Army of Conquest
| Army of Conquest | |
|---|---|
|
جيش الفتح Participant in the Syrian Civil War | |
 | |
| Active | 24 March 2015[1]–Present |
| Ideology | Sunni Islamism[2] |
| Groups | |
| Headquarters | Idlib, Syria |
| Area of operations | Idlib Governorate, Hama Governorate, and Latakia Governorate, Syria |
| Strength | 10,000+ fighters[4] |
| Opponents |
|
| Battles and wars | |
The Army of Conquest[6] (Arabic: جيش الفتح, Jaish al-Fatah) is a military operations room in the Syrian Civil War that consists of numerous Syrian Islamist rebel factions mainly active in the Idlib Governorate, with some factions active in the Hama and Latakia Governorates.[2] It declared its formation on 24 March 2015.[1] On the same day, a pro-opposition source claimed that about fifty Syrian government soldiers defected to the new operations room.[1] The Army of Conquest captured Idlib City on 28 March 2015.[7]
Composition and organization
The Army of Conquest coalition is modeled upon the success of the Southern Front of the Free Syrian Army.[8] Ahrar ash-Sham is the largest group in the coalition,[9] however "It is forbidden to mention the name of any faction" when conducting operations between the coalition's members.[10]
See also
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 "News Update 3-25-15". Syria Direct. Retrieved 25 March 2015.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Rebels seek to storm Idlib amid chemical fears". NOW. 25 March 2015.
- ↑ "Al Qaeda and allies form coalition to battle Syrian regime in Idlib". Long War Journal. 24 March 2015.
- ↑ "The Syrian Rebellion Observatory". Facebook. 29 March 2015. Retrieved 4 April 2015.
- ↑ "Jihadist coalition captures checkpoints around city of Idlib". Long War Journal. 27 March 2015.
- ↑ "Syria: Islamist Rebels Advance in Fierce Clashes for Idlib". Arutz Sheva. 27 March 2015.
- ↑ "Qaeda, allies seize Syria's Idlib city in blow to regime". AFP. 28 March 2015. Retrieved 4 April 2015.
- ↑ "In Syria, Support for Rebel Unity Carries Risks". Stratfor. 30 April 2015. Retrieved 1 May 2015.
With the Southern Front success as a model, rebel backers then sought to deploy similar methods in the north.
- ↑ "Syrian rebels fight Syrian army near Assad heartland". Newsweek. Reuters. 30 April 2015. Retrieved 1 May 2015.
As the biggest group in Army of Fatah, Ahrar al-Sham appears to hold the key to preventing infighting.
- ↑ Syrian Insurgent gains expose Assad Weaknesses New York Times. "Muayad Zurayk, an activist in Idlib city, attributed the opposition's success in the province to the joint operations room [...] "All operations stemming from the coordinated command center are done in the name of Jaish al-Fatah," he said, referring to the unified command. "It is forbidden to mention the name of any faction.""
External links
- Army of Conquest on Twitter (Arabic)
