Free Syrian Army
The Free Syrian Army (FSA) () is a loose faction in the Syrian Civil War founded on 29 July 2011 by officers of the Syrian Armed Forces whose stated goal was to bring down the government of Bashar al-Assad. A formal organization at its founding, its structure gradually dissipated by late 2012, and the FSA identity has since been used by various opposition groups.

In late 2011, it was considered the main Syrian military defectors group. It had success against vastly better armed government forces. From July 2012 onward, ill-discipline, infighting and lack of funding weakened the FSA, while Islamist groups became dominant within the armed opposition.

The Free Syrian Army aims to be "the military wing of the Syrian people's opposition to the regime", and it aims to bring down the government by armed operations, encouraging army defections and by carrying out armed action. As the Syrian Army is highly organized and well-armed, the Free Syrian Army adopted guerrilla-style tactics in the countryside and cities. The FSA's military strategy is focused on a dispersed countrywide guerrilla campaign with a tactical focus on armed action in the capital of Damascus. The campaign was not meant to hold territory, but rather, to spread government forces and their Logistics chains thin in battles for urban centers, to cause attrition in the security forces, to degrade morale and to destabilize Damascus, the center of government.

After the Turkish military intervention in Syria in 2016, and as other countries began to scale back their involvement, the FSA became more dependent on Turkish help. For the FSA, Turkey was a sanctuary and a source of supplies. From late August 2016, the Turkish government assembled a new coalition of Syrian rebel groups, including many that were in the FSA. The core of this new coalition was the Hawar Kilis Operations Room. Often referred to as the Turkish-backed Free Syrian Army (TFSA), this force would adopt the name Syrian National Army in 2017.
Q178810
Syrian Civil War
EVE
Q849180
Syrian Armed Forces
ORG
Q44329
Bashar al-Assad
PER
Q15303938
infighting
Concept
None
Islamist groups
UNK
Q80895
guerrilla-style tactics
Concept
Q219087
military strategy
Concept
Q3766
Damascus
LOC
Q1465318
morale
Concept
Q26690015
Turkish military intervention in Syria
Concept
Q5468411
other countries
Concept
Q43
Turkey
LOC
Q29553
sanctuary
Concept
Q14860794
Syrian rebel
UNK
Q28000346
Hawar Kilis Operations Room
MEDIA
Q29025768
Syrian National Army
UNK
Q858819
Free Syrian Army
MEDIA
Q858819
Free Syrian Army
MEDIA
Q858819
Free Syrian Army
MEDIA
Q858819
Free Syrian Army
MEDIA
2011-07-29T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
29 July 2011
DATE
2012-01-01T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
2012
DATE
2011-01-01T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
2011
DATE
2012-07-01T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
July 2012
DATE
2016-01-01T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
2016
DATE
2016-08-01T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
August 2016
DATE
2017-01-01T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
2017
DATE
enemy of
inception
participant
conflict
conflict