Syrian National Army

The Syrian National Army (SNA), also known as the Turkish-backed Free Syrian Army (TFSA), was a coalition of armed Syrian groups that participated in the Syrian civil war. Comprising various rebel factions that emerged at the start of the war in July 2011, it was officially established in 2017 under the auspices of Turkey, who provided funding, training, and military support.

The SNA emerged from the Free Syrian Army (FSA), a loose collection of armed opposition groups founded on 29 July 2011 by defected Syrian military officers. After Turkey formally condemned the regime of Bashar al-Assad in November 2011, it provided arms, training, and sanctuary to the FSA. Initially the principal opponent of the Syrian government, the FSA was gradually weakened by infighting, lack of funding, and rival Islamist groups. In August 2016, Turkey began assembling a new coalition of Syrian rebel groups, which included many former FSA fighters, in an effort to create a more cohesive and effective opposition force; following Operation Euphrates Shield, the Turkish government coordinated with the Syrian Interim Government to form a "National Army" to secure Turkish territorial gains.

The official aims of the SNA were to create a "safe zone" in northern Syria, consolidate with other rebel factions, and combat both Syrian government forces and Islamists. Its presence expanded to the neighboring Idlib Governorate during the Syrian government's 2019 northwestern offensive, after which it incorporated the National Front for Liberation on 4 October 2019.

Closely aligned with the Turkish government, the SNA has been described as an auxiliary army of the Turkish Armed Forces, and also as "mercenaries" by their critics. Outside Syria, SNA fighters have been deployed by Turkey as a proxy force, for example in conflicts from Libya to the south Caucasus. The SNA mostly consists of Arabs and Syrian Turkmen.

In late November 2024, the Syrian National Army participated alongside Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham in the 2024 Syrian Opposition offensives that led to the fall of the Assad regime through Operation "Dawn Of Freedom". The SNA captured both regime and SDF controlled areas in Aleppo countryside, including the cities of Manbij, Tel Rifaat and the Shahba region, and supported HTS during the offensives.

It was reported in January 2025 that the Turkish foreign minister Hakan Fidan announced that SNA factions would integrate under the new Syrian Army. At the Syrian Revolution Victory Conference, which was held on 29 January 2025, most factions of the armed opposition, including the SNA, announced their dissolution and were incorporated into the newly formed Ministry of Defense. Over the following days, the transitional government continued integrating armed groups, including factions of the former Syrian National Army. On 3 February, there were circulated reports that the Ministry of Defense promoted two generals of the SNA, Abu Amsha and Saif Abu Bakr, to lead the newly formed 62nd Division and 76th Division of the Syrian Army.

The SNA, which includes at least 25,000 fighters, with some sources estimating it to be 70,000, mostly consists of Arabs and Turkmens. The number of Syrian Kurds among the SNA was much smaller. In January 2018, senior SNA commander Azad Shabo said that there were "dozens" among the FSA units such as the Azadî Battalion, while Almodon Online reported about 500 Kurdish fighters overall, including in non-FSA formations such as Ahrar al-Sham, the Levant Front and the Army of Grandchildren. By February 2018, a SNA commander said that 350 Kurds were part of the Syrian National Army.

By the end of June 2017, most Turkish-backed FSA groups reorganized themselves into three military blocs: Victory, Sultan Murad and the Levant. A number of other groups remained independent. On 30 December 2017, the groups unified to form the National Army. By this time, three "legions" (corps) were established as part of the SNA: 1st, 2nd, and 3rd. On 15 March 2018, rebel factions in northern Homs Governorate formed the 4th Legion, though it later transferred to northern Aleppo. Factions also moved from Rif Dimashq Governorate and Damascus to northern Aleppo.