Fares Bayoush (, born 1970) is a former lieutenant colonel in the

Syrian Arab Air Force The Syrian Air Force () is the air force branch of the Syrian Armed Forces. It was established in 1948, and first saw action in the 1948 Arab–Israeli War. Under Ba'athist Syria until December 8, 2024, it was known as the Syrian Arab Air Force ...

who defected to the

Free Syrian Army The Free Syrian Army (FSA; ) is a Big tent, big-tent coalition of decentralized Syrian opposition (2011–2024), Syrian opposition rebel groups in the Syrian civil war founded on 29 July 2011 by Colonel Riad al-Asaad and six officers who defe ...

in 2012.

Military activities in the Syrian Air Force

In 1990, Fares Bayoush joined a Syrian Air Force technical institute and graduated as a lieutenant colonel in 1992. From there he became an aircraft engineer and an officer of the Syrian Air Force's 24th Brigade. He was stationed in the Deir ez-Zor Airport.

Syrian Civil War

On 1 April 2011, during the

civil uprising phase of the Syrian Civil War The Syrian revolution, also known as the Syrian Revolution of Dignity, was a series of mass protests and civilian uprisings throughout Syria – with a subsequent violent reaction by the Ba'athist regime – lasting from 15 March 2011 to 8 De ...

, Fares Bayoush went from

Deir ez-Zor Deir ez-Zor () is the largest city in eastern Syria and the seventh largest in the country. Located on the banks of the Euphrates to the northeast of the capital Damascus, Deir ez-Zor is the capital of the Deir ez-Zor Governorate. In the 2018 ...

and traveled to the town of

Kafr Nabl Kafr Nabl (, also spelled Kafranbel or Kafr Nabil) is a town administratively belonging to the Idlib Governorate and Ma'arrat al-Numan District in northwestern Syria. It is situated above sea level. In the 2004 census by the Syrian Central Bur ...

in the

Idlib Governorate Idlib Governorate ( / ALA-LC: ''Muḥāfaẓat Idlib'') is one of the 14 governorates of Syria. It is situated in northwestern Syria, bordering Turkey's Hatay province to the north, Aleppo Governorate to the east, Hama Governorate to the sou ...

. He returned to Deir ez-Zor and contacted other officers to organize a

mutiny Mutiny is a revolt among a group of people (typically of a military or a crew) to oppose, change, or remove superiors or their orders. The term is commonly used for insubordination by members of the military against an officer or superior, ...

in the Deir ez-Zor Airbase. They were arrested by the Air Force Intelligence Directorate and transferred to the Mezzeh Military Airport under detainment. Fares Bayoush and two other military officers were released in June 2012. The next month, they announced their defection from the

Syrian Armed Forces The Syrian Armed Forces () are the military forces of Syria. Up until the fall of Bashar al-Assad's Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party – Syria Region, Ba'ath Party Ba'athist Syria, regime in December 2024, the Syrian Arab Armed Forces were the sta ...

and joined the

. They then headed back to Deir ez-Zor to join the rebels there, where heavy clashes between the government and the rebels occurred. He returned to the Idlib Governorate and joined the Knights of Justice Brigade. The group took part in the battles in the province, including the Battle of Maarrat al-Nu'man where Bayoush was

wounded in action Wounded in action (WIA) describes combatants who have been wounded while fighting in a combat zone during wartime, but have not been killed. Typically, it implies that they are temporarily or permanently incapable of bearing arms or continuing ...

. In December 2013, Fares Bayoush and Lt. Col. Ahmad al-Saud of the 13th Division were captured by the

Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant The Islamic State (IS), also known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and Daesh, is a transnational Salafi jihadist organization and unrecognized quasi-state. IS occupied signi ...

