BEIRUT, Lebanon — Commanders of the Free Syrian Army, the main umbrella group
for fighters opposing President Bashar al-Assad, said Saturday that they had
moved their headquarters from Turkey into "liberated areas" inside Syria, in
what they portrayed as a major step forward in their efforts to aid, coordinate
and control disparate groups of rebels.
In a video titled “Free Syrian Army Communiqué No. 1 From Inside,” Col. Riad al-Assad, the leader of the Free Syrian Army, declared: “To our free Syrian people and to all free revolutionaries in Syrian towns, villages and suburbs and to all armed factions of the revolution: We announce the entry of the leadership of the Free Syrian Army into liberated territories in Syria.”
The goal, analysts said, appeared to be as much political as military, a bid to win legitimacy and edge out competing exile groups seeking to position themselves as governments in waiting. Fighters and opposition activists in Syria have derided the F.S.A. leaders and other exiles as opportunists, removed from the battle and lacking credibility among the Syrians directly involved in the fighting.
In the video, Colonel Assad sought to assuage those concerns. He emphasized that the move was made “in collaboration with battalions inside Syria.”
“We have been accused of swerving from our initial noble goals for the revolution and making questionable deals with foreign parties,” he said. “Our goal is not to take the place of the current regime, which is taking its last breaths.”
He called for all elements of Syrian society to agree on a new political system, adding, “We are just a part of it.”
Vowing not to “strike deals” with anyone “until we liberate Damascus,” Colonel Assad declared, “We also promise you that we won’t make any deals at the expense of our population, its identity, its religion, its unity, its freedom, its sovereignty or its independence.”
But the practical effect of the move remained unclear. Working in Syria could give F.S.A. leaders easier access to rebels as Turkey, under domestic pressure to curb refugee flows, increasingly bars fighters from its territory. But it carries new risks.
“The problem is that it gives the Syrian Air Force a target,” said Joshua Landis, a Syria analyst at the University of Oklahoma. “We have to see whether this is a credible headquarters or just a mobile camp that gives them a P.O. box in Syria.”
Though parts of Syria are outside government control, the air force bombs at will. That could restrict the F.S.A. leaders’ movements in northern Syria, whether to funnel arms or to enforce unified goals and standards.
“ ‘Liberated territory’ is areas where the regime cannot reassert itself even with air power,” said Andrew J. Tabler, who follows the conflict at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, “I’m not sure there is much territory like that at the moment.”
Analysts said that Syria had long been home to the real commanders — low-level leaders making daily decisions for their decentralized units — and that the clout of the F.S.A. exile leadership might already be waning.
“The purported F.S.A. leaders in Turkey have never exercised anything like full command and control over the rebellion,” said Michael Wahid Hanna, an analyst at The Century Foundation. “They have seen their role diminish as the center of gravity continues to shift to leaders and fighters inside Syria.”
An opposition fighter in Homs echoed that sentiment, saying that if Colonel Assad had returned to Syria sooner, “his situation would be better.” The fighter said the move would add to Colonel Assad’s “importance and value” as one of the first high-ranking officers to defect from Syria’s army — but his praise carried a whiff of disappointment.
“I actually fought on the ground more than him,” the fighter said, “and this is the case for most officers who remained inside Syria.”
The move might also signal a shift in relations between the armed Syrian opposition and Turkey, which has long sought to “run the show,” Mr. Landis said. While the rebels still need Turkey as a haven and arms conduit, a move into Syria may allow them to exercise more control, for instance, reducing the influence of groups favored by Turkey, like the Syrian Muslim Brotherhood.
In the northern province of Idlib, rebels on Saturday claimed to have carried out a coordinated attack in which three battalions attacked an army base, blocked reinforcements from arriving and shot down a fighter jet.
The rebels’ claim about the jet was not immediately confirmed by Syria’s official news agency, and the rebels did not produce any video of a direct hit on a jet, an explosion or any wreckage, as they have in previous cases.
