What Are Rebel Forces?

Rebel forces are those armed groups fighting against the Syrian regime in the ongoing civil war in Syria. These forces are mainly secular military units and Islamist militias, with a few factions that have a mix of both.

The most powerful of these is Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which operates primarily in the northwestern province of Idlib. Its success in attacking Assad forces — including capturing much of Aleppo and making progress toward Hama and Homs — is widely credited to its commander and founder, Abu Mohammed al-Jolani. He was once a commander for Al-Qaeda’s official affiliate in Syria, Jabhat al-Nusra, before publicly breaking ties with the global organization and dissolving it. Despite his attempts to distance himself from Al-Qaeda, the United States and other Western countries designated HTS a foreign terrorist organization in 2018, and placed a $10 million bounty on Jolani’s head.

Another notable group of Rebel forces is the SpecForce, or Special Forces. SpecForce is a unit of the Alliance to Restore the Republic led by General Crix Madine, who is known to take his troops more seriously than most other rebels. Members of SpecForce have been known to carry out a variety of heinous acts, such as murdering civilians and burning down buildings. They have also been accused of engaging in a wide range of illegal activities, from smuggling to poaching. This has been corroborated by numerous reports from the Enough Project and CITES, which document well-armed Rebel militias participating in large-scale poaching operations.