Members of the free syrian army work on an improvised mortar shell in deir alzor. Fighters from the free syrian army s tahrir al sham brigade use a shotgun to fire an improvised grenade at syrian army soldiers in the arabeen neigbourhood of damascus february 9, 20. Syrian army colonel defects, forms free syrian army, asharq alawsat. In addition to svbieds, syrian factions use many improvised armored vehicles whose task is protection, not selfdestruction. The weapons have been criticized for being inaccurate. The homemade weapons of the syrian opposition devised in a deprivating 5yearlong civil war alshamiyah front fighters inspect a new locallymade cannon named borkan volcano as it was being launched towards forces loyal to syrias bashar alassad located in aleppo artillery school, march 7, 2015.
A formal organization at its founding, its structure gradually dissipated by late 2012, and the fsa. Continuing violence in northern syria between government forces and rebels is putting plans for a unbrokered ceasefire in jeopardy. Ap photomanu brabo even homemade armored vehicles can be improvised like this sham 1 example. May 29, 20 10 improvised weapons made by syrian rebels. Louay almokdad, the political and media coordinator for the free syrian army, confirmed that the rebels have procured new weapons donated from outside syria, rather than bought on the black. In the syrian civil war, improvised weaponry, vehicles. Like many of the groups making improvised weapons for the syrian. After this, they expanded northeast, meeting with units of the syrian democratic forces north of manbij. According to the free syrian army, they did so with machine guns and. The free syrian army fsa is a loose faction in the syrian civil war founded on 29 july 2011. Large equipment like tanks and vehicles are generally captured from syrian army supplies, but small arms are likely a mixture of captured syrian army weapons, weapons imported by foreign combatants joining the opposition forces, or other sources.
Dec, 20 supreme military council of the free syrian army. The homemade weapons of the syrian opposition devised in a. October 27, 2011 turkeys support of the free syrian army, an armed opposition group, comes amid a broader turkish campaign to undermine president bashar alassads government in syria. Photo by hamid khatibreuters a rebel army officer works on a weapon captured from forces loyal to libyan leader muammar elqaddafi, at a workshop in benghazi, on june 1, 2011. The free syrian army s diy rocket workshop more improvised weapons. Improvised artillery in the syrian civil war are improvised firearms created and used by factions of the syrian civil war, most notably syrian opposition forces. The free syrian army follows orders from turkey middle. A fighter from the free syrian army s tahrir alsham brigade looks at an improvised shotgun, used to fire improvised grenades, in the arabeen neighborhood of damascus on february 9, 20. Jaysh alizza, one of the biggest free syrian army groups in northwestern syria has welcomed an implementation of the deescalation zone agreement in idlib, which was reached by turkey and russia earlier this month, the proopposition media outlet enab baladi reported on august 20. They were some of the first to use improvised explosive devices and to target military bases to capture weapons. Oct 03, 20 the rebel free syrian army is made up mostly of former civilians with no real military experience. Syrian commander riad alasaad appears on a video posted on the free syrian armys facebook page photo credit. Free syrian army fighters launching improvised rocket made using a scaffolding pole and a battered gas canister. Mar 20, 2018 burning down civilian with napalm, poisoning them chlorine and sarin gases.
Turkey shelters antiassad group, the free syrian army. The armys improvised munitions handbook tells you how to make things like. The weapons include the hell cannon and its variants, the thunder cannon. Give a gift subscription free newsletters careers social media. They were some of the first to use improvised explosive devices and to target military bases to. The free syrian army follows orders from turkey middle east. Free syrian army fighters build an improvised military cannon in the absence of real weapons bed.
Killing them with white phosphorus bombs, burning dowin entire cities is what all has happend till now. Oct 28, 2011 october 27, 2011 turkeys support of the free syrian army, an armed opposition group, comes amid a broader turkish campaign to undermine president bashar alassads government in syria. A man works on an improvised mortar shell for the free syrian army inside a factory that previously manufactured steel and iron in aleppo, on. The free syrian army fsa fired it at empty buildings. The free syrian army began with a core group of senior officers who defected from the syrian army and recruited thousands of soldiers and civilians.
