Jabhat Tahrir Suriya , native_name_lang = , war = the Syrian Civil War , image = File:Logo of the Syrian Liberation Front.png , caption = The logo of the Syrian Liberation Front , active = 18 February 2018 – present , ideology = Sunni Islamism , status=, position = , leaders = *

Hassan Soufan Hassan Soufan, also known by his nom de guerre as Abu al-Bara, Is a Syrian rebel leader who participated in the Syrian Civil War. He was the appointed as the leader of Ahrar al-Sham and held the position from July 2017 until his resignation i ...

() *Sheikh Tawfiq Shahabuddin
() *Hussam Atrash
() *Capt. Khalid Abu Yaman
() *Jaber Ali Pasha ("Abu Bara")
() , clans = *

Ahrar al-Sham Harakat Ahrar al-Sham al-Islamiyya ( ar-at, حركة أحرار الشام الإسلامية, Ḥarakat Aḥrāru š-Šām al-Islāmiyah, lit=Islamic Movement of the Freemen of the Levant), commonly referred to as Ahrar al-Sham, is a coalition ...

Nour al-Din al-Zenki Movement The Nour al-Din al-Zenki Movement ( ar, حركة نور الدين الزنكي ''Ḥaraka Nūr ad-Dīn az-Zankī'') was a Sunni Islamist rebel group involved in the Syrian Civil War. In 2014, it was reportedly one of the most influential factions ...

() * Katibat al-'Iqaab * Sheikh Fadel al-Akel * Katibat al-Bayia Lillah * Katibat Usud al-Tawheed * Liwa al-Adiyat * Martyr Abu Omar Battalion , headquarters = , area = Syria *

Idlib Governorate Idlib Governorate ( ar, مُحافظة ادلب / 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, Ham ...

Aleppo Governorate Aleppo Governorate ( ar, محافظة حلب / ALA-LC: ''Muḥāfaẓat Ḥalab'' / ) is one of the fourteen governorates of Syria. It is the most populous governorate in Syria with a population of more than 4,867,000 (2011 Est.), almost 23% of ...

Hama Governorate Hama Governorate ( ar, مُحافظة حماة / ALA-LC: ''Muḥāfaẓat Ḥamā'') is one of the 14 governorates of Syria. It is situated in western-central Syria, bordering Idlib and Aleppo Governorates to the south, Raqqa Governorate to t ...

, size = , partof = Revolutionaries of Atarib
Maarrat al-Nu'man Military Council (2018)

National Front for Liberation The National Front for Liberation ( ar, الجبهة الوطنية للتحرير, ''Al-Jabhat al-Wataniya lil-Tahrir'') is a Syrian rebel coalition that is part of the Syrian National Army (SNA) fighting in the Syrian Civil War. The group was ...

() , predecessor = , successor = , allies =

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

Syrian National Army The Syrian National Army (SNA) ( ar, الجيش الوطني السوري, al-Jayš al-Waṭanī as-Sūrī), previously the Free Syrian Army (FSA) and also known as the Turkish-backed Free Syrian Army (TFSA), is a coalition of armed Syrian op ...

Jaysh al-Ahrar , native_name_lang = , war = the Syrian Civil War , image = , caption = Logo of the group , active = 1 December 2016 – present , ideology = Sunni Islamism *Salafism **Salafi Islamism , leaders ...

Suqour al-Sham Brigades The Suqour al-Sham Brigades ( ar, أَلْوِيَةُ صُقُورِ الشَّامِ, ʾAlwiyat Ṣuqūr aš-Šām, en, Hawks of the Levant Brigades), also known as the Sham Falcons Brigades, is an armed rebel organisation formed by Ahmed Abu ...

Tahrir al-Sham Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) (, transliteration: ', "Organization for the Liberation of the Levant" or "Levant Liberation Committee"), commonly referred to as Tahrir al-Sham, is a Sunni Islamist political and armed organisation involved in the ...

() , split = , opponents =

Syrian Armed Forces The Syrian Arab Armed Forces ( ar, الْقُوَّاتُ الْمُسَلَّحَةُ الْعَرَبِيَّةُ السُّورِيَّةُ, al-Quwwāt al-Musallaḥah al-ʿArabīyah as-Sūrīyah) are the military forces of the Syrian Arab R ...

Syrian Democratic Forces , war = the Syrian Civil War , image = Flag of Syrian Democratic Forces.svgborder , caption = Flag , active = 10 October 2015 – present , ideology = DemocracyDecentralizationSecularism ...

() , battles = Syrian Civil War * Inter-rebel conflict during the Syrian Civil War ** Syrian Liberation Front–Tahrir al-Sham conflict *

Insurgency in Idlib The Insurgency in Idlib is an ongoing insurgency in rebel-held areas in the Idlib Governorate between multiple factions ranging from supporters of the Syrian government to Syrian opposition elements to supporters and members of the Islamic State ...

