Lions of the East Army
The Lions of the East Army (Arabic: جيش أسود الشرقية; Jaysh Usud al-Sharqiya) is a Syrian rebel group formerly affiliated with the Free Syrian Army's Southern Front[6] that was formed in August 2014 and is based in southeastern Syria. Many of the group's fighters are al-Shaitat tribesmen from the Deir ez-Zor Governorate. The group was also active in Damascus city between January and July 2015, when its unit in Damascus merged into Jaysh al-Islam's 8th Brigade.[2] It mainly focused on defeating the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant in the eastern Syrian Desert, where it gained control over large areas since 2016.[4][2]
Lions of the East Army
August 2014 – present
Since April 2018:
Until April 2018:
Authenticity and Development Front (formerly)[2]
Southern Front (formerly) [6]
Forces of Martyr Ahmad al-Abdo
Revolutionary Commando Army[7]
Army of Free Tribes
Jaysh al-Islam
Al-Qaratayn Martyrs Brigade
Ideology[edit]
The group appears to have no unifying ideology besides aiming at overthrowing Assad's government and defeating ISIL. Some units within the Lions of the East Army had no ideological commitments at all before merging into the group,[2] while Salama has tried to portray his own faction as secular or at least non-Islamist.[1] Analyst Aron Lund has noted, however, that both the group's leadership as well as some units within the army were close to moderate Salafist groups, including the Authenticity and Development Front, though this may have partially stemmed from the need to raise money and obtain equipment from both regional as well as international pro-Salafist organizations. The army has, consequently, expressed anti-Iranian tendencies, having called Assad's government the "ungodly Safavid regime".[2] In an interview in July 2017, Salama claimed that the Syrian Democratic Forces and the Syrian Armed Forces are "two sides of the same coin".[9]
Organization[edit]
Structure[edit]
The Lions of the East Army is led by Tlass al-Salama (also known as "Abu Faisal"), with his deputy being Abu Barzan al-Sultani. Although the army came into existence as a merger of 12 rebel factions, with more units such as the Lions of Sunna Brigade joining later, these groups have fully integrated into the organization and abandoned their individual identities. The militias that have joined the army are:[2]