List of armed factions in the Syrian Civil War

A number of states and armed groups have involved themselves in the Syrian civil war (2011–present) as belligerents. The main groups are the Syrian Arab Republic and allies, the Syrian opposition and allies, Al-Qaeda and affiliates, Islamic State, and the originally mostly Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces.

Syrian Arab Republic and allies
A number of sources have emphasized that as of at least late-2015/early-2016 the Syrian Arab Republic was dependent on a mix of volunteers and militias, rather than the Syrian Armed Forces. Between 2016 and 2020, with the help of Russia and Iran, the Syrian Arab Armed Forces were rebuilt and united most of the armed militias.

Syrian Armed Forces
The Syrian Armed Forces are made up of the Syrian Arab Army (includes Republican Guard), Syrian Naval Forces, Syrian Air Forces and Syrian Air Defense Forces. Before the uprising and war broke out, the Syrian Armed Forces were estimated at 295,000 regular troops and 314,000 reservists. While the higher positions in the army were mostly occupied by Alawites, the ground troops were mostly made up of Sunnis, and once the uprisings began, the Syrian regime hesitated to employ these troops against the Sunni rebels. Therefore, the army relied on loyal elite units and Alawite militias such as the Shabiha. Due to defections following the uprisings, by the end of 2013 the number of regular troops had decreased to around 110,000. As of 2024, the Syrian Army was estimated at 169,000 active troops. Most of the divisions in the army are under-strength, but Russia has been assisting in the reconstruction and re-equipment of some divisions.

National Defense Forces
The Syrian NDF (Arabic: قوات الدفاع الوطني Quwāt ad-Difāʿ al-Watanī) was formed out of pro-government militias in 2013. The forces act in an infantry role, directly fighting against rebels on the ground and running counter-insurgency operations in coordination with the army, who provides them with logistical and artillery support. Many of the fighters are trained in Iran, and they receive their salaries and military equipment from the Syrian government. As of 2024, the NDF numbers around 50,000 troops. The forces have a 500-strong women's wing called "Lionesses of National Defense" which operates checkpoints. The NDF are mostly made up of Alawites, but many of the Syrian Christian militias (such as Sootoro in Al-Hasakah) also fight on the Syrian government's side to defend their ancient towns, villages and farmsteads from ISIL (see also Christian Militias in Syria).

Shabiha
The Shabiha (Levantine Arabic: شَبِّيحَة Šabbīḥa, ; also romanized Shabeeha or Shabbiha; lit. 'ghosts') are unofficial pro-government militias drawn largely from Syria's Alawite minority group. Since the uprising, the Baathist Syrian government has been accused of using Shabiha to break up protests and enforce laws in restive neighborhoods. As the protests escalated into an armed conflict, the opposition started using the term Shabiha to describe civilians they suspected of supporting Bashar al-Assad and the Syrian government and clashing with pro-opposition demonstrators. The opposition blames the Shabiha for the many violent excesses committed against anti-government protesters and opposition sympathizers, as well as looting and destruction.

The Shabiha phenomenon started in the 1980s, not as one specific group but as a number of criminal and semi-criminal groups affiliated with the Assad clan. Bassel al-Assad attempted to curtail their activities in the 1990s but did not fully succeed. The Shabiha have been described as "a notorious Alawite paramilitary, who are accused of acting as unofficial enforcers for Assad's government"; "gunmen loyal to Assad", and, according to the Qatar-based Arab Center for Research and Policy Studies, "semi-criminal gangs comprisedof [sic] thugs close to the government". Despite the group's image as an Alawite militia, some Shabiha operating in Aleppo have been reported to be Sunnis.

Hezbollah
Hezbollah is an Iran-backed Shia armed group and political force based in Lebanon. On 25 May 2013, its leader Hassan Nasrallah confirmed that Hezbollah troops were fighting with the Syrian army against Islamic extremists and pledged that "his group will not allow Syrian militants to control areas that border Lebanon". In the televised address, he said, "If Syria falls in the hands of America, Israel and the takfiris, the people of our region will go into a dark period." He also called on Shiites and Hezbollah to protect the shrine of Sayida Zeinab. President Bashar al-Assad had denied earlier that May that there were foreign fighters, Arab or otherwise, fighting for the government in Syria.