The claims regarding the fighting and the move of the rebel headquarters were impossible to verify immediately because of Syrian restrictions on journalists.
In a video titled “Free Syrian Army Communiqué No. 1 From Inside,” Col. Riad al-Assad, the leader of the Free Syrian Army, declared: “To our free Syrian people and to all free revolutionaries in Syrian towns, villages and suburbs and to all armed factions of the revolution: We announce the entry of the leadership of the Free Syrian Army into liberated territories in Syria.”
The goal, analysts said, appeared to be as much political as military, a bid to win legitimacy and edge out competing exile groups seeking to position themselves as governments in waiting. Fighters and opposition activists in Syria have derided the F.S.A. leaders and other exiles as opportunists, removed from the battle and lacking credibility among the Syrians directly involved in the fighting.
In the video, Colonel Assad sought to assuage those concerns. He emphasized that the move was made “in collaboration with battalions inside Syria.”
“We have been accused of swerving from our initial noble goals for the revolution and making questionable deals with foreign parties,” he said. “Our goal is not to take the place of the current regime, which is taking its last breaths.”
He called for all elements of Syrian society to agree on a new political system, adding, “We are just a part of it.”
Vowing not to “strike deals” with anyone “until we liberate Damascus,” Colonel Assad declared, “We also promise you that we won’t make any deals at the expense of our population, its identity, its religion, its unity, its freedom, its sovereignty or its independence.”
But the practical effect of the move remained unclear. Working in Syria could give F.S.A. leaders easier access to rebels as Turkey, under domestic pressure to curb refugee flows, increasingly bars fighters from its territory. But it carries new risks.
“The problem is that it gives the Syrian Air Force a target,” said Joshua Landis, a Syria analyst at the University of Oklahoma. “We have to see whether this is a credible headquarters or just a mobile camp that gives them a P.O. box in Syria.”
Though parts of Syria are outside government control, the air force bombs at will. That could restrict the F.S.A. leaders’ movements in northern Syria, whether to funnel arms or to enforce unified goals and standards.
“ ‘Liberated territory’ is areas where the regime cannot reassert itself even with air power,” said Andrew J. Tabler, who follows the conflict at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, “I’m not sure there is much territory like that at the moment.”
Analysts said that Syria had long been home to the real commanders — low-level leaders making daily decisions for their decentralized units — and that the clout of the F.S.A. exile leadership might already be waning.
“The purported F.S.A. leaders in Turkey have never exercised anything like full command and control over the rebellion,” said Michael Wahid Hanna, an analyst at The Century Foundation. “They have seen their role diminish as the center of gravity continues to shift to leaders and fighters inside Syria.”
An opposition fighter in Homs echoed that sentiment, saying that if Colonel Assad had returned to Syria sooner, “his situation would be better.” The fighter said the move would add to Colonel Assad’s “importance and value” as one of the first high-ranking officers to defect from Syria’s army — but his praise carried a whiff of disappointment.
“I actually fought on the ground more than him,” the fighter said, “and this is the case for most officers who remained inside Syria.”
The move might also signal a shift in relations between the armed Syrian opposition and Turkey, which has long sought to “run the show,” Mr. Landis said. While the rebels still need Turkey as a haven and arms conduit, a move into Syria may allow them to exercise more control, for instance, reducing the influence of groups favored by Turkey, like the Syrian Muslim Brotherhood.
In the northern province of Idlib, rebels on Saturday claimed to have carried out a coordinated attack in which three battalions attacked an army base, blocked reinforcements from arriving and shot down a fighter jet.
The rebels’ claim about the jet was not immediately confirmed by Syria’s official news agency, and the rebels did not produce any video of a direct hit on a jet, an explosion or any wreckage, as they have in previous cases.
The claims regarding the fighting and the move of the rebel headquarters were impossible to verify immediately because of Syrian restrictions on journalists.
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