Syrian National Army: Russian View
05 November 2020
In autumn 2017, the Council of the Syrian Islamic Scholars devised an initiative to unite all groups of the Syrian moderate opposition into the Syrian National Army (SNA), which was supposed to become FSA 2.0. At that time, 80% of the Syrian opposition factions, including Ahrar al-Sham and Jaysh al-Islam, as well as the majority of the Free Syrian Army (FSA) armed groups were prepared to join the SNA. It was the first time since 2012 that the FSA had managed to bring all opposition forces under its banner, and the creation of a unified military network with a common structure and command gained a new impetus. However, the SNA project was five years too late and, by the time the rebels began to merge into this new unified army, the Syrian opposition had already lost the war.
The ideas expressed are those of the author not the publisher
Published in October 2020
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Part of the Syria Transition Challenges Project
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By
Kirill Semenov, Russian International Affairs Council
Kirill Semenov is a military affairs expert and political analyst. His research focuses on the conflicts in the Middle East, with a strong emphasis on Syria, Yemen and Libya. He is a non-resident expert of the Russian International Affairs Council and Valdai Discussion Club, as well as a columnist for Al-Monitor. He served in the Russian state civil service from 2000 to 2011.
