Syrian Islamic Liberation Front

Not to be confused with Syrian Islamic Front or Syrian Liberation Front.

The Syrian Islamic Liberation Front (SILF; Arabic: جبهة تحرير سوريا الإسلامية, "Jabhat Tahrīr Sūriya al-Islāmiyyah") was a coalition of Syrian Islamist rebel groups that fought against the Syrian government in the Syrian Civil War. At the end of 2012, it was one of the strongest rebel coalitions in Syria,^[8] representing up to half of the rebel forces.^[3]

Syrian Islamic Liberation Front جبهة تحرير سوريا الإسلامية Jabha Tahrir Suriya al Islamiyyah
Official logo of the SILF
Leaders	Ahmed Eissa al-Sheikh (Suqour al-Sham) Zahran Alloush (spokesperson) (WIA) (Liwa al-Islam)
Dates of operation	September 2012 – 25 November 2013
Group(s)	Suqour al-Sham Farouq Brigades Al-Tawhid Brigade Liwa al-Islam Conquest Brigade Ahfad al-Rasul Brigades Tajamo Ansar al-Islam Amr bin al-a’as Brigade Deir ez-Zor Revolutionary Council Al-Naser Salaheddin Brigade
Headquarters	Sarjeh, Idlib Governorate
Active regions	Syria
Ideology	Sunni Islamism[1] Salafism (Factions)[2]
Size	35,000–40,000 (own claim)[3][4] (June 2013)
Allies	Saudi Arabia  Kuwait  Turkey  Qatar Free Syrian Army Syrian Islamic Front Al-Nusra Front (formerly)[5]
Opponents	Syrian Arab Armed Forces National Defense Forces Hezbollah Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps People's Protection Units (YPG)[6] Jabhat Ghuraba al-Sham[7]
Battles and wars	Syrian civil war Battle of Aleppo Siege of Menagh Air Base Raqqa campaign (2012–2013) Rojava–Islamist conflict Damascus offensive Al-Qusayr offensive Battle of al-Qusayr
Succeeded by Islamic Front

In late November 2013, Suqour al-Sham, Al-Tawhid Brigade and Jaysh al-Islam, the largest and most influential members of the Front, announced that they were joining the Islamic Front,^[9] greatly weakening SILF.^[10] On 25 November 2013, a statement appeared on the Front's website announcing that it was ceasing all operations.^[11] The Syrian Islamic Liberation Front was thought to be more moderate than the Ahrar al-Sham-led Syrian Islamic Front, and also closer Arab Gulf States than the Syrian Islamic Front which was closer to Turkey and Qatar.^[12][13]

Background

Founded in September 2012 after secret negotiations between the group's leaders, the group was headed by Ahmed Eissa al-Sheikh, the leader of the Suqour al-Sham Brigades. The coalition included around 20 Islamist groups and had tens of thousands of fighters active throughout much of Syria, overshadowing the Free Syrian Army (FSA) in some regions. While some member groups appeared to consider themselves members of both the Syrian Liberation Front and the FSA,^[14] Abu Issa said the group aimed to maintain brotherly relations with the FSA while declining to offer full support and criticising those leaders of the FSA that remained in Turkey.^[3]

The coalition included some of the most important rebel units active in the civil war, including the Suqour al-Sham Brigades (Idlib), Farouq Brigades (Homs), Liwa al-Islam (Damascus) and Tawhid Brigade (Aleppo).^[10][15] Other prominent groups in the coalition included Liwa Dawud,^[16] the Deir ez-Zor Revolutionary Council (Deir ez-Zor), Tajamo Ansar al-Islam (Damascus), Amr Ibn al-Aas Brigade (Aleppo), al-Naser Salaheddin Brigade (Latakia),^[14] and the Conquest Brigade (Aleppo).^[10] These groups were geographically scattered, varied in size and influence, and were dependent on different sources of funding. It was unclear how effectively the coalition coordinated between the varying groups.^[14]

Minor Groups

The coalition also included other smaller less know groups

• Suqour al-Kurd Brigade
• Suqour Homs Battalion
• Shaheed ahmed Ouda Battalion
• Shuhada Baba amr Battalion
• Kurdish Military Council
• mohammed ibn abdullah Battalion
• Jund allah battalion
• homs Brigade
• Islamic Farouq Brigades
• Fursan al-Haq Battalion
• al-iman Brigade
• Qal‘at homs Battalion
• Al-Bara' ibn Malik Brigade
• Dhoul-Nourain Brigade.
• National Liberation Movement

Weapons

Abu Issa said that the coalition obtained their weapons from attacks on the Syrian Armed Forces and from arms dealers inside and outside Syria, however, the group reportedly received support from Turkey and Qatar.^[17] It had been accused by members of the FSA of monopolizing the supply of weapons through Turkey in order to marginalize unaffiliated rebel groups.^[3][17]

Ideology

The group had a Sunni Islamist ideology.^[3] It included both Muslim Brotherhood and Salafist inspired groups, however many of the more hardline Islamist groups active in the Syrian civil war were members of the Syrian Islamic Front. The group did not include the jihadist Al-Nusra Front, and Ahrar al-Sham withdrew from the group in protest at the killing of a jihadist leader by one of the other groups.^[3] Some in the FSA criticized the group for its emphasis on an Islamic identity in a religiously mixed country.^[3] The group had a minimalist political platform, promising to protect minorities and stating that religious Muslim law was the point of reference for the group.^[14] In July 2013, the leader of the group called for sectarian attacks on Alawite homes and villages, but retracted the statement weeks later.^[18]

See also

• List of armed groups in the Syrian Civil War