The “Maghawir Al-Thawra Army” faction, supported by the United States, Jordan and the United Kingdom, which is stationed at the “Al-Tanf” military base in southeastern Syria, announced that it had changed its name to “Free Syria Army”.
The action came weeks after US Central Command removed Brigadier General Muhannad al-Tala’a from the leadership of the faction and named Muhammad Farid al-Qasim as his successor.
The name change came after a meeting between the leader, Farid Al-Qasim, and international coalition leadership officers at the Al-Tanf base. The faction also changed its name on its official pages to “Free Syria Army instead of “Maghawir Al-Thawra Army”.
On September 25, the US Central Command fired al-Tala’a and appointed Farid al-Qasim in his place. The “Maghawir Al-Thawra Army” group is deployed in area “55”, an area located in southern Syria near the Jordanian-Iraqi border, and benefits from the financial and logistical support of the international coalition.
The faction was formed by Muhannad al-Tala’a in 2015 on the ruins of the “New Syrian Army”, before being disbanded, reformed and renamed in December 2016. In June 2016, NAS fighters were targeted by Russian planes in Al-Tanf which carry out two strikes and kill several of their fighters
