Army of Revolutionaries

'' "Abu Araj", the general commander of the Army of Revolutionaries On 3 May 2015, some of the former members of the northern branches of the Hazzm Movement and the Syria Revolutionaries Front (SRF) along with Jabhat al-Akrad, the Dawn of Freedom Brigades main component group the Northern Sun Battalion (making the Dawn of Freedom Brigades defunct in the process) and smaller FSA groups formed the Army of Revolutionaries. The participation of ex-SRF fighters in the new group was denounced by former SRF leader Jamal Maarouf who was strongly opposed to the YPG. In an October 2015 publication, the Washington D.C.–based Institute for the Study of War considered Jaysh al-Thuwar as one of the "potential powerbrokers" in Aleppo province, where it is part of the Euphrates Volcano joint operations room, as well as in Hama, Idlib and Latakia provinces, though not in Homs province. Stances The group has expressed disapproval of foreign presence in Syria, specifically condemning the involvement of Russia, Iran, and Turkey. In regards to the deployment of the Turkish military into Idlib, Ahmed Sultan said that Idlib had been sold to Russia and Iran as well as the Syrian government and called upon Idlib's population to fight Iranian, Russian and Turkish forces in Idlib. Sultan has also blamed Turkey's presence in Idlib for Russian airstrikes, saying "Idlib's southern countryside has been destroyed by aircraft, the Syrian regime, and the modern weapons that Russia is testing in that region," and that if Idlib were attacked it would cause a large humanitarian disaster, and that the group would fight to end Turkey's presence in both Idlib and Afrin. In response to the Syrian government's offensive in Idlib in early 2019, the group released a joint statement with a fellow Free Syrian Army-aligned SDF group known as the Northern Democratic Brigade stating both groups were ready to protect Idlib from an Iranian-led Shiite invasion, and stating that Iran's involvement in Syria is as bad as Turkey's. Governance In areas the group controls or has a presences in it conducts social outreach programs such as organizing Eid al-Adha celebrations and distribution of gifts to locals, as well as visiting hospitals. The group also organized protests in response to the rebel loss in Aleppo in December 2016, calling for the fall of the Syrian government. ==Battles and territorial presences==

in July 2016 Jaysh al-Thuwar did not apply to join the American Train-and-Equip-Program because it declined to restrict itself to fighting ISIL. The Army subsequently released videos of them fighting both against the Syrian Army in Aleppo and the northern Homs pocket, as well as against ISIL in Mare', Kobanê and northern Raqqa. It controlled territory to the west of Azaz, bordering the Kurdish-held Afrin Canton, and claimed further presences in the Rashidin neighborhood of Aleppo, as well as in Tell Malah and al-Ghab Plain areas in northern Hama, and sleeper cells in Manbij area. On 29 August 2015, 30 fighters from the Army of Revolutionaries graduated from a boot camp west of Azaz, named after Alaa Ajabu, the former general commander of the Kurdish Front who was killed in action fighting against ISIL near Azaz in February 2014. , also known by his nom de guerre "Abu Ali", general commander of the group until late 2016 On 13 February 2016, the Homs Liberation Movement declared hostilities on the Army of Revolutionaries. This led to the defection of two groups affiliated with the Army of Revolutionaries in Homs: the Homs Revolutionary Union and the 777th Regiment. With this incident, the Army of Revolutionaries no longer operate in the Homs Governorate. However, a commander in the Homs Liberation Movement claimed that some rebels in Homs still have covert links to Jaysh al-Thuwar, but refused to name the groups, citing that "they deceived him" and he "does not know the nature of the said army's relationship with the enemies of the revolution". Jaysh al-Thuwar claims to have a presence in the Idlib Governorate. Orient News claimed that the group has cells in Ariha that conducted assassinations and "kidnapping operations" in the Idlib countryside and 12 of them were reportedly captured by the Army of Conquest in March 2016. When the Battle of Qamishli broke out between Rojavan security forces and the regime in 2021, Jaysh al-Thuwar deployed to Qashimi to reenforce the security forces. ==Integration into the Syrian Democratic Forces==

