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A recently released statement by a large group of Syrian rebel factions seems to show some level of support for the peace process initiated by United Nations.
Details regarding internal disputes in the Nusra Front have recently leaked out raising questions about the future of the group.
Despite a newly unveiled plan to stem the violence in Syria, experts remain skeptical of the prospects for peace.
A recent meeting of Syrian rebel commanders in Turkey called for a new Supreme Military Council for the Free Syrian Army. The announcement was not simply a step toward unity but a calculated political move.
In what may be the latest in a string of losses for the Syrian army, President Bashar al-Assad may be about to lose control of another provincial capital, Daraa.
With no discernible end or victor in sight, stateless violence and spheres of influence controlled by various factions may become the norm in Syria.
A wide coalition of Syrian rebel groups have announced that they will boycott political talks proposed by the United Nations. Aron Lund interviews Subhi al-Refai on these developments.
The debate has raged for several years over whether the Assad regime is on the verge of collapse. But there is a more important question not being asked.
Without U.S. backing and approval, a large-scale Arab and Turkish military intervention in Syria isn’t likely. But that’s not the only way to increase pressure on Assad.
The once promising Levant Front in Aleppo has announced its dissolution after just four months.
Two of Syria’s most prominent rebel groups—Ahrar al-Sham and Suqour al-Sham—have announced their merger into the Ahrar al-Sham Islamic Movement. But will it last?
The execution of Kasasbeh could catalyze increased criticism of Jordan’s government for its involvement in the U.S.-led coalition fighting the Islamic State—a decision taken at the highest levels of the state with neither transparency, public involvement, nor parliamentary approval.
On Christmas Day, the largest Sunni Islamist rebel groups in Syria’s Aleppo Governorate announced that they have united under a joint command. Whatever strategic choices they make, Syria’s bitterly divided rebels will need all the unity they can get to deal with the challenges ahead.
A military confrontation is building up between two powerful jihadist factions, the Islamic State and the Nusra Front, in southern and southwestern Syria and as the balance shifts, the Islamic State stands poised to grow in new regions.
The Revolutionary Command Council has arrived in a time of crisis for Syria’s rebels. If it survives its formative period without major splits, it may well establish itself as the new political framework for most of the Syrian opposition.
Ahrar al-Sham has long been seen as one of the “swing voters” of the Syrian insurgency, and it may turn out to be pivotal in the current struggle for northwestern Syria.
With the al-Qaeda-linked Nusra Front consolidating its control over key regions in Idlib, the group now appears to be the single strongest faction in northwestern Syria, shifting the power on the ground.
The killing of Ahrar al-Sham’s leadership will have major ripple effects in the opposition.
Leaving Iraq’s second-largest city of Mosul in rebel hands could fatally undermine Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s already weak legitimacy as a national leader. But even if the army were to recapture all or most of the rebel-held cities, the Mosul debacle has already dealt a tremendous blow not only to Maliki but to the Iraqi state as well.
Since the militarization of the Syrian uprising, Raqqa has been a strategically vital region for all armed groups. Now under the control of ISIS, Raqqa has become a hub where ISIS militants are gathered and dispatched to other battlegrounds across the country.