. The two were released after pressure by other rebel groups, including the Idlib Military Council. Later in 2014, the group received

BGM-71 TOW The BGM-71 TOW ("Tube-launched, Optically tracked, wire-guided missile, Wire-guided", pronounced ) is an American anti-tank missile. TOW replaced much smaller missiles like the SS.10 and ENTAC, offering roughly twice the effective range, a more ...

anti-tank missile An anti-tank guided missile (ATGM), anti-tank missile, anti-tank guided weapon (ATGW) or anti-armor guided weapon is a missile guidance, guided missile primarily designed to hit and destroy armoured fighting vehicle, heavily armored military v ...

s from the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. The Knights of Justice Brigade and other FSA groups in Idlib cooperated with

al-Qaeda , image = Flag of Jihad.svg , caption = Jihadist flag, Flag used by various al-Qaeda factions , founder = Osama bin Laden{{Assassinated, Killing of Osama bin Laden , leaders = {{Plainlist, * Osama bin Lad ...

al-Nusra Front Al-Nusra Front or Jabhat al-Nusra or Jabhat Nusrat Ahl al-Sham, also known as Front for the Conquest of the Levant, and also later known as Jabhat Fatah al-Sham was a Salafi-jihadist organization that fought against Ba'athist Syria, Ba'athist ...

. In September 2014, Fares Bayoush condemned the

American-led intervention in Syria {{Infobox military conflict , width = 440px , conflict = US intervention in the Syrian civil war , partof = Operation Inherent Resolve, the war against the Islamic State, and the foreign involvement in the S ...

against the ISIL and the al-Nusra Front. In an interview in 2015, Bayoush stated that "We have to work with Nusra Front and other groups to fight the regime and Daesh". In late 2015, the Knights of Justice Brigade and other FSA groups such as the Mountain Hawks Brigade, both supported by the US, were targeted with Russian airstrikes during the Russian military intervention in Syria.

Political activities and resignation

Fares Bayoush was one of the

Syrian opposition Syrians () are the majority inhabitants of Syria, indigenous to the Levant, most of whom have Arabic, especially its Levantine and Mesopotamian dialects, as a mother tongue. The cultural and linguistic heritage of the Syrian people is a blend ...

delegates during the Astana peace talks which began on 23 January 2017. On 31 January 2017, Lt. Col. Fares Bayoush resigned from his positions in the Northern Division and the

Free Idlib Army The Free Idlib Army ( ''Jaysh ʾIdlib al-Ḥarr'') was a Syrian rebel coalition consisting of 3 armed groups from northwestern Syria affiliated with the Free Syrian Army: the 13th Division (Syrian rebel group), 13th Division, the Northern Divisio ...

, citing foreign fighters and

jihadist flag The jihadist flag is a flag commonly used by various Islamist and Islamic fundamentalist movements as a symbol of jihadism, jihad. It usually consists of the Black Standard with a white text of the ''Shahada'' (Islamic declaration of faith) emb ...

s in Idlib. On 10 April 2022, Bayoush, speaking from

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

, called Russian

Army General Army general or General of the army is the highest ranked general officer in many countries that use the French Revolutionary System. Army general is normally the highest rank used in peacetime. In countries that adopt the general officer fou ...

Aleksandr Dvornikov Aleksandr Vladimirovich Dvornikov (; born 22 August 1961) is a former Russian army general (Russia), army general who commanded the Russian military intervention in the Syrian civil war, Russian military intervention in Syria and the Russian in ...

, who commanded the Russian military intervention in Syria and was appointed commander of the

2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, , starting the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War II, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, conflict between the two countries which began in 2014. The fighting has caused hundreds of thou ...

, a

war criminal A war crime is a violation of the laws of war that gives rise to individual criminal responsibility for actions by combatants in action, such as intentionally killing civilians or intentionally killing prisoners of war, torture, taking hostage ...

. Bayoush said Dvornikov utilized

scorched earth A scorched-earth policy is a military strategy of destroying everything that allows an enemy military force to be able to fight a war, including the deprivation and destruction of water, food, humans, animals, plants and any kind of tools and i ...

policy in Syria and expected him to do the same in

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

References

Syrian Air Force personnel 1970 births Syrian Sunni Muslims Living people People from Idlib Governorate {{Syrian Civil War

Military activities in the Syrian Air Force

Syrian Civil War

Political activities and resignation

See also

References