Idlib Governorate is one of the 14 governorates of Syria. It is situated in northwestern Syria, bordering Turkey's Hatay province to the north, Aleppo Governorate to the east, Hama Governorate to the south, and Latakia Governorate to the west. Reports of its area vary, depending on the source, from 5,933 km2 to 6,097 km2. The provincial capital is Idlib.
Saraqib is a city in northwestern Syria, administratively belonging to the Idlib Governorate, located east of Idlib. During the course of the Syrian Civil War, the city fell into rebel forces in 2012 and was recaptured by the Syrian Army in 2020.
Harakat Ahrar al-Sham al-Islamiyya, commonly referred to as Ahrar al-Sham, is a coalition of multiple Islamist and Salafist units that coalesced into a single brigade and later a division in order to fight against the Syrian Government led by Bashar al-Assad during the Syrian Civil War. Ahrar al-Sham was led by Hassan Aboud until his death in 2014. In July 2013, Ahrar al-Sham had 10,000 to 20,000 fighters, which at the time made it the second most powerful unit fighting against al-Assad, after the Free Syrian Army. It was the principal organization operating under the umbrella of the Syrian Islamic Front and was a major component of the Islamic Front. With an estimated 20,000 fighters in 2015, Ahrar al-Sham became the largest rebel group in Syria after the Free Syrian Army became less powerful. Ahrar al-Sham and Jaysh al-Islam are the main rebel groups supported by Turkey. On 18 February 2018, Ahrar al-Sham merged with the Nour al-Din al-Zenki Movement to form the Syrian Liberation Front.
Syrian Liberation Front is a Syrian Islamist rebel group that was formed in early 2018. and is based out of the Aleppo Governorate in northwestern Syria.
The inter-rebel conflict during the Syrian Civil War has continued throughout the Syrian Civil War as factions of the Syrian opposition and Free Syrian Army have fought each other, with shifting alliances among various Islamist factions such as Jabhat al Nusra, Ahrar al-Sham, Jaysh al-Islam and the Islamic Front.
Kata'ib Ansar al-Sham is an armed Sunni Islamist rebel group active in the Syrian Civil War, mainly fighting against Syrian government forces.
Jund al-Aqsa, later known as Liwa al-Aqsa after 7 February 2017, was a Salafist jihadist organization that was active during the Syrian Civil War. Formerly known as Sarayat al-Quds, the group was founded by Abu Abdul 'Aziz al-Qatari as a subunit within the al-Nusra Front. The group later became independent, because al-Nusra was growing too rapidly for its resources and had suffered from fighting the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. On 20 September 2016 the U.S. Department of State designated Jund al-Aqsa as a terrorist organization. The group rejoined al-Nusra Front, by then renamed Jabhat Fateh al-Sham (JFS), in October 2016. However, on 23 January 2017, JFS declared that Jund Al-Aqsa was no longer part of Jabhat Fateh Al-Sham. In early February 2017, some of Jund al-Aqsa's units joined the newly formed Tahrir al-Sham, while the others refused and formed a new splinter group called Liwa al-Aqsa, and captured many towns in northern Hama and southern Idlib from other rebel groups. Following these attacks, Tahrir al-Sham launched a military operation against Liwa al-Aqsa, accusing them of being an ISIL affiliate. Following intense clashes with Tahrir al-Sham, up to 2,100 Liwa al-Aqsa militants left Idlib Province to join ISIL in Raqqa Province, by 22 February 2017.
The al-Nusra Front–SRF/Hazzm Movement conflict started in late October 2014, during the Syrian Civil War, in Idlib and Aleppo governorates, during which al-Nusra attempted to establish an Islamic state rival to that of ISIL. Despite this, the al-Nusra Front and Free Syrian Army factions continued to cooperate in the southern Syrian governorates of Quneitra and Daraa.
