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Rebel Group Says It Is Now Based in Syria, a Major Step Rebel Group Says It Is Now Based in Syria, a Major Step
(about 1 hour later)
BEIRUT, Lebanon — Commanders of the Free Syrian Army, the umbrella group for fighters opposing President Bashar al-Assad, said Saturday that they had moved their headquarters from Turkey into “liberated areas” inside Syria, in what they portrayed as a major step forward for the organization as it tries to coordinate and control disparate groups of rebels. BEIRUT, Lebanon — Commanders of the Free Syrian Army, the main umbrella group for fighters opposing President Bashar al-Assad, said Saturday that they had moved their headquarters from Turkey into “liberated areas” inside Syria, in what they portrayed as a major step forward in their efforts to aid, coordinate and control disparate groups of rebels.
In a video titled “Free Syrian Army Communique No. 1 from Inside,” Col. Riad al-Assad, the leader of the Free Syrian Army, announced the move, sitting at a desk flanked by men in uniforms. In a video titled “Free Syrian Army Communiqué No. 1 From Inside,” Col. Riad al-Assad, the leader of the Free Syrian Army, declared: “To our free Syrian people and to all free revolutionaries in Syrian towns, villages and suburbs and to all armed factions of the revolution: We announce the entry of the leadership of the Free Syrian Army into liberated territories in Syria.”
“To our free Syrian people and to all free revolutionaries in Syrian towns, villages and suburbs and to all armed factions of the revolution,” he declared, “we announce the entry of the leadership of the Free Syrian Army into liberated territories in Syria.” The goal, analysts said, appeared to be as much political as military, a bid to win legitimacy and edge out competing exile groups seeking to position themselves as governments in waiting. Fighters and opposition activists in Syria have derided the F.S.A. leaders and other exiles as opportunists, removed from the battle and lacking credibility among the Syrians directly involved in the fighting.
He emphasized that the move was made “in collaboration with battalions inside Syria.” Fighters and opposition activists inside the country have long complained that the Free Syrian Army and exile opposition groups are too far removed from the battle inside Syria and lack legitimacy among the Syrians directly involved in the fighting; some have viewed exile leaders as opportunists. In the video, Colonel Assad sought to assuage those concerns. He emphasized that the move was made “in collaboration with battalions inside Syria.”
In the video, Colonel Assad sought to assuage some of those concerns.
“We have been accused of swerving from our initial noble goals for the revolution and making questionable deals with foreign parties,” he said. “Our goal is not to take the place of the current regime, which is taking its last breaths.”“We have been accused of swerving from our initial noble goals for the revolution and making questionable deals with foreign parties,” he said. “Our goal is not to take the place of the current regime, which is taking its last breaths.”
He called for all elements of Syrian society to agree on a new political system, adding, “We are just a part of it.”He called for all elements of Syrian society to agree on a new political system, adding, “We are just a part of it.”
Vowing not to “strike deals” with anyone “until we liberate Damascus,” Colonel Assad declared, “We also promise you that we won’t make any deals at the expense of our population, its identity, its religion, its unity, its freedom, its sovereignty or its independence.” Vowing not to “strike deals” with anyone “until we liberate Damascus,” Colonel Assad declared, “We also promise you that we won’t make any deals at the expense of our population, its identity, its religion, its unity, its freedom, its sovereignty or its independence.
The move took place a week ago, Brig. Gen. Mustafa al-Sheikh, who leads the F.S.A.’s military council, told The Associated Press. It was the latest in a series of recent efforts by the armed opposition inside and outside Syria to establish a tighter command and supply structure. But the practical effect of the move remained unclear. Working in Syria could give F.S.A. leaders easier access to rebels as Turkey, under domestic pressure to curb refugee flows, increasingly bars fighters from its territory. But it carries new risks.
