Rebel forces are armed groups that operate outside of the control of established governments and seek to change government through armed conflict. They can be secular military units or Islamist militias, and some rebel groups are a mix of both. There are currently 21 non-international armed conflicts (NIACs) in which rebel forces are involved worldwide.
One of the most prominent is in Syria, where the rebel group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) surprised many observers with its relatively easy advance into a large swath of the country, including the second-largest city, Aleppo. HTS is led by Abu Mohammad al-Jolani, a military commander who fought with Al Qaeda in Iraq before becoming a key commander for Jabhat al-Nusra, the global organization’s official affiliate in Syria. He later broke with the group and dissolved it to form HTS. The United States and other Western countries consider HTS a terrorist organization, and a $10 million bounty has been placed on Jolani’s head.
Despite their differences, rebels are generally unified in their opposition to the Syrian regime. However, some of the rebels operating in this conflict are also engaged in a wide range of other activities that often breach international humanitarian law and human rights norms. For example, rebels are involved in a variety of illegal activities that exploit natural resources and require child labour, including smuggling and poaching, according to research by the Enough Project and the CITES. In addition, rebels are prone to engaging in forcible recruitment of children.
About the Author
