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Human rights abuses

Up until now, the FSA has functioned primarily as an umbrella group for army defectors, civilians who have taken up arms and Islamist militants. Fighters are believed to have only limited or no contact with each other or the FSA's leaders in Turkey.

Though they are working towards a similar goal - the overthrow of President Assad - many are thought to adopt the name "Free Syrian Army" to underscore their revolutionary aspirations, their army background or that they are not pro-government militiamen.

The FSA leadership told the UN Human Rights Council in February that commanders in the field did not receive orders from it and currently made their own rules of engagement. The leadership saw its role as facilitating co-ordination and ensuring media outreach.

The council said it had documented instances of gross human rights abuses committed by members of various FSA groups. In Homs, FSA members were found to have tortured and executed suspected members of the pro-government militia, the Shabiha, in retaliation for abuses committed by them.

Some armed civilians in Homs, including those belonging to the FSA, have also allegedly sought to kill the family members of Shabiha and security forces personnel to exact blood revenge, or take them hostage.

The FSA's leadership has also found it difficult to work with the main opposition coalition, the Syrian National Council (SNC), which has publicly stated that it wants to safeguard the uprising's "non-violent character".

However, in January the two groups agreed to co-ordinate their operations more closely through a liaison office and the SNC has appealed to the international community to support the rebels "by means of military advisers, training and provision of arms to defend themselves".

The FSA has also acknowledged that some foreign jihadist militants, including those linked to al-Qaeda, have travelled to Syria to join its ranks, but claims they do not play a decisive role. A shadowy group calling itself the al-Nusra Front has said it was behind a series of suicide bombings which have rocked Damascus since January.

2 August 2012 Last updated at 10:51 GMT

Syria conflict: Jihadists' role growing

By Murad Batal al-ShishaniIslamic Groups Analyst, BBC Arabic

When peaceful protests demanding regime change in Syria erupted 16 months ago, there were no signs of the presence of jihadist groups on the ground other than the claims of the regime.

In reaction to the violent measures the regime has implemented against peaceful protesters, some Syrians have resorted to arms.

In this context, the Free Syrian Army (FSA) was formed from defecting army soldiers in order "to protect protesters and to fight against the Bashar al-Assad regime", according to their statements.

Simultaneously, however, jihadists - those committed to establishing an Islamic state by violent means - have started to be seen on the battlefield in Syria, which became a highly streamed topic on the jihadist online forums.



The FSA is scrutinising jihadists in Syria very closely, considering them "a real threat after the Assad regime falls," according to a senior FSA officer.

Colonel Ahmad Fahd al-Nimah, the head of the Military Revolutionary Council in Deraa, told the BBC: "Jihadists would pose a real threat in the next stage for our society and our Arab and Western friends."

Col Nimah, like many opposition figures, insists that the jihadists' role and presence in Syria are limited. But reports indicate an increase in jihadist activities on the ground.


Date: 2016-03-03; view: 735


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