But the declaration left many questions unanswered. It was unclear how much freedom of movement the leaders would enjoy in Syria or whether basing themselves there would significantly improve their ability to funnel arms to the fighters or enforce a set of unified goals and standards. “The problem is that it gives the Syrian Air Force a target,” said Joshua Landis, a Syria analyst at Oklahoma State University. “We have to see whether this is a credible headquarters or just a mobile camp that gives them a P.O. box in Syria.”
Analysts of the Syria conflict saw the move primarily as an attempt to gain legitimacy and edge out competing exile groups that are seeking to position themselves as governments in waiting. While it could give the leaders easier access to rebel factions that have increasingly been blocked from entering Turkey, it also carries new risks. Though parts of Syria are outside government control, the air force bombs at will. That could restrict the F.S.A. leaders’ movements in northern Syria, whether to funnel arms or to enforce unified goals and standards.
“We have to see whether this is a credible headquarters or just a mobile camp that gives them a P.O. box in Syria,” said Joshua Landis, a Syria analyst at the University of Oklahoma. “The problem is that it gives the Syrian Air Force a target.” “ ‘Liberated territory’ is areas where the regime cannot reassert itself even with air power,” said Andrew J. Tabler, who follows the conflict at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, “I’m not sure there is much territory like that at the moment.”
Andrew J. Tabler, who follows the conflict at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, said that the real commanders had long been inside Syria, making daily decisions for their decentralized units, and that the leadership’s ability to centralize inside the country might still be limited. Analysts said that Syria had long been home to the real commanders — low-level leaders making daily decisions for their decentralized units — and that the clout of the F.S.A. exile leadership might already be waning.
“ ‘Liberated territory’ is areas where the regime cannot reassert itself even with air power,” he said. “I’m not sure there is much territory like that at the moment.” “The purported F.S.A. leaders in Turkey have never exercised anything like full command and control over the rebellion,” said Michael Wahid Hanna, an analyst at The Century Foundation. “They have seen their role diminish as the center of gravity continues to shift to leaders and fighters inside Syria.”
It remains to be seen how it will affect the political position of the F.S.A. leaders. An opposition fighter in Homs welcomed the move, saying it would add to Colonel Assad’s “importance and value” as one of the first high-ranking officers to defect from the government’s army after the rebellion began. An opposition fighter in Homs echoed that sentiment, saying that if Colonel Assad had returned to Syria sooner, “his situation would be better.” The fighter said the move would add to Colonel Assad’s “importance and value” as one of the first high-ranking officers to defect from Syria’s army — but his praise carried a whiff of disappointment.
But his praise carried a whiff of disappointment. “I actually fought on the ground more than him,” the fighter said, “and this is the case for most officers who remained inside Syria.” “I actually fought on the ground more than him,” the fighter said, “and this is the case for most officers who remained inside Syria.”
The colonel’s announcement came as activists in the northern province of Idlib claimed to have attacked a Syrian Army base and shot down a fighter jet. The move might also signal a shift in relations between the armed Syrian opposition and Turkey, which has long sought to “run the show,” Mr. Landis said. While the rebels still need Turkey as a haven and arms conduit, a move into Syria may allow them to exercise more control, for instance, reducing the influence of groups favored by Turkey, like the Syrian Muslim Brotherhood.
In the northern province of Idlib, rebels on Saturday claimed to have carried out a coordinated attack in which three battalions attacked an army base, blocked reinforcements from arriving and shot down a fighter jet.
The rebels’ claim about the jet was not immediately confirmed by Syria’s official news agency, and the rebels did not produce any video of a direct hit on a jet, an explosion or any wreckage, as they have in previous cases.The rebels’ claim about the jet was not immediately confirmed by Syria’s official news agency, and the rebels did not produce any video of a direct hit on a jet, an explosion or any wreckage, as they have in previous cases.
The claims regarding the fighting and the move of the rebel headquarters were impossible to verify immediately because of Syrian restrictions on journalists.The claims regarding the fighting and the move of the rebel headquarters were impossible to verify immediately because of Syrian restrictions on journalists.

Hwaida Saad contributed reporting from Antakya, Turkey.

Hwaida Saad contributed reporting from Antakya, Turkey.