More Syrian Rebel Factions Disavow Pro-US Umbrella Group

Groups Aim to Reorganize Under New Leadership

The US-backed Syrian National Coalition (SNC) continues to lose the support of fighting forces left and right, with a new video from Anwar al-Sunna disavowing them, and claiming 66 other groups are going with them.

The SNC styles itself as the sole political representation of the rebellion, and also a government in exile. The group’s political leadership is constantly divided, however, and has been losing the backing of fighters on the ground.

As the war has dragged on, several rebel factions have begun fighting one another, and there are now multiple umbrella groups which each command the loyalty of different factions. The Anwar al-Sunna video today likewise promised to reorganize several factions under new leadership.

The splits are going to make peace talks all the more complicated to organize, as neither the SNC nor any of the other factions have agreed to participate, and even if one of them did, their limited influence over the rest of the rebellion means they can’t really offer much in the way of stopping the fighting.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.