military Operations Center (MOC) based in Amman, Jordan. Since its formation, rebels said, field operation rooms have been added inside Syria to improve coordination between units.[7] The coalition was "described by Western officials as the best organized of the mainstream opposition".[21] The constituent groups ranged from secularist groups to moderate religious groups, and the Southern front has been described as a "non-hardline Islamist rebel group" that rejects extremism.[11]

  1. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference caf,page36 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ "Moderate Rebel Groups Unite in Southern Syria". Syrian Observer. 14 February 2014. Archived from the original on 1 December 2017. Retrieved 14 November 2014.
  3. ^ "Rebels suffer worst defeat of war after losing #Daraa to Syrian Army - map". Al-Masdar. 21 July 2018. Archived from the original on 1 September 2018. Retrieved 8 September 2018.
  4. ^ "Syrian Government forces seal victory in southern territories". Guardian. 31 July 2018. Retrieved 14 August 2018.
  5. ^ "Syrian army continues push into Quneitra amid ongoing evacuations". Al Jazeera. 22 July 2018. Retrieved 24 July 2018.
  6. ^ Musa, Esref; Karacaoglu, Burak (23 July 2018). "3rd convoy of evacuees from Quneitra arrive in Idlib". Anadolu Agency. Retrieved 24 July 2018.
  7. ^ a b Rosenthal, Max J. (15 May 2014). "Syrian Rebels Say Southern Front Strategy Hasn't Hurt Assad Yet". The Huffington Post. Retrieved 14 November 2014.
  8. ^ a b c d Aron Lund (21 March 2014). "Does the "Southern Front" Exist?". Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Retrieved 14 November 2014.
  9. ^ Sayigh, Yezid (29 May 2015). "Coming Challenges for Syria's Rebels". Carnegie Middle East Center. Al-Hayat. Retrieved 30 May 2015. nationalist rebels in the south
  10. ^ a b "The Free Syrian Army – Southern Front: Transitional Phase". Revolutionary Forces of Syria Media Office. 15 December 2014. Archived from the original on 10 August 2018. Retrieved 30 May 2015. It is imperative that all nationalist forces commit to a course of action during the period of transition from authoritarianism that will fulfill the popular will [...] The current constitution will be immediately suspended and replaced by the original constitution of 1950 as an interim constitution until the drafting of a permanent constitution for the country that shall be approved by a popular referendum.
  11. ^ a b c d Haid, Haid (21 August 2015). "The Southern Front: allies without a strategy". Heinrich Böll Foundation. Retrieved 30 August 2015.
  12. ^ Rand, Dafna H.; Heras, Nicholas (29 December 2014). "The South Will Rise Again". Foreign Policy. Retrieved 5 June 2015.
    Williams, Sara Elizabeth (26 May 2014). "A rebel rift is brewing on Syria's southern front". Vice News. Retrieved 5 June 2015.
  13. ^ "Yes, there are 70,000 moderate opposition fighters in Syria. Here's what we know about them - Coffee House". 27 November 2015. Archived from the original on 24 October 2016. Retrieved 10 October 2016.
  14. ^ "Who are the rebels in southern Syria?". AFP. Retrieved 4 July 2018.
  15. ^ "FSA Launches a New Battle against IS Group in the Desert of #Syrian". en.eldorar.com.[permanent dead link‍]
  16. ^ "Islamic State raises flags over towns in Daraa after fierce battles". Middle East Eye. 21 March 2016.
  17. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference bbc9Dec2014 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  18. ^ Naylor, Hugh (10 June 2015). "Moderate rebels take key southern base in Syria, dealing blow to Assad". The Washington Post. Retrieved 10 June 2015. Emile Hokayem, a Middle East analyst at the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies, said the fall of Brigade 52 weakens government defenses around the capital [...] "The Southern Front is now showing itself as an increasingly effective buffer against Islamist rebels as well as an effective means for applying pressure on the Assad regime," Hokayem said. The rebels control about 70 percent of Daraa and are poised to seize the provincial capital from Assad's forces, he said.
  19. ^ Cite error: The named reference AP NEWS 2014 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  20. ^ Maayeh, Suha; Sands, Phil (25 November 2014). "Syria's southern rebels draw up new game plan". The National. Retrieved 30 May 2015.
  21. ^ Perry, Tom (30 May 2015). "Syria rebels in south emerge as West's last hope as moderates crushed elsewhere". Reuters. Retrieved 14 November 2014.