In the
intelligence report just released by the French, they name three of the rebel groups fighting Assad (Ahrar al-Sham, Faylaq al-Rahman, and Jaysh al-Islam).
But who are these rebels? What are their beliefs and objectives? For the answer, I went to Stanford University's
Mapping Militant Organizations website. I will be highlighting key points from Stanford's analyses.
Ahrar al-Sham
- Ahrar al-Sham, also known as Harakat Ahrar al-Sham al-Islamiyya, or the Islamic Movement of the Free Men of the Levant, is a Sunni Salafist militant group operating in Syria that aims to replace the Assad Regime with an Islamic government
- Since 2012, Ahrar al-Sham has primarily coordinated attacks against the Syrian army and other militants sympathetic to the Assad Regime with Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (Tahrir al-Sham), formerly known as Jabhat al-Nusra
- The U.S. Director of National Intelligence considers Ahrar al-Sham and Tahrir al-Sham among the most effective Syrian opposition groups
- Ahrar al-Sham worked with the Islamic State (IS) until January 2014
- Abu Khalid al-Suri (Unknown to February 23, 2014): Suri, also known as Abu Omeir al-Shami, was one of Ahrar al-Sham’s co-founders. He also acted as Al Qaeda’s (AQ) representative in Syria and was charged with facilitating reconciliation among regional Islamist militants
- Ahrar al-Sham seeks to establish a Sunni Islamic state in Syria
Jaysh al-Islam
- In November 2013, shortly after Jaysh al-Islam was established, the group helped found the Islamic Front, an umbrella organization of 40,000-70,000 fighters that sought to replace the Assad Regime with an Islamic government
- In November 2015, the group placed Syrian soldiers and their families in 100 cages in Eastern Ghouta to deter Assad Regime attacks on civilian areas, such as market and hospitals
- Jaysh al-Islam allegedly used chemical weapons in an attack on the People’s Protection Units and other Kurdish forces in Aleppo in April 2016
- The coalition wants to replace the Assad Regime with a government based on Shariah law
- Expressed a desire to cleanse Damascus of all Shiites and Alawis
Faylaq al-Rahman- The group was founded in 2013 and became the second most prominent opposition force in the Damascus governorate after a merger with the Ajnad al-Sham Islamic Union’s Eastern Ghouta fighters
- A Damascus based group supported by former Al Qaeda affiliate Jabhat Fatah al-Sham, formerly known as Jabhat al-Nusra
So there you have it. All three rebel groups, named specifically by French intelligence, are jihadists who want to turn Syria into an Islamic state governed by a strict interpretation of Sharia law. All three rebel groups named by French intelligence are allied or associated in some way with ISIS and/or AQ.
These are the groups western governments are supporting in Syria; conversely, they're the groups the Syrian government is fighting against.
These are also the groups primarily responsible for originating the chemical weapons allegations against the Syrian government.
Given this, how can anyone want to hinder the Syrian government's efforts to win the civil war? And how can anyone assign even the slightest credibility to the allegations being made against the Syrian government? Is it not painfully obvious that these chemical incidents are being staged by the jihadists in an attempt to frame the Syrian government?
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Originally Posted by Ethereal
