their efforts have been thwarted in the UN Security Council by Russia and China.

'Ten thousand members and 18 battalions'

In a video that premiered on YouTube on July 29, seven uniformed soldiers announced the formation of Syria’s main military opposition force. The shaky footage showed an officer – a pair of stars on each of his shoulders – reading out a list of names of defectors who had vowed not to fire on peaceful protesters again.

Two months later, the Free Syrian Army claims it has more than 10,000 members organized into 18 separate battalions. Some of the battalions are said to be active within the country. Among the most prominent are the Khaled Bin Walid brigade in the central city of Homs, the Qaashoush brigade in the central cityof Hama, and the Al-Harmoush brigade in the northern city of Idlib.

At the head of the opposition force is Colonel Riad al-Assad, one of the most senior officers to have defected. At 50, Riad al-Assad’s career included 31 years in the Syrian Air Force. He is thought to be in exile in Turkey.

“Our new mission is to protect the population and lead the overthrow of the regime. We do so only defensively, even if the [Assad] regime is trying to push us to attack,” he wrote to FRANCE 24 in an email. The rebel Colenel said he was against the idea of arming Syrian civilians, a solution he deemed “too risky”.

During anti-government marches, soldiers in the Free Syrian Army have allegedly concealed themselves among the demonstrators in order