The Syrian Revolutionaries Front (Arabic: جبهة ثوار سوريا, Jabhat Thowar Suriya, SRF, also translated Syrian Rebel Front[1]) was an alliance of 14 relatively moderate religious and some secular armed groups fighting under the banner of the Free Syrian Army, formed in December 2013, thus according to Arutz Sheva (an Israeli media network) further sidelining the FSA and its leadership Supreme Military Council.[16] It was established as a response to the merger of Islamist Syrian rebels into the Islamic Front.[16]
In late October 2014 clashes erupted again between the SRF and al-Nusra in the Jabal al-Zawiya region of Idlib, over the following days, dozens of SRF fighters defected to Nusra and the group lost control of numerous villages as they withdrew their forces from the region.[21] Maarouf and some of his followers relocated to Turkey, however around half of his men in the region remained behind and accepted the change of control rather than fight.[19]
During the Turkish military intervention in Syria which started in late August 2016, some members of the Syrian Revolutionaries Front and the Hazm Movement in exile from Turkey crossed into Syria through Jarabulus.[24]
The group is currently only active in southern Syria, as a member of a Southern Front group, and previously part of the First Army of the Southern Front. On 2 March 2016, a car bomb explosion targeted the SRF headquarters in Quneitra and killed its commander Captain Abu Hamza al-Naimi and 4 other field commanders.[5] Some time in 2016, the SRF's branch in Jubata al-Khashab split into 3 factions. The local SRF commander in the area also defected to the Golan Regiment.[32]
On 6 April 2017, clashes erupted between the SRF and Jabhat Ansar al-Islam in the northern Quneitra countryside, which resulted in 7 rebels being killed. Government forces shelled the area on the same day, which resulted in a ceasefire between the two rebel groups.[33]
On 31 July 2017, 5 SRF groups in Daraa and Quneitra merged into the 1st Infantry Division and established a unified command structure for the SRF.[34]
A 2018 investigation by The Intercept, which gathered information from senior Southern Front commanders and Syrian activist sources, confirmed that Jaysh al-Ababil was among several factions receiving covert Israeli aid alongside others such as Saif al-Sham Brigade and Jaydour Horan Brigade.[38] According to a 2018 investigation by Foreign Policy, Israel supported at least 12 rebel groups by providing them with humanitarian aid, medical treatments, logistical support and military transfers which included assault rifles, machine guns, mortar launchers and transport vehicles. Israel also transferred cash in the form of salaries of $75 per fighter, alongside additional funds for procuring weapons locally.[39]
A 2018 investigation by The Intercept, which gathered information from senior Southern Front commanders and Syrian activist sources, confirmed that Jaydour Horan Brigade, which is part of the Syrian Revolutionaries Front was among several factions receiving covert Israeli aid alongside others such as Saif al-Sham Brigade and Jaysh al-Ababil. Reportedly, in late July 2017, a small group of Israeli military and intelligence personnel, traveling in ambulances, made a tour of the west Daraa countryside and met with commanders from Jaydour Horan Brigade and Jaysh al-Ababil. Another meeting then took place in September 2017 in the Quneitra border town of Rafid, where local council leaders, doctors, and militia commanders — including those from Jaydour Horan Brigade, Fursan al-Joulan, and the Syrian Revolutionaries Front — met with an Israeli representative to discuss further cooperation.[38] According to a 2018 investigation by Foreign Policy, Israel supported at least 12 rebel groups by providing them with humanitarian aid, medical treatments, logistical support and military transfers which included assault rifles, machine guns, mortar launchers and transport vehicles. Israel also transferred cash in the form of salaries of $75 per fighter.[40]
Throughout those meetings Israel tried to forn the Southern Army in southern Syria, which included a group of opposition factions in the region. At that time, it was agreed that the army would include the Syrian Revolutionaries Front, Jabhat Ansar al-Islam, Fursan al-Joulan, and other factions operating in the area. However, in July 2018, as part of another attempt by Israel to establish the Southern Army, a military source in one of the factions that agreed to join the Southern Army told Al-Quds Al-Arabi that the Syrian Revolutionaries Front, Ahrar al-Sham and Al-Nusra Front rejected joining the Southern Army, while some members of the latter agreed to remain in the disengagement zone near the border with the Israeli-occupied Syrian Golan.[41]