Hezbollah's decision to aid the Syrian government is most likely due to the fact that they enjoy the protection of the government when it comes to the group's arms procurement and storage in Syria. Syria forms an important access corridor between Hezbollah in Lebanon and their supporter, Iran, and the survival of a regime that was friendly to Hezbollah was in the group's best interest.

In 2012 and 2013, Hezbollah was active in gaining control of territory in the Homs Governorate in Syria. By May 2013 the group was publicly collaborating with the Syrian Army and helping them to gain control of 60 percent of Al-Qusayr by May 14th. In Lebanon, an increase in the funerals of Hezbollah fighters was reported, as well as the shelling of Hezbollah-controlled areas by Syrian rebels.

According to independent analysts, by the beginning of 2014, approximately 500 Hezbollah fighters had died in the Syrian conflict. In 2014, Nasrallah claimed the Hezbollah fighters had helped Assad take back control over the country, and that the Syrian regime was no longer in danger of being toppled. The current number of Hezbollah troops in Syria is estimated to be around 7000-8000.

Iran


Since the civil uprising phase of the Syrian civil war, Iran has provided the Syrian Arab Republic with financial, technical, and military support, including the training and sending of combat troops. Iran and Syria are close strategic allies, as Iran sees the survival of the Assad government as being crucial to its regional interests. Iran's supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, was reported to be vocally in favor of the Baathist government.

By December 2013, Iran was thought to have approximately 10,000 operatives in Syria. But according to Jubin Goodarzi, assistant professor and researcher at Webster University, Iran aided Baathist Syria with a limited number of deployed units and personnel, "at most in the hundreds ... and not in the thousands as opposition sources claimed". Lebanese Hezbollah fighters backed by Tehran have taken direct combat roles since 2012. In the summer of 2013, Iran and Hezbollah provided important battlefield support for Syrian forces, allowing them to make advances on the opposition. In 2014, coinciding with the peace talks at Geneva II, Iran has stepped up support for Syrian President Assad. The Syrian Minister of Finance and Economy stated more than 15 billion dollars had come from the Iranian government. Prior to his assassination, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps's Quds Force commander Qasem Soleimani was in charge of Syrian President Assad's security portfolio and oversaw the arming and training of thousands of pro-government Shi'ite fighters.

By 2015, 328 IRGC troops, including several commanders, had reportedly been killed in the Syrian civil war since it began. As of 2024, the estimated number of Iranian troops in Syria is 1500.

Foreign Shia militias
Besides training and sending troops, Iran has also recruited Shia fighters from Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan to fight on behalf of the Syrian Arab Republic. The number of Afghans fighting in Syria has been estimated at "between 10,000 and 18,000" at its height, but is currently estimated between 500-1500. The main force composed of Afghan fighters is the liwa' fatimiyun (Fatemiyoun Brigade), which was found in late 2012. The number of Pakistani fighters is much lower, between 800 and 2500, and concentrated in the liwa' zaynabiyun (Zaynabiyun Brigade) formed in November 2015. Many or most of the fighters were refugees living in Iran, and survivors and defectors of the Fatemiyoun reported being coerced or bribed into joining the militia, and being sent to the most dangerous front lines with little to no training.

Russia


On 30 September 2015, Russia launched a military intervention in Syria to support the government of Bashar al-Assad in its fight against the Syrian opposition and Islamic State (IS). The Russian government and the Assad government had long been allies, and the fall of the regime would have meant the loss of an important Russian ally in the region. The Russian forces proved to be a deciding factor in the war, helping the Assad regime to stay in power. The Syrian war became an important testing ground and boost for Russian mercenary armies, such as the Wagner Group. In 2022, Russia withdrew most of their troops from Syria, to reinforce their army at the front in Ukraine. As of 2024, the estimated number of Russian troops in Syria is 4000.

In a March 2023 interview with Russian media, Assad stated that he would welcome more Russian troops and military bases in Syrian territory.

