Jabhat Thuwar al Raqqa

Liwa Thuwar al-Raqqa

Liwa Thuwar al-Raqqa was allied with Jabhat al-Nusra in Raqqa city for a while in late 2013, but by January 2014 it had broken away after observing ties between al-Nusra leaders and al-Qaeda. Liwa Thuwar al-Raqqa led the fight against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) in the city of Raqqa. After ISIL expelled Liwa Thuwar al-Raqqa and other rebel groups from Raqqa city, Liwa Thuwar al-Raqqa moved into the Raqqa Governorate countryside and allied itself with the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG). In July 2014 the faction and 10 other groups threatened to leave Aleppo and Raqqa governorates if they were not aided by other rebels in their fight against ISIL.

In September 2014 Liwa Thuwar al-Raqqa joined the YPG-FSA Euphrates Volcano joint operations room. It reportedly received anti-tank missiles and other equipment from the United States through the Şanlıurfa border crossing as part of the Syrian Train and Equip Program to fight ISIL.

In 2015, it participated in the YPG offensive towards the Syrian border city of Tell Abyad. In June, fighters from Liwa Thuwar al-Raqqa were near the Turkish border, whilst the group was also fighting ISIL in the southern city of Ayn Issa, on the Raqqa road. Liwa Thuwar al-Raqqa was able to grow considerably in size because of the influx of both rebels from Turkey and locals who wanted to fight ISIL. The current size of the brigade is unknown, but numbers in the hundreds at least. In October 2015, the group stated it received military equipment from the United States and YPG in order to fight ISIL north of Raqqa. It has stated it intends to capture the city of Raqqa from ISIL. Pro-opposition newspaper Al-Tamimi claimed that Liwa Thuwar al-Raqqa wants Syria to become a unitary civil democratic state.

Reorganisation under the SDF banner

In November 2015, the group merged with Tribes' Army of Tell Abyad to form Jabhat Thuwar al-Raqqa which became part of a greater coalition in northern Syria. However tensions between the Kurdish and Arab factions of the group grew after alleged Kurdish atrocities against the Arab populations of northern Syria. In response the Kurds with their Arab allies blockaded the region held by Jabhat Thuwar al-Raqqa, after ISIS attacks increased from the region held by Jabhat Thuwar al-Raqqa, which became susceptible to an Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant attack in late December 2015. On 6 January 2016, the group issued a statement claiming it was disbanding as a consequence of the blockade, although the cause of the disbandment has been disputed. After the disbandment they continued to use the Jabhat Thuwar al-Raqqa name. In late 2015, the group reappeared, announcing it had decided to join Syrian Democratic Forces.

On 20 October 2016, Thuwar al-Raqqa established an all-female battalion named "Katibat Haraier Raqqa".

During the Raqqa offensive, two of its former groups, the Raqqa Hawks Brigade and Raqqa Martyrs Brigade, are participating in the countryside operations, leaving Jabhat Thuwar al-Raqqa. while Jabhat Thuwar al-Raqqa will be involved in taking the city itself.

During the offensive, Liwa Thuwar al-Raqqa's political bureau condemned the offensive for being led by the YPG. This caused tensions between the group's political bureau, who opposes the YPG, and the overall leader and military commander of Jabhat Thuwar al-Raqqa, Abu Issa, who is allied with the YPG. In response, the YPG besieged and raided the group's headquarter. Some members of Jabhat Thuwar al-Raqqa left the group and joined Liwa Ahrar al-Raqqa in response to the tensions.

On 10 December 2016, the second phase of the Raqqa campaign was announced, with Jabhat Thuwar al-Raqqa participating under the SDF. Tensions rose again on 25 December and several military commanders in Jabhat Thuwar al-Raqqa reportedly announced their defection to the Raqqa Hawks Brigade. 2 days later, the Thuwar al-Raqqa commanders declared on video that they were captured by the Raqqa Hawks Brigade and forced to announce their defection, and that they are still with Thuwar al-Raqqa.