The Supreme Military Council (SMC) ( ar, المجلس العسكري الأعلى, also called the Supreme Military Command) was the highest military leadership of the

Free Syrian Army The Free Syrian Army (FSA) ( ar, الجيش السوري الحر, al-jaysh as-Sūrī al-ḥur) is a loose faction in the Syrian Civil War founded on 29 July 2011 by officers of the Syrian Armed Forces with the goal of bringing down the governm ...

(FSA) from late 2012 to at least mid-2014. The establishment of the organisation was announced on 7 December 2012 with the backing of western and Arab powers as a means of financing and arming Syrian rebel forces. The Supreme Military Council of the FSA supported the

Syrian National Council The Syrian National Council (SNC; ar, المجلس الوطني السوري, ''al- Majlis al-Waṭanī as-Sūri'', french: Conseil national syrien), sometimes known as the Syrian National Transitional Council or the National Council of Syri ...

(SNC). It also recognized the

National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces The National Coalition of Syrian Revolution and Opposition Forces ( ar, الائتلاف الوطني لقوى الثورة والمعارضة السورية), commonly named the Syrian National Coalition (SNC) ( ar, الائتلاف الو ...

as the "civil authority" of the

Syrian opposition The Syrian opposition ( ar, المعارضة السورية ', ) is the political structure represented by the Syrian National Coalition and associated Syrian anti-Assad groups with certain territorial control as an alternative Syrian gover ...

History

On 7 December 2012, 260 rebel commanders from all over Syria agreed to a unified command structure of the

. The participants elected a 30-member Supreme Military Council, which then selected Brigadier General

Salim Idris Salim Idris ( ar, سلیم ادریس ''Salīm Idrīs'') (born 1958) is the former Chief of Staff of the Supreme Military Council (SMC) of the Syrian National Army, a Syrian armed opposition group. He has a PhD in "electronic radars" and spea ...

as Chief of Staff. The 30 members of the council were divided in groups of six, with each group representing one of five fronts: Southern (

Daraa Daraa ( ar, دَرْعَا, Darʿā, Levantine Arabic: , also Darʿā, Dara’a, Deraa, Dera'a, Dera, Derʿā and Edrei; means "''fortress''", compare Dura-Europos) is a city in southwestern Syria, located about north of the border with Jordan ...

Damascus )), is an adjective which means "spacious". , motto = , image_flag = Flag of Damascus.svg , image_seal = Emblem of Damascus.svg , seal_type = Seal , map_caption = , ...

, and

as-Suwayda , timezone = EET , utc_offset = +2 , timezone_DST = EEST , utc_offset_DST = +3 , coordinates = , grid_position = 296/235 ...

), Western (

Hama , timezone = EET , utc_offset = +2 , timezone_DST = EEST , utc_offset_DST = +3 , postal_code_type = , postal_code = , ar ...

Latakia , coordinates = , elevation_footnotes = , elevation_m = 11 , elevation_ft = , postal_code_type = , postal_code = , area_code = Country code: 963 City code: 41 , geocode ...

and

Tartus ) , settlement_type = City , image_skyline = , imagesize = , image_caption = Tartus corniche Port of Tartus • Tartus beach and boulevard Cathedral of Our Lady of Tortosa • Al-Assad Stadium&n ...

), Northern (

Aleppo )), is an adjective which means "white-colored mixed with black". , motto = , image_map = , mapsize = , map_caption = , image_map1 = ...

and

Idlib ar, إدلبي, Idlibi , coordinates = , elevation_m = 500 , area_code = 23 , geocode = C3871 , blank_name = Climate , blank_info ...

), Eastern (

Deir ez-Zor , population_urban = , population_density_urban_km2 = , population_density_urban_sq_mi = , population_blank1_title = Ethnicities , population_blank1 = , population_blank2_title = Religions , population_blank2 = ...

al-Hasakah Al-Hasakah ( ar, ٱلْحَسَكَة, al-Ḥasaka; ku, Heseke/حەسەکە; syr, ܚܣܝܟܐ Hasake), is the capital city of the Al-Hasakah Governorate, in the northeastern corner of Syria. With a 2004 census population of 188,160, it is the e ...

and

Raqqa Raqqa ( ar, ٱلرَّقَّة, ar-Raqqah, also and ) (Kurdish languages, Kurdish: Reqa/ ڕەقە) is a city in Syria on the northeast bank of the Euphrates River, about east of Aleppo. It is located east of the Tabqa Dam, Syria's largest dam. T ...

), and Central (

Homs Homs ( , , , ; ar, حِمْص / ALA-LC: ; Levantine Arabic: / ''Ḥomṣ'' ), known in pre-Islamic Syria as Emesa ( ; grc, Ἔμεσα, Émesa), is a city in western Syria and the capital of the Homs Governorate. It is Metres above sea level ...

and

al-Rastan Al-Rastan ( ar, الرستن) is the third largest city in the Homs Governorate, located north of its administrative capital Homs and from Hama. Nearby localities include Talbiseh and al-Ghantu to the south, al-Zaafaraniyah and al-Mashrafah t ...

). The council was created with the backing of western powers and many Arab states as a vehicle to finance and arm rebel groups. On 11 July 2013, a commander of the SMC's Western Front, Kamal al-Hamami, met with the

Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant An Islamic state is a State (polity), state that has a form of government based on sharia, Islamic law (sharia). As a term, it has been used to describe various historical Polity, polities and theories of governance in the Islamic world. As a t ...

