Syria's Tomorrow Movement تيار الغد السوري | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Leader | Fouad Humeira[1] |
| President | Ahmad Jarba |
| General Secretary | |
| Spokesperson | Monzer Akbik[3] |
| Founded | 11 March 2016 inCairo,Egypt[4] |
| Ideology | Pluralist democracy[2] Liberal democracy[3] Secularism[3] |
| Democratic Council | 1 / 43 |
| Party flag | |
.svg) | |
| Website | |
| http://www.alghadalsoury.com/ | |
TheSyria's Tomorrow Movement (Arabic:تيار الغد السوري) is aSyrian opposition party founded in March 2016 inCairo byAhmad Jarba, aSyrian National Council member. The party was backed byEgypt and theUnited Arab Emirates and cooperates with theNational Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces, although it is not part of the coalition.[1][4] They also cooperate with theSyrian Democratic Council of theAutonomous Administration of North and East Syria.[5]
The movement aims todecentralize Syria and implementpluralist democracy. However, it opposes any partition of the state.[2] The party considersAlawites, as with all otherethnic groups in Syria, to be an essential component of theSyrian people and called for greater inclusion of them in the opposition.[1]
During the formation of the movement, Egyptian andLebanese officials attended the announcement. Although the party aims to oppose the government ofBashar al-Assad, a Russian embassy official and pro-Assad Syrians attended the official launch of the party, along with thePalestinian officialMohammed Dahlan.[4] AKurdistan Regional Government representative also attended the meeting.[6]
In early April 2016, the head of Syria's Tomorrow Movement, Fouad Humeira, met withAnas Al-Abdah, the head of theMovement for Justice and Development in Syria and the overall president of theSyrian National Coalition. Al-Abdah expressed the SNC's readiness to cooperate with Syria's Tomorrow Movement.[1]
In September, Ahmad Jarba met with the leader of theMovement for a Democratic Society, representing the de facto autonomous administration of theFederation of Northern Syria - Rojava, in order to form an agreement to participate in the governing of northeastern Syria.[7] They issued a joint statement that "the monist powers insisting on one party, one flag and one nation are doomed to fail, and peoples are trying to realize their dreams for a democratic, pluralist and united Syria."[5]
Weeks later, theLocal Coordination Committees of Syria reported that a UShelicopter transported Ahmed Jarba and Syrian actorJamal Suliman from Iraqi Kurdistan to theAbu Hajar Airport near the town ofRmelan in northeastern Syria. After they arrived, the two met with thePYD official Eldar Khalil, along with politicians from other Kurdish parties in Syria.[8]
The movement also signed an agreement with theNational Coordination Committee for Democratic Change.[3]
On 22 July 2017, the Syria's Tomorrow Movement, led by Ahmad Jarba, was involved in negotiations in Egypt between Russia andJaysh al-Islam to implement a partial ceasefire in EastGhouta.[9]
| Elite Forces | |
|---|---|
| قوات النخبة | |
| Leaders | |
| Dates of operation | 2016 — ?(much of the unit defected to the SDF in 2017; its current status is unclear) |
| Groups |
|
| Headquarters | Al-Shaddadah Subdistrict |
| Active regions | |
| Ideology | Pluralist democracy |
| Size | 3,500 (self claim, March 2017)[15] |
| Part of |  Syrian Democratic Forces(entire militia officially 2016–17;[19] some sub-units before and after these dates) |
| Opponents |  Islamic State |
| Battles and wars | Syrian Civil War |
On 18 April 2016, a unit ofFree Syrian Army fighters ofal-Shaitat andShammar, originally fromDeir ez-Zor Governorate and theHasakah Governorate[10] and calling themselves theElite Forces, declared themselves to be the armed wing of Syria's Tomorrow Movement and stressed Kurdish-Arab unity in Syria. The group claimed to have captured 3 villages from theIslamic State 60 kilometres north ofDeir ez-Zor. TheSyrian Democratic Forces welcomed the presence of the Elite Forces although the group is not officially allied with it. Ahmad Jarba reportedly shipped weapons fromIraqi Kurdistan to Syria in order to arm the faction.[6][21]
On 10 April 2017, a purported spokesman for the Elite Forces claimed that the group was not part of the SDF, would cooperate with both the SDF andPeshmerga Roj to capture Deir ez-Zor, and rejectedfederalism.[22] On 15 April, this statement was denied by Muhammad Khalid Shakir, the official spokesman of the Elite Forces. He denied any disagreements between the Elite Forces and the SDF and said that "We are in the framework of the international coalition. The leadership of the coalition manages the operations on the ground. Our troops did not withdraw. We have completed the third phase of theWrath of Euphrates Operation, and we will participate in all stages until Raqqa and Deir ez-Zor are freed."[23] While thebattle of Raqqa was still ongoing, the Elite Forces officially left the SDF,[19] though elements of the group continued to cooperate with the SDF.[24]
On 25 August 2017, 800 fighters left the Elite Forces and were fully integrated into the ranks of the SDF and itsDeir ez-Zor Military Council. The fighters accused the Elite Forces of corruption. These forces consisted of 7 units ofal-Baggara andal-Shaitat tribal fighters stationed in the eastern Raqqa and southern Hasaka countrysides,[25][26] including the Gathering ofal-Baggara Youth, led by Yasser al-Dahla.[27] By early 2019, the Elite Forces were still active, but had very few troops left.[19]
|
|---|
Symbols |
Executive
|
The source also said that "the leadership of the Elite Forces said earlier that more 3,000 fighters will be involved in the battle to liberate Raqqa, but upon arrival at the Tel Abyad area, it became clear that the number of Elite Forces did not exceed 650 fighters, mostly members of the Shaitat of Deir ez-Zour.
The size of the participation of Elite Forces in the Battle of Raqqa was deliberately exaggerated, adding that "the real number of the Elite Forces does not exceed 200 fighters, but the means of the units of media depicting the number of fighters that exceeds the thousands"
