Live updates: Syrian rebels declare Damascus ‘free’, claiming Assad has fled the capital

Live updates: Syrian rebels declare Damascus ‘free’, claiming Assad has fled the capital

Smoke rises as a member of the rebels led by the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham group rides a motorcycle in al-Rashideen in Aleppo, Syria, November 29.

Syria’s rebel coalition is made up of Islamist and moderate factions who, despite their differences, are united in the fight against the Assad regime, ISIS and Iranian-backed militias.

Here are some of the groups that make up the coalition:

Hayat Tahrir Al Sham (HTS): The most prominent and impressive of these groups is HTS, also known as the Organization for the Liberation of the Levant. HTS was founded by Abu Mohammad al-Jolani, a military commander who gained experience as a young fighter for al-Qaeda against the United States in Iraq.

He founded Jabhat al-Nusra, al-Qaeda’s Syrian affiliate, and led the group until a public split with it in 2016 over ideological differences and opposition to ISIS. Jolani founded HTS in 2017.

Despite Jolani’s efforts to distance HTS from al-Qaeda and ISIS, the United States and other Western countries declared it a terrorist organization in 2018 and put a $10 million bounty on its head.

The Syrian National Army (SNA): The “Syrian National Army” includes dozens of factions with different ideologies that receive funding and weapons from Turkey.

This coalition includes: National Liberation Frontconsisting of factions such as Ahrar al-Sham, whose stated goal is to “overthrow the (Assad) regime” and “establish an Islamic state governed by Sharia law.”

To make matters worse, some members of the rebel coalition are also fighting against Kurdish forces.

The one supported by Turkey Free Syrian Army said last week it had taken control of the city of Tal Rifaat and other towns and villages in the northern part of Aleppo governorate.

These areas were previously held not by Assad’s government, but by another faction involved in the civil war on multiple fronts: the Syrian Democratic Forces.

The SDF is largely made up of Kurdish fighters from a group called People’s Protection Units (YPG), which is classified as a terrorist organization by Turkey.

Fighters from Syria are fighting in the south of Syria Druze religious minority have also joined the fight, a local activist group told CNN.

Druze are fighting in the southern town of as-Suwayda, which borders Daraa province, where opposition forces claim to have seized control of Daraa town.

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