bouncingball8 How to Understand the Armed Factions Operating in Syria

Rebel forces have swept through Syria and forced former President Bashar al-Assad out of the country where his family had ruled with an iron fist since the early 1970s.

The rapid offensive marked a dramatic breakthrough for the many factions that have been trying to unseat the president for more than a decade of civil war. Many of the fighters in Syria shared a desire to topple Mr. al-Assad’s government, but not much else: Their ideologies, political beliefs and international backers are very different.

In the fallout created by Mr. al-Assad’s downfall, there are big questions about who will step in.

Here are the primary players.Hayat Tahrir al-ShamSyrian Democratic ForcesThe Syrian National ArmyThe Druse militiaThe Islamic State in Iraq and SyriaImageHayat Tahrir al-Sham fighters at a frontline position in 2021.Credit...Ivor Prickett for The New York TimesHayat Tahrir al-Sham

Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, whose name means Organization for the Liberation of the Levant, is a former affiliate of Al Qaeda that broke with the older group years ago and came to dominate the last stronghold of Syria’s opposition.

It was the main rebel group leading the latest offensive, launching a surprise assault in late November out of its base in northwestern Syria that quickly led to the fall of the Assad government.

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