Who are the different rebel groups in Syria – and what territory do they control?
Syrian rebels have brought 24 years of Bashar al Assad’s dictatorship to an end in a single week.
Led by the former al Qaeda affiliate group Hayat Tahrir al Sham, the uprising was also supported by US-backed Kurdish forces, Turkish-backed militias, and dozens of smaller fighter groups.
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Here we look at who the various rebel groups are, who supports them – and what areas they control now the government has fallen.
Hayat Tahrir al Sham (HTS)
The ousting of Bashar al Assad’s government was spearheaded by the Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al Sham (HTS) – a former affiliate of al Qaeda known then as the Nusra Front.
Its founder Abu Muhammed al Jolani broke away from al Qaeda in 2016 in a bid to appear more moderate.
Abu Mohammad al Jolani at the Great Umayyad Mosque in Damascus
It went through several name changes, eventually settling on HTS, and becoming the strongest anti-Assad rebel group around the city of Idlib in the northwest.
HTS is estimated to have between 10,000 and 30,000 members. The UK, US, Russia, and Turkey all classify it as a terrorist group.
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“They are an Islamic group that represents political Islam,” military analyst Professor Michael Clarke tells Sky News.
“Jolani claims they are simply Syrian nationalists that will be tolerant of all minorities. But they explicitly rule out democracy because that takes legitimacy away from God.
“So the best we can hope for from HTS would be some kind of ‘benevolent dictatorship’ with a tolerance of Syria’s patchwork of different peoples.
“But the chances of them being able to bring everyone together under a banner of Syrian patriotism is not great – so I suspect they won’t hold together for long.”
In an ideal world, Professor Clarke adds, HTS wants control of the whole of Syria – as opposed to rival groups who simply “want their agendas recognised”.
Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF)
SDF fighters fly their flag after capturing Deir el Zor in eastern Syria on 7 December. Pic: Reuters
The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) formed in 2015. They are largely made up of Kurdish fighters who want an independent Kurdish state across Syria, Iraq, and Turkey – although there are Christian and Arab militias who fight for them as well.
The SDF is mainly made up of members of the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG), which came about in 2012, ultimately taking control of large parts of northeast Syria while Assad forces took on rebels in the west.
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Many of the YPG’s fighters are veterans of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which fought for decades inside Turkey in a bid to establish Kurdistan as an independent state.
As Islamic State advanced through Syria from 2014 – the YPG held it back – which earned it, and later the SDF, the backing of the United States.
Kurdish fighters from the People’s Protection Units (PYG) fire at Islamic State militants in Raqqa in 2017. Pic: Reuters
“The SDF is the West’s main partner in fighting Islamic State,” Professor Clarke says.
“The US doesn’t want to get too involved – although like many Western nations, it is broadly supportive of a Kurdish homeland. So it helps with power and intelligence while the SDF does the dirty work on the ground.”
Professor Clarke describes it as “well organised” and strongest militarily in terms of “numbers and ability”, but adds that it “doesn’t want to take over the whole of Syria” – and is purely focused on the Kurdish struggle.
Syrian National Army (SNA)
Syrian National Army fighters drive into Sanliurfa province, Turkey in 2019. Pic: Reuters
After Turkey sent troops into Syria to push back both Islamic State and Kurdish groups in 2016 – a network of Turkish-backed militias formed and became the Syrian National Army (SNA) the following year. This grouping incorporated many elements of what was previously known as the Free Syrian Army (FSA).
The SNA then held an area along the Syrian-Turkish border – north of Aleppo – as a type of buffer zone to keep Kurdish forces out of its territory.
“Like the SDF, they’ve got an anti-Islamist agenda, but they’re aided by Turkey instead of the US,” Professor Clarke says.
While they were willing to join HTS forces to oust Assad – their agenda is ultimately “antagonistic” towards them, he adds.
The SNA currently holds territory along the Turkish border, which is split by larger SDF-held areas in the northeast and northwest.
Other groups
Celebrations after Islamic State took over air base near Raqqa in 2014. Pic: Reuters
There are many more smaller militias active across the country.
Although Islamic State was almost completely eradicated in Syria by the US in 2019, it still has some presence in parts of the country. The US Army has kept around 900 troops inside Syria to suppress any activity, with IS attacks becoming more frequent since 2023.
Various other wider coalitions of rebel groups exist.
The Southern Operations Group formed as a new rebel coalition amid this month’s uprising and comprises around 50 groups including Christian, Druze, and Alawite fighters.