Syrian National Council
Formed on 23 August 2011, the National Council is a coalition of anti-government groups, based in Turkey. The group includes signatories of the 2005 Damascus Declaration, the Syrian Muslim Brotherhood, Kurdish and Assyrian factions, representatives of Alawi communities and Local Coordination Committees. The National Council seeks the end of Bashar al-Assad's rule and the establishment of a modern, civil, democratic state. SNC has links with the Free Syrian Army. The Kurdish parties eventually left the Council, after it resisted their demands for political decentralisation.

Syrian National Coalition
On 11 November 2012 in Doha, the National Council and other opposition groups united as the National Coalition of Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces. The Syrian National Council has 22 out of 60 seats of the Syrian National Coalition. The following day, it was recognised as the legitimate government of Syria by numerous Arab Gulf states, and later by the US, France, Turkey, Spain and the UK as well.

Delegates to the Coalition's leadership council are to include women and representatives of religious and ethnic minorities, including Alawites. The military council will reportedly include the Free Syrian Army. The main aims of the National Coalition are replacing the Bashar al-Assad government and "its symbols and pillars of support", "dismantling the security services", unifying and supporting the Free Syrian Army, refusing dialogue and negotiation with the al-Assad government, and "holding accountable those responsible for killing Syrians, destroying [Syria], and displacing [Syrians]."

The NC was criticised for their weak political and organisational dynamics, caused by internal power conflicts. The NC's main function was to coordinate the humanitarian assistance, instead of forming a real political leadership.

Interim Government
In 2013, after pressure from France, Turkey and Qatar, the Syrian National Coalition formed the Syrian Interim Government (SIG), in order to rule the territories which had been liberated from the regime. The SIG was created to give the opposition movement more legitimacy 'on the ground', by offering humanitarian assistance and governance. The minister of defence was to be chosen by the Free Syrian Army. The interim government's headquarters in Syria are located in the city of Azaz in Aleppo Governorate. As of June 2019 its prime minister is Abdurrahman Mustafa and as of July 2021 its president is Salem al-Meslet.

Free Syrian Army and affiliate groups
The formation of the Free Syrian Army (FSA) was announced on 29 July 2011 by a group of defecting Syrian Army officers, encouraging others to defect to defend civilian protesters from violence by the state and effect government change. By December 2011, estimates of the number of defectors to the FSA ranged from 1,000 to over 25,000. The group received weaponry, provisions and money from regional states such as Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Turkey, and from the US. The FSA, initially "headquartered" in Turkey, moved its headquarters to northern Syria in September 2012, and currently functions more as an umbrella organisation than a traditional military chain of command.

The group started out with guerilla-style raids and ambushes, but as they gathered more members more complex assault tactics were used.



The designation of the FSA by the West as a moderate opposition faction has allowed it, under the CIA-run programmes, to receive sophisticated weaponry and other military support from the U.S., Turkey and some Gulf countries. However, the aid which was coming in from other countries did not flow through a centralised command but in a fragmented way, based on personal contacts, which led to internal rivalries within the FSA.

Abu Yusaf, a commander of the Islamic State (IS), claimed in August 2014 that many of the FSA members who had been trained by United States' and Turkish and Arab military officers ended up joining IS. However, by September 2014 the Free Syrian Army was joining an alliance and common front with Kurdish militias including the YPG to fight IS.

In December 2015, according to the American Institute for the Study of War, groups identifying as FSA were still present around Aleppo and Hama and in southern Syria, and the FSA was still "the biggest and most secular of the rebel groups." However, the group continued to suffer losses from fighters who joined the Syrian Democratic Forces or IS.

After the Turkish military intervention in Syria in 2016, and as other countries began to scale back their involvement, the FSA became more dependent on Turkish help. For the FSA, Turkey was a sanctuary and a source of supplies. From late August 2016, the Turkish government assembled a new coalition of Syrian rebel groups, including many that were in the FSA. Often referred to as the Turkish-backed Free Syrian Army (TFSA), this force would adopt the name Syrian National Army in 2017.

By March 2017, the FSA together with Kurdish militias finished clearing the Islamic State from the north of Syria.

The FSA currently works in the 55 km area, alongside the border with Iraq and Jordan to prevent drug trafficking and IS activity in the region.

