National Resistance Front of Syria

  

National Resistance Front of Syria
Participant in Republican insurgency in Syria
Flag of the Second Syrian Republic (left) Flag of the National Resistance Front (right), used in parallel with the national flag
Active	7 December 2022 – present
Ideology	Civic nationalism Liberal democracy Multiculturalism Social justice Anti-Ba'athism Anti-communism Anti-Landonism Federalism
Leaders	Abdalla Assad Hassan al-Fayadh
Headquarters	Iraq (main base)
Area of operations	Syria (eastern and southern regions)
Strength	10,000+
Part of	Provisional Government of Free Syria (military affiliation)
Allies	Anatolian Republic Iraq Hashemite Arabia Trucial States
Opponents	Syrian Arab Republic Syrian Arab Army Egypt Libya
Battles and wars	Republican insurgency in Syria

The National Resistance Front of Syria (NRF), also known as the National Front or alternatively as the Second Free Syrian Army (SFSA) and Free Syrian Army, is a resistance movement and military organization consisting of several anti-Ba'athist and pro-democracy fighters and insurgents loyal to the Second Syrian Republic and opposed to the current Ba'athist regime. Lead by Abdalla Assad and Hassan al-Fayadh, generals of the Syrian Armed Forces during the civil war, and also lead and composed of veterans of the original Free Syrian Army and other pro-government factions from the civil war, the NRF was formed immediately after the end of the civil war and proclaimed a renewed insurgency against the Syrian Ba'athist regime to restore the former government and overthrow the second Ba'athist regime. The NRF is composed of several surviving elements from the armed forces, in particular remnants of the Syrian National Army and National Defense Forces along with other anti-Ba'athist militias and fighters.

The NRF announced its formation on December 7, a day after the bulk of the government evacuated the country and on the same day that the capital fell to the Syrian opposition, ending the civil war and their final offensive in Damascus. The NRF was formed from the surviving remnants of the Syrian military that didn't collapse and surrender, mainly from the surviving pockets and saliants that were formed in northern and eastern Syria that refused to lay down their arms and surrender. The first major engagement of the NRF is the Battle of Aleppo where SNA and other military elements continued to fight and pledged their loyalty to the NRF. On December 8, the organization announced its allegiance to the Provisional Government of Free Syria, a government in exile composed of surviving government officials, and became their military army.

History

The northern and easternmost areas of Syria have long since been viewed as favorable terrain for several guerilla warfare and militant organizations such as the Free Syrian Army which was formed in 1999 after the brutal reprisals inflicted by the Syrian Arab Republic during the Damascus Spring and by several insurgent groups during the first years of the Syrian Civil War and later by the Syrian opposition after it was formed in 2009. During the war, this area was a hotspot for insurgent activity and was where a significant number of Syrian National Army (SNA) and International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) personnel were present in.

During the 2022 Damascus offensive which saw the opposition capture large swafths of territory, several military officers, militia leaders, and veterans of the Free Syrian Army gathered in areas of eastern and southern Syria to create a new resistance movement from elements of the Syrian Armed Forces that refused to surrender and anti-Ba'athist militias and civilian fighters to ensure that any new Ba'athist state cannot have a stable foundation and can be undone before gaining wider international recognition. This was seen as vital as the collapse of most of the armed forces lead many to view that defeat was inevitable and that a new war was the only way to prevent a pernament return to Ba'athist rule.

See also

• Free Syrian Army
• 2022 Syrian protests
• Syrian opposition