on the wreckage of a Syrian Air Force aircraft in Menagh Military Airbase, February 2016 In spite of occasional denials, the rebel coalition has always been closely allied with the Syrian Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG). The coalition was therefore met with distrust by more Islamist rebel factions, and became embroiled in open conflict with hard-line Islamists, such as al-Qaeda's al-Nusra Front. During the battles, two fighters of Jaysh al-Thuwar were beheaded by al-Nusra. According to observers, it therefore withdrew most of its presence from other rebel-held areas, refocusing on the Syrian Democratic Forces' joint front lines. On 11 March 2017, after negotiations between the Syrian National Democratic Alliance, the political council of Idlib, and the Army of Revolutionaries, a second batch of 80 prisoners were released. On 30 July 2017, the group announced that it would allow additional women to join its ranks, though its member group the Kurdish Front already recruit women into their units. In early August, former Army of Revolutionaries commander Wissi Hijazi ("Abu Uday Menagh"), who had previously helped to capture Menagh and Menagh Military Airbase during the Northern Aleppo offensive (February 2016) and been involved in a scandal surrounding a Kurdish girl, defected to the TFSA's Sultan Murad Division. He cited his opposition to alleged cooperation between the government and the SDF as reason for this move. His defection was not accepted, however, by the Revolutionary Council of Menagh (another TFSA faction), which declared its intention to have him killed. In response, the Army of Revolutionaries issued a statement claiming that Hijazi was already expelled from the group in May 2016. In an interview on 28 August 2017, Ahmed Sultan, leading commander of the Army of Revolutionaries, denied any coordination between his group and the Syrian Elite Forces, although both groups are participating in the Battle of Raqqa. During the interview, Sultan also stated that the Army of Revolutionaries was ready to fight in Deir ez-Zor against ISIL and in Idlib against al-Qaeda. In January 2018, the Army of Revolutionaries declared that it would fight with the YPG/YPJ against Operation Olive Branch. ==Current and former groups==

Current This is a list of current and former Jaysh al-Thuwar groups: • Shahba Women's Front • Northern Sun Battalion • 99th Infantry Brigade (former member of the Syrian Revolutionaries Front) • 455th Special Tasks Brigade • Martyr Yusuf al-Quzhul Company • Southern Storm Company • Eagles of the Sunnah Company • Truthful Promise Company • Fighters for Justice Company • Seljuk Brigade (former member of the Suleyman Shah Brigade) • Division 30 remnants • A unit of the Mountain Hawks Brigade consisting of 50 fighters stationed in the town of Deir Jamal defected to the Army of Revolutionaries during the Northern Aleppo offensive (February 2016), although its commander was soon after captured by another rebel group. • Seljuk Brigade • Hammam Turkmen Martyrs Brigade • Martyr Qasim Areef Battalion • Homs Commandos Brigade • Tribal Forces • Revolutionary Shield Brigade Former • 777th Regiment (former member of the Farouq Brigades) • Atarib Martyrs Brigade (left to join the Army of Mujahideen in May 2016, former component of the Hazm Movement and Farouq Brigades) • Descendants of Othman Brigade (left to join the Houla Operations Room in October 2015) • Revolutionary Fedayeen Movement (left to join the Jaysh al-Nasr operations room in August 2015, left Jaysh al-Nasr when it became a unified group in October 2015) • Brigade 313 – Free Men of Aqrab (left to join the Houla Operations Room in October 2015) • ''al-Qa'qa' Brigade (former member of the Syrian Revolutionaries Front, later left and was renamed to the Northern Democratic Brigade'' in 2016) ==Flag==

Whilst the Army of Revolutionaries uses the same Syrian independence flag used by many other opposition groups, the group also uses its own more specific Army of Revolutionaries flag, as well as the flag of the Syrian Democratic Forces. Since 2017, it also used a new flag, based on the flag of the SDF. File:Flag of Jaysh al-Thuwar.svg File:Flag of the Syrian revolution.svg File:Flag of Syrian Democratic Forces.svg File:New flag of the Army of Revolutionaries.jpg ==See also==