Army of Revolutionaries

The Army of Revolutionaries (Arabic: جيش الثوار, romanized: Jayš al-Thuwwār), also known as Jaysh al-Thuwar, is a multi-ethnic armed Syrian rebel coalition that is allied with the primarily Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) and participating in the Syrian Civil War as part of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).

Established as a Free Syrian Army coalition in May 2015, with a presence in six governorates, its membership includes Arabs, Kurds, and Turkmen. With its stated aims of fighting both the Syrian government and Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), it was expected to become one of the more relevant rebel alliances in northern Syria, consolidating the democratic rebel spectrum. It was considered one of the "potential powerbrokers" in the Aleppo, Hama, Idlib, and Latakia governorates.

While Jaysh al-Thuwar considers itself to be a part of the rebel mainstream and turned down the U.S. Train-and-Equip-Program because it wanted to be able to fight the Syrian government as well as ISIL, it has always been allied with the YPG. It therefore did not receive Turkish support, rejected the Friends of Syria Group, and became embroiled in open conflict with Islamist rebel groups.

Subsequently, Jaysh al-Thuwar retreated from rebel-held areas and further deepened its bonds with the YPG. In October 2015, it became one of the constituents of the Syrian Democratic Forces, increasingly integrating with the SDF's common frontlines against ISIL and other Islamist forces.

Although it cooperates with the YPG, Jaysh al-Thuwar still considers itself to be part of the Syrian Opposition.

On 3 May 2015, some of the former members of the northern branches of the Hazzm Movement and the Syria Revolutionaries Front (SRF) along with Jabhat al-Akrad, the Dawn of Freedom Brigades main component group the Northern Sun Battalion (making the Dawn of Freedom Brigades defunct in the process) and smaller FSA groups formed the Army of Revolutionaries.^{[non-primary source needed][non-primary source needed]} The participation of ex-SRF fighters in the new group was denounced by former SRF leader Jamal Maarouf who was strongly opposed to the YPG. Many of the northern members of the Syrian Revolutionaries Front and Hazzm Movement also joined the Levant Front, the group also has exiles from the Homs Governorate that were expelled from the region by Hezbollah in 2013.

In an October 2015 publication, the Washington D.C.–based Institute for the Study of War considered Jaysh al-Thuwar as one of the "potential powerbrokers" in Aleppo province, where it is part of the Euphrates Volcano joint operations room, as well as in Hama, Idlib and Latakia provinces, though not in Homs province.

The group has expressed disapproval of foreign presence in Syria, specifically condemning the involvement of Russia, Iran, and Turkey. In regards to the deployment of the Turkish military into Idlib, Ahmed Sultan said that Idlib had been sold to Russia and Iran as well as the Syrian government and called upon Idlib's population to fight Iranian, Russian and Turkish forces in Idlib. Sultan has also blamed Turkey's presence in Idlib for Russian airstrikes, saying "Idlib's southern countryside has been destroyed by aircraft, the Syrian regime, and the modern weapons that Russia is testing in that region," and that if Idlib were attacked it would cause a large humanitarian disaster, and that the group would fight to end Turkey's presence in both Idlib and Afrin. In response to the Syrian government's offensive in Idlib in early 2019, the group released a joint statement with a fellow Free Syrian Army-aligned SDF group known as the Northern Democratic Brigade stating both groups were ready to protect Idlib from an Iranian-led Shiite invasion, and stating that Iran's involvement in Syria is as bad as Turkey's.^{[non-primary source needed]}