Reuterszain karam with proper machining skills, even homemade missiles like this one above can be made. As discussed above, syrian factions often find it hard to acquire and operate purposebuilt armored vehicles. If any of the brilliant readers on forgotten weapons has any ideas how this stg44 got from the wehrmacht to syrian rebels, id love to hear your theories. John cantlie photographs the rebels of the free syrian army in. Free syrian army has the worlds support but no weapons or ammo. This is part of a series of nine drawings made for the nonfiction book. Tm 31120 is an actual army guide to making weapons at. The creativity of all involved parties is astonishing. The syrian arab army, assads force, also frequently adds armor to its tanks. The fsa was the syrian rebels great hope to topple assad, but this faded when the group split among militias, with some focusing more on the islamic state and the kurds.
Technicals can help fill this gap, but since they are unarmored, technicals are vulnerable to gunfire. A free syrian army fighter rests near a rocket launcher in aleppos bustan albasha district. Free syrian army latest news, breaking stories and. Tm 31120 is an actual army guide to making weapons at home. The free syrian army welcomes any hand extended to help bring the syrian people closer to gaining their freedom, without being deflected from. Syrian rebel armys homemade weapons likes syrian civil war. A man works on an improvised mortar shell for the free syrian army inside a factory that previously manufactured steel and iron in aleppo, on february 18. It was the great hope of the rebels, who believed that with sufficient funding and weapons from arab and western states it could bring down. Improvised artillery in the syrian civil war are improvised firearms created and used by factions. The armys improvised munitions handbook tells you how to make things like remotely fired mortar tubes, a shotgun, and even improvised explosive devices from supplies and trash. Syrian rebels homemade weapons are getting bigger quartz. Sep 28, 20 the syrian civil war is being waged by a complex mosaic of governments, rebel factions, civil councils and religious sects. Syrian opposition fighters may not always have the tools or the funds for hightech weaponry so if they want a job done, they do it themselves.
The turkishbacked free syrian army tfsas first known engagement was a joint operation with the turkish armed forces. Usbacked moderate free syrian army rebels threaten to kill embedded us special forces the incident in alrai near aleppo happened just. Members of the free syrian army use a catapult to launch a homemade bomb during clashes with progovernment soldiers in the city of. Each nation is assessed on individual and collective values processed through an inhouse formula to generate a pwrindx score. In the syrian civil war, improvised weaponry, vehicles, and tactics proliferate posted by. Improvised weapons mean that nobody is supporting you. Syrian civil war homemade weapons riad future weapons army soldier home defense human emotions damascus photojournalism. Jan 17, 2014 im continually amazed at where old, rare weapons turn up. The syrian military, propped up by its russian ally, has brought its civil war towards a more favorable end. The weapons include the hell cannon and its variants, the thunder cannon and the mortar cannon. Fighters from the free syrian armys tahrir al sham brigade use a shotgun to fire an improvised grenade at syrian army soldiers in the arabeen neigbourhood of damascus february 9, 20. Rebels have responded with the improvised weapons called hell cannons. The syrian civil war is being waged by a complex mosaic of governments, rebel factions, civil councils and religious sects. In the syrian civil war, improvised weaponry, vehicles, and.
Syrian rebels plead with the us to supply more weapons via cia. The fsa also uses improvised explosive devices to attack military convoys of buses, trucks and. And many of the schematics and instructions in the book assume that youll have some sort of access to actual modern weapons. With few weapons flowing to the rebels fighting the syrian regime. Free syrian army rebels defect to islamist group jabhat alnusra. Makeshift rocket fired in aleppo by rebels who oppose bashar alassad. This free syrian army fighter is firing an antiaircraft machine gun against a syrian army jet in the saif aldula district. The tactics and methods they adopt can sometimes be. A syrian rebel walks past sham 2, a homemade armored vehicle, in bishqatin, syria, on december 8, 2012. Improvised weaponry, vehicles, and tactics proliferate leave a comment cancel reply. The obama administration decided to provide the syrian opposition movement its support in 2012 with the hope that assad could be pressured to the negotiating table by free syrian army advances and eventually agree to step down under a settlement. These include funding by private donors notably from the gulf region and equipment supplied by friendly nations. The group aimed to overthrow the shiadominated government of iraq, believing that they would gain support in this from. Battling the assad government without proper arms or munitions makes a hard struggle even harder for.