The Battle of Idlib was a military operation in the Idlib Governorate, during the Syrian Civil War, conducted by rebels against Syrian government forces defending Idlib city.
Hadi Al Abdullah is a Syrian citizen journalist and activist who has risen to prominence through his coverage of the Syrian Civil War.
The Free Idlib Army is a Syrian rebel coalition consisting of 3 armed groups from northwestern Syria affiliated with the Free Syrian Army: the 13th Division, the Northern Division, and the Mountain Hawks Brigade.
The Idlib Governorate clashes , were military confrontations between Syrian rebel factions led by Ahrar al-Sham and their allies on one side and the al-Qaeda-affiliated Jabhat Fatah al-Sham and their allies on the other. After 7 February, the clashes also included Jund al-Aqsa as a third belligerent, which had re-branded itself as Liwa al-Aqsa and was attacking the other combatants. The battles were fought in the Idlib Governorate and the western countryside of the Aleppo Governorate.
Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), commonly referred to as Tahrir al-Sham, is a Sunni Islamist political and armed organisation involved in the Syrian Civil War. It was formed on 28 January 2017 as a merger between Jabhat Fateh al-Sham, the Ansar al-Din Front, Jaysh al-Sunna, Liwa al-Haqq and the Nour al-Din al-Zenki Movement; under the initiative of Abu Jaber Shaykh, an Islamist commander who had been the second Emir of Ahrar al-Sham.
The Idlib Governorate clashes were a series of military confrontations between Ahrar al-Sham and Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS). During the clashes, Tahrir al-Sham attempted to capture the Bab al-Hawa Border Crossing, causing concern for Turkey, which prefers Ahrar al-Sham to be in control of the crossing. As a result of the clashes, HTS took control of Idlib city, the Bab al-Hawa Border Crossing, and most of the areas along the Turkish border in the Idlib Province.
On 19 February 2018, heavy clashes erupted between the newly established Syrian Liberation Front, which consists of Ahrar al-Sham and the Nour al-Din al-Zenki Movement, backed by the Suqour al-Sham Brigades, and Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) in the western Aleppo Governorate. The conflict soon spread to the Idlib Governorate and the SLF captured several towns from HTS. A ceasefire between the two groups was reached on 24 April 2018. Fighting again resumed on 1 January 2019, ending with a total HTS military victory on 9 January.
The National Front for Liberation is a Syrian rebel coalition that is part of the Syrian National Army (SNA) fighting in the Syrian Civil War. The group was formed by 11 rebel factions in northwestern Syria in May 2018, and was officially announced on 28 May 2018. The formation receives major support from Turkey. The group joined the SNA on 4 October 2019.
Jaysh al-Ahrar, is an armed Salafi Islamist rebel group in northwestern Syria that originated as a clique composed of 16 units in Ahrar al-Sham that opposed involvement in Operation Euphrates Shield, after a fatwa was released by religious clerics in Jabhat Fatah al-Sham, which led to the group's separation from Ahrar al-Sham.
The siege of Northern Homs was a siege lasting six years, by the Syrian government in the northern part of the Homs Governorate during the Syrian civil war, as a result of the rebel capture of Rastan and surrounding areas in 2012, the rebel-held pocket in northern Homs was fully taken by the Syrian government in 2018 after clearing opposition held areas around the capital.
The Insurgency in Idlib is an ongoing insurgency in rebel-held areas in the Idlib Governorate between multiple factions ranging from supporters of the Syrian government to Syrian opposition elements to supporters and members of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). The insurgency has been marked by assassinations and bombings, as well as armed confrontations with small arms and raids.
Abu al-Abd Ashidaa is a Syrian rebel commander, believed to be an Aleppo native, and former head of the Aleppo-based Army of Aleppo rebel coalition that included several Syrian rebel groups including various Free Syrian Army factions as well as Ahrar al-Sham and the Levant Front.
Free Idlib Army 
Ahrar al-Sham 
Sham Legion [1] 
Syria