First Army (Syrian rebel group)

First Army
الجيش الأول Jaysh al-Awal
Logo of the Southern Front
Leaders	Col. Saber Safar   †
Dates of operation	1 January – July 2015 [1]
Group(s)	Syria Revolutionaries Front [2] Coming Victory Brigade 7th Division Riyad al-Salehin Battalions of Damascus Special Assignments Regiment of Damascus Southern Swords Division [3] Hamza Division 1st Artillery Regiment [4] 1st Assembly [5]
Active regions	Daraa Governorate Quneitra Governorate [4]
Size	5,000 [6] -10,000 [1]
Part of	Free Syrian Army Southern Front [7]
Allies	Al-Rahman Legion Ajnad al-Sham Islamic Union
Opponents	Syrian Armed Forces National Defence Forces Yarmouk Martyrs Brigade
Battles and wars	Syrian Civil War Daraa offensive (January 2015) 2015 Southern Syria offensive Battle of Bosra (2015) Daraa and As-Suwayda offensive (June 2015) Daraa offensive (June–July 2015)

The First Army was a Syrian rebel group affiliated with the Free Syrian Army. It was created on 1 January 2015 in an effort to unify rebel ranks in southern Syria. Three prominent rebel units merged under this command structure. It operated as part of the Southern Front of the Free Syrian Army. ^[7]

History

During the 2015 Southern Syria offensive, the commander of the 1st Army, Colonel Saber Safar, was killed in action.

On 13 April 2015, it joined a number of other Southern Front affiliates in condemning the al-Nusra Front's ideology and discontinuing all forms of cooperation with it. ^[8]

After the Daraa offensive (June–July 2015), the 1st Army disbanded and only the Hamza Division continues to use the name. ^[9]

See also

• List of armed groups in the Syrian Civil War

References

1. "More than 10.000 Free Syrian Army fighters announce the formation of the "First Army" in southern Syria". Shaam Times. 1 January 2015. Archived from the original on 10 October 2017. Retrieved 2 January 2015.
2. "Syria dissident groups still not united". Al Monitor. 5 March 2015. Retrieved 5 March 2015.
3. احمد الجولاني (5 June 2016). "مميز// تشكيل فرقة سيف الجنوب في المنطقة الجنوبية بسوريا 5/6/2016" – via YouTube.
4. "3 Islamic brigades "al-Hamza brigade, the first artillery convoy, SRF" announced a full union and formed "the first army"". SOHR. 2 January 2015. Retrieved 2 January 2015.
5. share (2015-11-06). "Daraa / Southern Front - Announcement of the largest merger of combat brigades on the Horan Ground under the name "First Assembly" "التجمع الأول" Joining and Full integration into the ranks of the FSA 'First Army" Led by Colonel صابر سفر : syriancivilwar". Reddit.com. Retrieved 2016-03-22.
6. "Moderate rebel factions unite in southern Syria". Asharq Al-Awsat. 3 January 2015. Archived from the original on 4 January 2015. Retrieved 4 January 2015.
7. "Three important Free Syrian Army factions decided, at this 2015 new year, to create the First Army". SRO. 1 January 2015. Retrieved 2 January 2015.
8. . Halab Today TV https://www.facebook.com/HalabTodayTV/posts/1124905374193566 . Retrieved 14 April 2015.{{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
9. "The Moderate Rebels: A Growing List of Vetted Groups Fielding BGM-71 TOW Anti-Tank Guided Missiles". Hasan Mustafas. 5 August 2015.