Mar 19, 2015 syrian rebels homemade weapons are getting bigger. Were not talking how to drive a nail through a board or fold a newspaper into a shank. So far, assads hold on the reins of power remains unaffected. Jul 19, 2016 rebels have responded with the improvised weapons called hell cannons. Everything a us soldier needs, can be provided somehow. The design is very simple and improvised blending the ancient concept of percussion cup guns read more. A shell is fired from the homemade weapon known as a hell cannon by rebels from the free syrian. They consist of the syrian arab army, syrian arab air force, syrian arab navy, syrian arab air defense force, and several paramilitary forces, such as the national defence force.
A makeshift military front loader drives in dahiyat alassad, west aleppo city, syria. Jul 20, 2012 defected soldiers formed free syrian army antigovernment forces in syria known as the free syrian army have gained ground against the regime of president bashar assad. The rebel free syrian army is made up mostly of former civilians with no real military experience. Improvised artillery in the syrian civil war wikipedia. Government forces have howitzers, rocket launchers, even scud missiles. Usbacked moderate free syrian army rebels threaten to kill embedded us special forces the incident in alrai near aleppo happened just one day after an apparent attack on u. March 20 elizabeth obagy middle east security report. So most us weaponry given to syrian rebels ends up with al qaeda. List of military equipment used by syrian opposition forces. The opposition is made up of volunteer militias from across syria and the. As syrian president bashar al assads hold on western parts of syria solidifies, the cia. As of early 2017 there were some 15,00 fighters loyal to the fsa, according to estimates. According to the syrian constitution, the president of syria is. Free syrian army in aleppo in pictures world news the.
Ultimately, even if the smc only serves as a mechanism for greater cooperation and coordination, it is a significant development in that it has united the efforts of rebel commanders across syria. A man works on an improvised mortar shell for the free syrian army inside a factory which previously manufactured steel and iron in aleppo, on february 18, 20. Apfree syrian army the syrian rebel militant group had been trained by the cia, republican u. You dont see kurds having to go back in time and cobble together improvised weapons that are next to useless. Im continually amazed at where old, rare weapons turn up. The fsa is very well organised and when we distribute weapons and ammunition we know exactly to which hands they are going. Locally made shells are launched by free syrian army fighters. Faces of the free syrian army war is boring medium. And many of the schematics and instructions in the book assume that youll. Introducing the diy weapons of the free syrian army.
Jan 29, 2016 the free syrian army welcomes any hand extended to help bring the syrian people closer to gaining their freedom, without being deflected from its goals or the fundamental principles of the revolution. Defected soldiers formed free syrian army antigovernment forces in syria known as the free syrian army have gained ground against the regime of. Apr 11, 2012 continuing violence in northern syria between government forces and rebels is putting plans for a unbrokered ceasefire in jeopardy. Im not sure if anyone would be interested, but i have had an interest in improvised weapons for a while now and have collected a number of links. In 2012, one of the free syrian army engineers released a video of his own made percussion cap grenade launcher named forsan1 which in arabic means knights. Free syrian army latest news, breaking stories and comment. The hell cannon is the free syrian armys homemade howitzer. In the first day, they took control of jarabulus from isil.
The army s improvised munitions handbook tells you how to make things like remotely fired mortar tubes, a shotgun, and even improvised explosive devices from supplies and trash. Opposition activists said thursday the civil war has now claimed. In syria, new influx of weapons to rebels tilts the battle. Regular armies provide for many needs of the troops. Mustafa sejari, a senior representative of the free syrian army fsa said that the groups envoys who visited washington explained to us officials the downsides of president donald trumps decision to shut off the ciafacilitated supply of weapons to certain rebel groups in syria. Turkey shelters antiassad group, the free syrian army the. Free syrian army has the worlds support but no weapons or.