(ISIL) in the

Latakia Governorate Latakia Governorate, also transliterated as Ladhakia Governorate, ( ar, مُحافظة اللاذقية / ALA-LC: ''Muḥāfaẓat al-Lādhiqīyah'') is one of the 14 governorates of Syria. It is situated in western Syria, bordering Turkey's Hatay ...

, which resulted in him being killed by ISIL. ISIL then threatened to kill all SMC members. In September 2013, the

al-Tawhid Brigade The al-Tawhid Brigade ( ar-at, لواء التوحيد, Liwa al-Tawhid, lit=Brigade of monothiesim), named after Tawhid, the "oneness of God," but often mistranslated as Unity Brigade, was an armed Islamist insurgent group involved in the Syria ...

, Islam Brigade, and Suqour al-Sham Brigade, the largest militias in the SMC, joined with

al-Qaeda Al-Qaeda (; , ) is an Islamic extremism, Islamic extremist organization composed of Salafist jihadists. Its members are mostly composed of Arab, Arabs, but also include other peoples. Al-Qaeda has mounted attacks on civilian and military ta ...

al-Nusra Front Al-Nusra Front or Jabhat al-Nusra ( ar, جبهة النصرة لأهل الشام, Jabhat an-Nuṣrah li-Ahl ish-Sham lit. ''Front of the Supporters of the People of Syria/the Levant''), known as Jabhat Fatah al-Sham ( ar, جبهة فتح ال ...

and several

Salafi jihadist Salafi jihadism or jihadist-Salafism is a transnational, hybrid religious-political ideology based on the Sunni sect of Islamism, seeking to establish a global caliphate, characterized by the advocacy for "physical" (military) jihadist and Sa ...

and other

Sunni Sunni Islam () is the largest branch of Islam, followed by 85–90% of the world's Muslims. Its name comes from the word '' Sunnah'', referring to the tradition of Muhammad. The differences between Sunni and Shia Muslims arose from a disagr ...

Islamic fundamentalist Islamic fundamentalism has been defined as a puritanical, revivalist, and reform movement of Muslims who aim to return to the founding scriptures of Islam. Islamic fundamentalists are of the view that Muslim-majority countries should return t ...

groups to form the Islamic Coalition. The SMC-affiliated groups in the coalition stressed that they were not breaking with SMC, but only the political exile wing in the

. This left official SMC commander Salim Idriss formally in control of just a few small units. Between 6 and 7 December 2013, the al-Nusra Front and/or the ISIL raided warehouses under direct control of the SMC at the Bab al-Hawa Border Crossing with

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

and captured weapons and equipment. The warehouses, one of the largest held by the rebels at the time, held numerous weapons and equipment supplied to the SMC by

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the A ...

Qatar Qatar (, ; ar, قطر, Qaṭar ; local vernacular pronunciation: ), officially the State of Qatar,) is a country in Western Asia. It occupies the Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it sh ...

, the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

, and other foreign supporters of the opposition. The SMC leadership requested the Islamic Front, formed by most member groups of the Islamic Coalition two weeks earlier, for help, which the IF rejected as it refused to fight al-Nusra. The IF offered to raise its flag over the warehouses to protect it from attack, before proceeding to storm the warehouses and capture them from SMC units, the SMC-affiliated

Ahfad al-Rasul Brigades The Ahfad al-Rasul Brigades ( ar, ألوية أحفاد الرسول ''Al-wīat Aḥfād ar-Rasūl'', "Grandsons of the Prophet Brigades") was a Syrian rebel group fighting against the Syrian government in the Syrian Civil War. It was funded by ...

, and ISIL. Following the takeover, the US and UK announced that they would temporarily suspend their supplies of non-lethal equipment for the SMC through the crossing. On 16 February 2014, the Supreme Military Council announced that Idris was replaced with

Colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

Abdul-Ilah al-Bashir Abdul-Ilah al-Bashir al-Noeimi ( ar, عبد الإله البشير النعيمي) is the former Chief of Staff of the Supreme Military Council (SMC) of the Free Syrian Army. He was succeeded by Albay Ahmed Berri in October 2014. Background No ...

, head of the FSA's Quneitra Military Council. 4 months later on 26 June 2014, Abdullah al-Bashir was sacked by the SNC, and SNC's chief, Ahmad Tohme, said in a statement that he "disbanded the Supreme Military Council". On 25 September 2014, according to

CNN CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by ...

, the Supreme Military Council allied with the

Syriac Military Council The Syriac Military Council ( syr, ܡܘܬܒܐ ܦܘܠܚܝܐ ܣܘܪܝܝܐ, translit=Mawtbo Fulḥoyo Suryoyo, MFS; ar, المجلس العسكري السرياني السوري) is an Assyrian/Syriac military organisation in Syria, part of the S ...

to fight against the Syrian government and ISIL.{{cite web , url=http://edition.cnn.com/2014/09/25/world/meast/us-syria-rebel-agreement/ , last1=Bronstein , first1=Scott , last2=Griffin , first2=Drew , title=Syrian rebel groups unite to fight ISIS , publisher=CNN , date=26 September 2014, accessdate=27 April 2016

References

Anti-government factions of the Syrian civil war Operations rooms of the Syrian civil war Anti-ISIL factions in Syria 2012 establishments in Syria

History

See also

References