Syrian National Army
On 30 December 2017, at least 30 factions operating under the banner of the Syrian Interim Government merged in a unified armed group after four months of preparations. Jawad Abu Hatab, the Prime Minister and the Defence Minister, announced the forming of the Syrian National Army after meeting with rebel commanders in the town of Azaz. The newly formed body claimed to have 22,000 fighters, many of them trained and equipped by Turkey. Though concentrated in Turkish-occupied areas, originally as a part of Operation Euphrates Shield, the SNA also established a presence in the Idlib Governorate during the 2019 northwestern Syria offensive, and consolidated its presence when the National Front for Liberation joined the SNA on 4 October 2019.

The official aims of the group are to assist the Republic of Turkey in creating a "safe zone" in Syria, and to establish a National Army. They are strong opponents of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), and have also fought the Islamic State (ISIL) and, to a lesser extent, the Baathist Syrian government's Syrian Arab Army. The SNA has a law enforcement equivalent, the Free Police, which is also backed by Turkey. The SNA currently controls the Afrin area, and nearby areas of Syria bordering Turkey, including the town of Jarabalus. They are currently estimated to have around 70,000 fighters, and have been involved in clashes with the group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham since 2022.

National Coordination Committee for Democratic Change
Formed in 2011 and based in Damascus, the National Coordination Committee for Democratic Change is an opposition bloc consisting of 13 left-wing and Arab nationalist political parties and "independent political and youth activists". It has been defined by Reuters as the internal opposition's main umbrella group. In 2011, the group organised its first conference, opposing militarisation, internationalisation and sectarianisation of the uprising. Initially, the NCC had several Kurdish political parties as members, but all except for the Democratic Union Party left in October 2011 to join the Kurdish National Council.

Relations with other Syrian political opposition groups are generally poor. In 2011, the on-the-ground protest movement rejected the NCC in favour of the Syrian National Council (SNC). The Syrian Revolution General Commission, the Local Coordination Committees of Syria and the Supreme Council of the Syrian Revolution oppose the NCC' calls to dialogue with the Baathist government. Some of the organisations have accused the NCC of being a "front organisation" for Bashar al-Assad's government and some of its members of being ex-government insiders. In September 2012, the SNC reaffirmed that despite broadening its membership, it would not join with "currents close to [the] NCC". Despite the NCC recognising the Free Syrian Army on 23 September 2012, the FSA has dismissed the NCC as an extension of the government, stating that "this opposition is just the other face of the same coin".

In June 2023, the NCC came to an agreement with the Syrian Democratic Council and the two groups published a "consensus document" in which they stated their shared goals and visions for the future of Syria. These goals include the drafting of a new constitution, the rejection of separatist and divisive groups and the establishment of one united national democratic front.

Al-Qaeda and affiliates
Al-Qaeda is a jihadist militant group that was found in 1988 in Pakistan by Osama Bin Laden. Several groups aligned with Al-Qaeda have become armed actors in the Syrian Civil War.

Al-Nusra Front / Jabhat Fateh al-Sham
Prior to the expansion of ISIL, al-Qaeda's Syrian affiliate, the al-Nusra Front was often considered to be the most aggressive and violent part of the opposition. Being responsible for over 50 suicide bombings, including several deadly explosions in Damascus in 2011 and 2012, it was recognized as a terrorist organization by the Syrian Arab Republic and was designated as such by United States in December 2012. In April 2013, the leader of the Islamic State of Iraq released an audio statement announcing that al-Nusra Front is its branch in Syria. The leader of al-Nusra, Abu Mohammad al-Julani, said that the group would not merge with the Islamic State of Iraq but would still maintain allegiance to Ayman al-Zawahiri, the leader of al-Qaeda. From 2012 to 2016, the estimated manpower of al-Nusra Front was approximately 6,000–10,000 people, including many foreign fighters.

The relationship between the al-Nusra Front and the indigenous Syrian opposition was tense, even though al-Nusra has fought alongside the FSA in several battles and some FSA fighters defected to the al-Nusra Front. The Mujahideen's strict religious views and willingness to impose sharia law disturbed many Syrians. Some rebel commanders have accused foreign jihadists of "stealing the revolution", robbing Syrian factories and displaying religious intolerance.

