Jaysh al-Sham

Jaysh al-Sham (Army of the Levant) was formed in January 2014 when Suyouf al-Haq, one of Suqour al-Sham’s strongest constituent brigades, defected due to fighting between Suqour al-Sham and the Islamic State (IS) and created a new group with former IS and Suqour al-Sham fighters. Jaysh al-Sham was prominent in Idlib province, where it opposed the Assad Regime but remained neutral to Suqour al-Sham and IS. This neutrality, along with threats from the Free Syrian Army, prompted the Liwa Dawoud brigade to leave IS and join Jaysh al-Sham in Feburary 2014. However, Liwa Dawoud reportedly left Jaysh al-Sham in July 2014 due either to threats from other opposition groups or internal tension with Jaysh al-Sham. Shortly after Liwa Dawoud defected, Jaysh al-Sham disbanded.