* 2018 Hama offensive *

Turkish military operation in Afrin Operation Olive Branch ( tr, Zeytin Dalı Harekâtı) was a cross-border military operation conducted by the Turkish Armed Forces and Syrian National Army (SNA) in the majority-Kurdish Afrin District of northwest Syria, against the People's P ...

, website = '' '' Syrian Liberation Front '' '' ( ar , Syria Liberation Front, Jabhat Tahrir Suriya, '' 'JTS' '') is a Syrian Islamist rebel group that was formed in early 2018. and is based out of the

in northwestern Syria.

Leadership

Initially, Jaber Ali Pasha, deputy commander of Ahrar al-Sham, was nominated as the general commander of the Syrian Liberation Front. Sheikh Tawfiq Shahabuddin, commander of the Nour al-Din al-Zenki Movement, was named the deputy commander. Hussam Atrash and

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

Khalid Abu Yaman were appointed as the political and military commanders of the group. However, after hours of disputes over leadership positions, Hassan Soufan, general commander of Ahrar al-Sham, took over as the general commander of the group, replacing Jaber Ali Pasha. Elected in October 2017, Hassan Soufan was the leader of Ahrar al-Sham and stated he was determined to distinguish his movement from "criminal" and "corrupt" projects, such as " Hitish and

Daesh An Islamic state is a state that has a form of government based on Islamic law (sharia). As a term, it has been used to describe various historical polities and theories of governance in the Islamic world. As a translation of the Arabic term ...

History

On Feb 18, 2018

and the

merged and joined the Syrian Liberation Front. By doing so the SLF gained two of the largest Sunni Islamist rebel groups in northwestern Syria behind their main rival,

. In their merger announcement both groups called on other rebel groups to join, and stated that the merger was a result of an initiative by the Syrian Islamic Council. On Feb. 19 2018, the day after the merger, violent clashes erupted between the group and Tahrir al-Sham in the western Aleppo Governorate. The conflict soon spread to the

where the SLF captured the city of

Maarrat al-Nu'man , timezone = EET , utc_offset = +3 , timezone_DST = EEST , utc_offset_DST = +2 , blank_name = Climate , blank_info = BSk , coordinates= , e ...

, the towns of

Ariha Ariha ( ar, أَرِيحَا, ʾArīḥā, also called Rīḥā, ) is a town in northern Syria, administratively part of the Idlib Governorate, located south of Idlib. Nearby localities include Urum al-Jawz to the southwest, Sarjah to the south, K ...

and

Tramla Tramla ( ar, ترملا) is a Syrian village located in Kafr Nabl Nahiyah in Maarrat al-Nu'man District, Idlib ar, إدلبي, Idlibi , coordinates = , elevation_m = 500 , area_code ...

, and the Wadi Deif military base from HTS on 21 February. By April 18, pro-SLF media reported that after 60 days of fighting, 750 Tahrir al-Sham fighters and 225 SLF and

fighters had been killed, 3,000 fighters from both sides had been wounded, and 15 armoured vehicles (most of them belonging to Tahrir al-Sham) had been destroyed. The fighting ended with a ceasefire and gains for both sides. On 3 May 2018, the Syrian Liberation Front, Suqour al-Sham,

Sham Legion The Sham Legion ( ar, فَيْلَق الشَّام, ''Faylaq al-Shām'') is an alliance of Sunni Islamist rebel groups formed in March 2014, during the Syrian Civil War. The alliance was formed from 19 different groups, some of which were prev ...

, and the

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

formed a military council in the SLF-held Maarrat al-Nu'man. The council stated that it will not allow other factions to be formed in the city. On 1 August 2018, in an effort to strengthen its position in Idlib before the Syrian Arab Army turned its attention towards the province and to eliminate al-Qaida groups in the region, the Syrian Liberation Front, along with 6 other groups (Suqour al-Sham Brigades, Jaysh al-Ahrar, Damascus Gathering, Unit 82 SWAT Forces, Free Hayan Brigade, Free North Brigade) in the area joined the

. Anad al-Darwish ("Abu al-Munathir"), considered to be Ahrar al-Sham's most powerful military commander, was named the National Front for Liberation's chief of staff. As one of the 17 members of the National Front for Liberation, the Syrian Liberation Front has access to resources, weapons, and training from the Turkish government. The Turkish Government has been backing the National Front for Liberation since its inception, and in turn has been backing the Syrian Liberation Front since joining the National Front for Liberation. In January 2019, Nour al-Din al-Zenki withdrew to Afrin following the HTS-NLF conflict.

References

{{reflist

External links

Syrian Liberation Front
on

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(Arabic) Sunni Islamist groups Anti-government factions of the Syrian civil war 2018 establishments in Syria Anti-ISIL factions in Syria