The al-Nusra Front renamed itself Jabhat Fateh al-Sham (JFS) in June 2016. In 2017, the group merged together with other groups into Hayat Tahrir al-Sham.

Hayat Tahrir al-Sham
In January 2017, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) was formed when al-Nusra joined with other Salafi factions Ansar al-Din Front, Jaysh al-Sunna, the Nour al-Din al-Zenki Movement and Liwa al-Haqq. (The Ansar al-Din Front and the Nour al-Din al-Zenki Movement have since split off). The newly-formed HTS went on to gain more followers from defectors from Ahrar al-Sham. HTS fighters went after IS militants who fled to Idlib after their defeat and cracked down on Hurras al-Din, another militant group with ties to al-Qaeda.

In November 2017, HTS created the Syrian Salvation government, an alternative government of the Syrian Opposition which currently governs parts of the Idlib Governorate. It is seen as illegitimate by the opposition's main Syrian Interim Government. Initially, the Salvation government harshly enforced a strict interpretation of Islamic law, but in recent years the group has become more tolerant. The religious police has been disbanded and the HTS leader is advocating against the US designation of the group as a terrorist organisation, calling it "unfair". Contrary to al-Qaeda, HTS does not strive to create a global caliphate but is more locally oriented, with its primary objective being the establishment of Islamic rule in Syria through “toppling the criminal [Assad] regime and expelling the Iranian militias." The group gains money through spoils captured from the regime and opposition factions, prisoner exchange deals, the plunder of historical sites and the selling of artifacts, the claiming of private property from Christians and government supporters, and through taxes.

The current leader of HTS is Abu Mohammad al-Julani. The group had an estimated 10,000 members in 2024. HTS has denied being part of al-Qaeda and said in a statement that it is "an independent entity and not an extension of previous organisations or factions". The group has been involved in fierce clashes with the Syrian National Army in the north of Syria since 2022. In the beginning of 2024, protests broke out across Idlib province against HTS, their mismanagement of the local economy, and the detention and torture of political prisoners.

Hurras al-Din
Tanzim Hurras al-Din is a Salafi Jihadist group that was formed as a merger between several al-Qaeda aligned factions in February 2018. The head of the group, Abu Humam al-Shami, is a Syrian who fought with al-Qaeda in Afghanistan during the 1990s and previously with the al-Nusra Front, but who left when the group broke official ties with al-Qaeda. Since 2020, Hurras al-Din has not been officially endorsed by al-Qaeda. The group is currently estimated to have around 2500 fighters, an estimated half of whom are foreign fighters, a much higher percentage than in HTS.

Islamic State
The group called Dā'ash or the Islamic State (abbrv. IS, ISIL or ISIS), began to make rapid military gains in Northern Syria starting in April 2013 and as of mid-2014 controlled large parts of that region, where the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights described it as "the strongest group". The group strives to establish a global caliphate, by waging war on the "disbelievers". It has imposed strict Sharia law over land that it controls. The group was found by the Iraqi fighter Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, and had an estimated 7,000 fighters in Syria, including many non-Syrians, by the end of 2013. IS was originally affiliated with al-Qaeda, until al-Qaeda officially severed ties with the group in early 2014.

The group gathered international attention for its gruesome abuses of human rights and for not tolerating non-Islamist militia groups, foreign journalists or aid workers, whose members it has expelled, imprisoned, or executed. Just across the border from Syria in Iraq, IS has carried out a genocide of the Yazidi people, killing hundreds of men, enslaving thousands of women and children and expelling the Yazidis from their homeland.

By summer 2014, ISIL controlled a third of Syria. It established itself as the dominant force of Syrian opposition, defeating Jabhat al-Nusra in Deir Ezzor Governorate and claiming control over most of Syria's oil and gas production. Mostly, the group was engaging in offensives against the Syrian Armed Forces and the Free Syrian Army, but they also targeted the Syrian Democratic Forces. ISIL have planted bombs in the ancient city area of Palmyra, which is counted as a UNESCO World Heritage Site as it is home to some of the most extensive and best-preserved ancient Roman ruins in the world. Having lost nearly half of their territory in Iraq between 2014 and 2016, some Islamic State leaders in Iraq moved into Syria, further destabilising the region.

