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.”
Volodymyr Zelenskyy says two Chinese citizens have been captured while fighting in eastern Ukraine.
He said his forces had fought six Chinese soldiers and two of them had been taken prisoner. He added he had ordered officials to obtain an explanation from Beijing.
“We have information that there are many more Chinese citizens in the occupier’s units than just two. We are now finding out all the facts,” he added.
As it happened: Zelenskyy demands reaction from US
China is an ally of Russia and has been accused of helping its war in Ukraine, though Beijing has repeatedly denied allegations that it has supplied Kremlin forces with weapons.
“Russia’s involvement of China in this war in Europe, directly or indirectly, is a clear signal that Putin is going to do anything but end the war,” Mr Zelenskyy said. “He is looking for ways to continue the war.”
Mr Zelenskyy described China as having joined Russia’s war against Ukraine and said he expected the US to react.
There was no immediate comment from China.
How many Chinese are actually fighting for Russia?
Were they volunteers – or mercenaries – who had signed up to fight in the Russian army on their own?
Alternatively, does the Chinese government sanction their involvement – or even encourage it? That would make the situation far more serious.
The capture of these Chinese nationals in Donetsk begs another question – how many Chinese are actually fighting for Russia? In his written post on social media platform Telegram, Volodymyr Zelenskyy said “there are many more Chinese citizens” other than these two.
Still, the Ukrainian president works hard to suggest the Chinese, officially at least, are blameless.
“Russia’s involvement of China in this war… is a clear signal that [Russian President Vladimir] Putin is going to do anything but end the war,” he writes on Telegram.
This is a generous interpretation of China’s approach to the conflict, which is quite openly contradictory.
Fighters of various nationalities have joined Russia’s army during the war, often in return for promises of large sums of money. This does not represent official interventions by their home countries.
North Korea has also sent thousands of its troops to support Russia.
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‘This could be very, very embarrassing for China’
After Mr Zelenskyy’s announcement, the Ukrainian foreign minister said he had summoned China’s diplomat for an explanation, saying on social media the presence of Chinese citizens in Russia puts Beijing’s stance for peace into question.
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Ukraine in Belgorod, almost out of Kursk
Last night, Mr Zelenskyy confirmed for the first time that Ukrainian forces are active in Russia’s Belgorod region.
He described the actions as “just”, adding: “war must return to where it came from”.
Meanwhile, regional governor Alexander Khinshtein said Russian forces are on the verge of reclaiming Kursk, months after Ukraine’s surprise incursion.
He claimed Russian forces had seized the settlement of Guyevo. Russian state news agency TASS said only two more settlements are left to recapture – Gornal and Oleshnya – to retake the entire region.
World
What we learn from video of captured Chinese national in Ukraine – and the serious questions it raises
In a carefully written post on social media platform Telegram, Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused the Russian army of deploying Chinese citizens on the battlefield in eastern Ukraine.
What about the proof? Well, the Ukrainian president says his security services captured two people from China in the Donetsk region – along with identity documents, personal data and their bank cards.
Follow latest: Zelenskyy demands reaction from US
A video of a man in military fatigues who had been captured by Ukraine was pinned to the bottom of the statement.
We get snippets of a conversation where the alleged combatant seems to be talking about the events that led to his capture.
“When we arrived at the place… and then my commander.” The man gestures at the floor and ceiling, making shooting noises. “I was also injured.”
Volodymyr Zelenskyy uploaded a video appearing to show a Chinese citizen in military uniform in Ukrainian custody
These details will make it difficult for the Chinese government to deny the incident out of hand, although they are highly unlikely to supply additional information.
Important details like, who are they? What function(s) do they fulfil in Ukraine’s occupied territories?
Were they volunteers – or mercenaries – who had signed up to fight in the Russian army on their own?
Alternatively, does the Chinese government sanction their involvement – or even encourage it?
That would make the situation far more serious.
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The capture of these Chinese nationals in Donetsk begs another question – how many Chinese are actually fighting for Russia? In his post, Mr Zelenskyy said “there are many more Chinese citizens” other than these two.
Still, the Ukrainian president works hard to suggest the Chinese, officially at least, are blameless.
“Russia’s involvement of China in this war… is a clear signal that [Russian President Vladimir] Putin is going to do anything but end the war,” he writes on Telegram.
This is a generous interpretation of China’s approach to the conflict, which is quite openly contradictory.
On one hand, Chinese President Xi Jinping describes China as a neutral party to the conflict, while simultaneously offering Mr Putin long-term political and economic support.
In fact, he described their partnership as a “no limits” one in a phone call with Mr Putin on the third anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Mr Zelenskyy then, is making a point with this post – but he does not want to make the situation any worse.
The severity cannot be overstated, if an additional 50% tariffs are levied on all Chinese goods it will decimate trade between the world’s two biggest economies.
Remember, 50% would sit on top of what is already on the table: 34% announced last week, 20% announced at the start of US President Donald Trump’s term, and some additional tariffs left over from his first term in office.
In total, it means all Chinese goods would face tariffs of over 100%, some as high as 120%.
It’s a price that makes any trade almost impossible.
China is really the only nation in the world at the moment that is choosing to take a stand.
While others are publicly making concessions and sending delegations to negotiate, China has clearly calculated that not being seen to be bullied is worth the cost that retaliation will bring.
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Tariffs: Xi hits back at Trump
The real question, though, is if the US does indeed impose this extra 50% tomorrow, what could or would China do next?
It has said it will “fight to the end”, but what does that mean?
In reality, there are few good options.
There are some obvious measures that China will almost certainly enact.
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Further export controls on rare earth minerals (crucial for the development of high-tech products) are one example. China controls a huge proportion of the world’s supply, but the US would likely find workarounds in time.
Hiking tariffs on high-impact US products such as agricultural goods is another option, but there is only so far this could go.
The potentially more impactful options have significant drawbacks for Beijing.
It could, for instance, target high-profile American companies such as Apple and Tesla, but this isn’t ideal at a time when China is trying to attract more foreign investment, and some devaluation of the currency is possible, but it would also come with adverse effects.
Other options are more political and come with the risk of escalation beyond the economic arena.
In an opinion piece this morning, the editor of Xinhua, China’s state news agency, speculated that China could cease all cooperation with the US on the war against fentanyl.
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This has been a major political issue for Mr Trump, and it’s hard to see it would not constitute some sort of red line for him.
Other options touted include banning the import of American films, or perhaps calling for the Chinese public to boycott all American products.
Anything like this comes with a sense that the world’s two most powerful superpowers might be teetering on the edge of not just a total economic decoupling, but cultural separation too.
There is understandably serious nervousness about how that could spiral and the precedent it sets.
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