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Turkish Free Syrian Army


The Turkey-backed Free Syrian Army (abbreviated as TFSA), partially reorganized as the Syrian National Army by Turkey since 30 May 2017, is an informal armed Syrian opposition structure mainly composed of Syrian Arab and Syrian Turkmen rebels operating in northern Syria, mostly being a part of Operation Euphrates Shield or groups active in the area that are allied to the groups participating in the operation. The general aim of the group is to assist Turkey in creating a "safe zone" in Syria and to establish a National Army, which will operate in the land gained as a result of Operation Euphrates Shield and the Hawar Kilis Operations Room. They are opponents of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), ISIL and the Syrian government's Syrian Arab Army, though as yet, they have had few engagements against the Syrian Army. The TFSA also has a law enforcement equivalent, the Free Police, which is also backed by Turkey but separate from the TFSA.

The members consist from Arabs and Turkmens with a smaller amount of Kurds. Turkish-backed rebel groups were accused of having anti-Kurdish sentiment by the Descendants of Saladin Brigade, a former TFSA group. By the end of June 2017, most Turkish-backed FSA groups reorganized themselves into 3 main military blocs: the Victory Bloc, the Sultan Murad Bloc, and the Levant Bloc. However, a number of other groups remained independent.


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