Starting in 2014, an international coalition of states intervened against ISIL. A number of countries, including some individual NATO members, participated in air operations in Syria that came to be overseen by the Combined Joint Task Force, set up by the US Central Command to coordinate military efforts against ISIL pursuant to their collectively undertaken commitments, including those of 3 December 2014. Those who have conducted airstrikes in Syria include the United States, Australia, Bahrain, Canada, France, Jordan, the Netherlands, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, and the United Kingdom. Some members are involved in the conflict beyond combating ISIL; Turkey has been accused of fighting against Kurdish forces in Syria and Iraq, including intelligence collaborations with ISIL in some cases. As of December 2017, Russia declared ISIL to be totally defeated within Syria. At the end of 2018, the US declared it defeated, although its UK and German allies disagreed. On 23 March 2019 the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces declared ISIS Defeated, after seizing their last enclave of territory. In October 2019, the US assassinated IS leader al-Baghdadi. ISIL named Abu Ibrahim al Hashimi al-Qurayshi as Baghdadi's successor. As of 2024, ISIL continues to be active militarily in Northeast Syria, although it has lost almost all of its territory. Instead, most of the group's activity nowadays is carried out by affiliate branches in Afghanistan, Pakistan and various countries in Africa. Some international forces have remained in Syria to carry out missions against IS members and to prevent a resurgence of the movement.

AANES
The Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria, also known as Rojava, is a de facto autonomous region in northeastern Syria. It consists of self-governing sub-regions in the areas of Afrin, Jazira, Euphrates, Raqqa, Tabqa, Manbij, and Deir Ez-Zor. The region gained its de facto autonomy in 2012 in the context of the ongoing Rojava conflict and the wider Syrian civil war, in which its official military force, the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), has taken part. The Syrian Democratic Council is the political wing of the Syrian Democratic Forces and serves as the legislative government of the AANES.

Syrian Democratic Council
The Syrian Democratic Council was established on 10 December 2015 in al-Malikiyah. It was co-founded by prominent human rights activist Haytham Manna and was intended as the political wing of the Syrian Democratic Forces. The council includes more than a dozen blocs and coalitions that support federalism in Syria, including the Movement for a Democratic Society, the Kurdish National Alliance in Syria, the Law–Citizenship–Rights Movement, and since September 2016, the Syria's Tomorrow Movement. In March 2016 the Council declared the creation of an autonomous federation in Northeast Syria and in August that year they opened a public office in al-Hasakah.

The Syrian Democratic Council was excluded from the international Geneva III peace talks on Syria in March 2016, as well as other talks since, because of opposition from the Turkish state.

Syrian Democratic Forces
The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) are an alliance of mainly Kurdish but also Arab, Syriac-Assyrian, and Turkmen militias with mainly left-wing and democratic confederalist political leanings. They are opposed to the Assad government, but have directed most of their efforts against Al-Nusra Front and ISIL.

The group formed in December 2015, led primarily by the predominantly Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG). Estimates of its size range from 55,000 to 80,000 fighters. While largely Kurdish, it is estimated that about 40% of the fighters are non-Kurdish. Kurds – mostly Sunni Muslims, with a small minority of Yezidis – represented 10% of Syria's population at the start of the uprising in 2011. They had suffered from decades of discrimination and neglect, being deprived of basic civil, cultural, economic, and social rights. When protests began, Assad's government finally granted citizenship to an estimated 200,000 stateless Kurds, in an effort to try and neutralize potential Kurdish opposition. Despite this concession, most Kurds remain opposed to the government, hoping instead for a more decentralized Syria based on federalism. The Syriac Military Council, like many Syriac-Assyrian militias (such as Khabour Guards, Nattoreh, and Sutoro), originally formed to defend Assyrian villages, but joined the Kurdish forces to retake Hasakah from ISIS in late 2015 The Female Protection Forces of the Land Between the Two Rivers is an all-female force of Assyrian fighters in north east Syria fighting ISIS alongside other Assyrian and Kurdish units.

The Syrian Democratic Forces have received military and economic support from the US, which regards the group as an important ally in their fight against IS.