Army of Revolutionaries
The Army of Revolutionaries (Arabic: جيش الثوار, romanized: Jayš al-Thuwwār), also known as Jaysh al-Thuwar, is a multi-ethnic armed Syrian rebel coalition that is allied with the primarily Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) and participating in the Syrian Civil War as part of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).
Not to be confused with Army of the Revolution.Army of Revolutionaries
3 May 2015–present
- Euphrates Volcano (dissolved, 2015)
- Fatah Halab (former, 2015)[11]
- Battle of Aleppo (2012–2016)
- Rojava–Islamist conflict
- Tell Abyad offensive
- 2015 al-Hawl offensive
- Tishrin Dam offensive
- Northern Aleppo offensive (February 2016)
- Al-Shaddadi offensive (2016)
- Manbij offensive
- Operation Euphrates Shield
- Western al-Bab offensive (September 2016)
- Aleppo offensive (November–December 2016)
- Battle of Raqqa
- Deir ez-Zor campaign (2017–19)
- Operation Olive Branch
- Siege of Northern Homs
- Insurgency in Idlib
- Battle of Qashamli (2021)
Established as a Free Syrian Army coalition in May 2015, with a presence in six governorates, its membership includes Arabs, Kurds, and Turkmen. With its stated aims of fighting both the Syrian government and Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), it was expected to become one of the more relevant rebel alliances in northern Syria, consolidating the democratic rebel spectrum. It was considered one of the "potential powerbrokers" in the Aleppo, Hama, Idlib, and Latakia governorates.[15]
While Jaysh al-Thuwar considers itself to be a part of the rebel mainstream and turned down the U.S. Train-and-Equip-Program because it wanted to be able to fight the Syrian government as well as ISIL, it has always been allied with the YPG. It therefore did not receive Turkish support, rejected the Friends of Syria Group,[13] and became embroiled in open conflict with Islamist rebel groups.
Subsequently, Jaysh al-Thuwar retreated from rebel-held areas and further deepened its bonds with the YPG. In October 2015, it became one of the constituents of the Syrian Democratic Forces, increasingly integrating with the SDF's common frontlines against ISIL and other Islamist forces.
Although it cooperates with the YPG, Jaysh al-Thuwar still considers itself to be part of the Syrian Opposition.[16]
Whilst the Army of Revolutionaries uses the same Syrian independence flag used by many other opposition groups,[44] 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.
(in Arabic)
