Saraya Ahl al-Sham

Saraya Ahl al-Sham
سرايا أهل الشام Company of the People of the Levant Participant in the Syrian Civil War
Logo of Saraya Ahl al-Sham
Active	30 September 2015 – present
Leaders	Abu Muwaffaq al-Shami (commander-in-chief) Abu Mohsen al-Qalamouni (military commander) Col. Abdullah al-Rifai † (Western Qalamoun Union) Capt. Firas Ibn Bitar (Levant Liberation Army) Zuhair Mohammad (LLA second-in-command)
Area of operations	Lebanon–Syria border Rif Dimashq Governorate Qalamoun Mountains Damascus Governorate (former)
Allies	Tahrir al-Sham Al-Nusra Front
Opponents	Syrian Armed Forces Hezbollah  Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (since 2017)
Battles and wars	Syrian Civil War Syrian Civil War spillover in Lebanon Battle of Qalamoun (2013) Qalamoun offensive (June–August 2014) Qalamoun offensive (May–June 2015) Eastern Qalamoun offensive (September–October 2016) Siege of Wadi Barada

Lebanon–Syria border

Tahrir al-Sham

Syrian Civil War

Saraya Ahl al-Sham (Arabic: سرايا أهل الشام‎‎; Company of the People of the Levant) is a rebel alliance active in the Syrian Civil War. It was formed in 2015 and operates in the Rif Dimashq Governorate, mainly in the western Qalamoun Mountains along the Lebanon–Syria border.

In November 2014, Colonel Abdullah al-Rifai of the 11th Special Forces Division of the Free Syrian Army was arrested by the Lebanese Armed Forces near Arsal. He was detained by the General Directorate of General Security and released on 2 January 2015. On 14 August, he was assassinated in Arsal.

On 30 September 2015, Saraya Ahl al-Sham was formed by more than 13 FSA and Islamist rebel factions in the western Qalamoun Mountains. The group maintained "good" relations with al-Qaeda's al-Nusra Front and other groups in the former Army of Conquest's Qalamoun branch.