Wider umbrella groups, with both Syrian nationalist and Islamist ideologies, have also existed over the years.
“Most of these smaller militias change name and change allegiances fairly regularly,” Professor Clarke says.
“But they’re all competing to have their own agendas recognised by whoever is going to do the top job.”
World
Stock markets slump for second day running after Trump announces tariffs – in worst day for indexes since COVID
Worldwide stock markets have plummeted for the second day running as the fallout from Donald Trump’s global tariffs continues.
While European and Asian markets suffered notable falls, American indexes were the worst hit, with Wall Street closing to a sea of red on Friday following Thursday’s rout – the worst day in US markets since the COVID-19 pandemic.
As it happened: Worst week’s trading in five years
All three of the US’s major indexes were down by more than 5% at market close; The Dow Jones Industrial Average plummeted 5.5%, the S&P 500 was 5.97% lower, and the Nasdaq Composite slipped 5.82%.
The Nasdaq was also 22% below its record-high set in December, which indicates a bear market.
Read more: What’s a bear market?
Ever since the US president announced the tariffs on Wednesday evening, analysts estimate that around $4.9trn (£3.8trn) has been wiped off the value of the global stock market.
Mr Trump has remained unapologetic as the markets struggle, posting in all-caps on Truth Social before the markets closed that “only the weak will fail”.
The UK’s leading stock market, the FTSE 100, also suffered its worst daily drop in more than five years, closing 4.95% down, a level not seen since March 2020.
And the Japanese exchange Nikkei 225 dropped by 2.75% at end of trading, down 20% from its recent peak in July last year.
US indexes had the worst day of trading since the COVID-19 pandemic. Pic: Reuters
Trump holds trade deal talks – reports
It comes as a source told CNN that Mr Trump has been in discussions with Vietnamese, Indian and Israeli representatives to negotiate bespoke trade deals that could alleviate proposed tariffs on those countries before a deadline next week.
The source told the US broadcaster the talks were being held in advance of the reciprocal levies going into effect next week.
Vietnam faced one of the highest reciprocal tariffs announced by the US president this week, with 46% rates on imports. Israeli imports face a 17% rate, and Indian goods will be subject to 26% tariffs.
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Do Trump’s tariffs add up?
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China – hit with 34% tariffs on imported goods – has also announced it will issue its own levy of the same rate on US imports.
Mr Trump said China “played it wrong” and “panicked – the one thing they cannot afford to do” in another all-caps Truth Social post earlier on Friday.
Later, on Air Force One, the US president told reporters that “the beauty” of the tariffs is that they allow for negotiations, referencing talks with Chinese company ByteDance on the sale of social media app TikTok.
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Tariffs: Xi hits back at Trump
He said: “We have a situation with TikTok where China will probably say, ‘We’ll approve a deal, but will you do something on the tariffs?’
“The tariffs give us great power to negotiate. They always have.”
World
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South Korea’s constitutional court has confirmed the dismissal of President Yoon Suk Yeol, who was impeached in December after declaring martial law.
His decision to send troops onto the streets led to the country’s worst political crisis in decades.
The court ruled to uphold the impeachment saying the conservative leader “violated his duty as commander-in-chief by mobilising troops” when he declared martial law.
The president was also said to have taken actions “beyond the powers provided in the constitution”.
Demonstrators stayed overnight near the constitutional court. Pic: AP
Supporters and opponents of the president gathered in their thousands in central Seoul as they awaited the ruling.
The 64-year-old shocked MPs, the public and international allies in early December when he declared martial law, meaning all existing laws regarding civilians were suspended in place of military law.
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The court was under heavy police security guard ahead of the announcement. Pic: AP
After suddenly declaring martial law, Mr Yoon sent hundreds of soldiers and police officers to the National Assembly.
He has argued that he sought to maintain order, but some senior military and police officers sent there have told hearings and investigators that Mr Yoon ordered them to drag out politicians to prevent an assembly vote on his decree.
His presidential powers were suspended when the opposition-dominated assembly voted to impeach him on 14 December, accusing him of rebellion.
The unanimous verdict to uphold parliament’s impeachment and remove Mr Yoon from office required the support of at least six of the court’s eight justices.
South Korea must hold a national election within two months to find a new leader.
Lee Jae-myung, leader of the main liberal opposition Democratic Party, is the early favourite to become the country’s next president, according to surveys.
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