Geography and population Bedouin tribes in Syria inhabit three geographical regions | The aim of training and funding this tribal militia is to assist the Kurds in their attempt to liberate Raqqa from ISIS |
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Islamist groups and the Kurds became prominent actors in the conflict and they both tried to manipulate the tribes to serve their interests | In Idlib, Sheikh Ahmad Darwish of the Bani Ezz tribe and a member of the Syrian Parliament set up another pro-regime militia of his tribesmen |
This paper will argue that tribal identity was and is still used by the Syrian regime, the opposition, the Kurds, the Islamists and international powers like Jordan, Iran, Turkey and the US to mobilize and direct the armed activities of tribesmen.
14The rise of the Islamic State and its conflict with Jabhat al-Nusra in eastern Syria in 2014 led to a devastating inter-tribal war that lasted many months | With the passage of time, the Syrian uprising turned into an armed conflict that attracted more players than the regime and the Free Syrian Army |
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The Syrian army had large number of Bedouins serving in its ranks | See the above map for the names of key tribes and their distribution in Syria |
Many army officers with tribal background started to rise in the Free Syrian Army, such as Maher al-Nuimi of the Nuim tribe and Abdul Jabbar Akidid of the Egidate tribe.
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