The Free Syrian Army (FSA) was the most prominent armed revolutionary group in the initial stages of the war; but it declined and became decentralized by 2015.

In 2017, the Islamist group Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), unaffiliated to the SNC, formed the Syrian Salvation Government (SSG) in the areas it controlled.

Other groups that challenged Bashar al-Assad's rule during the civil war were the Kurdish-dominated Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (Rojava) and the jihadist organization known as the Islamic State.

[4] The rule of Assad dynasty was marked by heavy repression of secular opposition factions such as the Arab nationalist Nasserists and liberal democrats.

The largest organised resistance to the Ba'athist rule has been the Syrian Muslim Brotherhood, which successfully capitalised on the widespread Sunni resentment against the Alawite hegemony.

[5][6] Prior to the civil war that started in 2011, "opposition" (Arabic: المعارضة, romanized: al-muʕāraḍat) referred to traditional political actors such as political exiles, the public platforms that had emerged during the Damascus Spring and those who later formed the Damascus Declaration alliance; that is, groups and individuals with a history of dissidence against the Syrian state.

[10][11] The Istanbul Meeting for Syria, the first convention of the Syrian opposition, took place on 26 April 2011, during the early phase of the civil uprising.

After the Antalya conference, a follow-up meeting took place two days later in Brussels, then another gathering in Paris that was addressed by Bernard-Henri Lévy, a French author who was involved at the same time in support for the Libyan uprising.

[21] The Syrian National Coalition subsequently took the seat of Syria in the Arab League, with the representative of Bashar Al-Assad's government suspended that year.

[27][28] In late 2016, the Syrian Interim Government relocated its headquarters to the city of Azaz in North Syria and began to execute some authority in the area.

This, together with Turkey's local interference and its handling of the Syrian refugees situation, led in July 2024 to anti-Turkish riots in opposition-held areas.

It has relations with other opposition organizations such as the Syrian National Council, the previous iteration of an exilic political body attempting to represent the grassroots movement; the union of the two was planned, but has failed to realize.

[45][46] Initially, the council denied seeking to play the role of a government in exile,[47] but this changed a few months later when violence in Syria intensified.

[48][49][50] The Syrian National Council seeks the end of Bashar al-Assad's rule and the establishment of a modern, civil, democratic state.

The SNC National Charter lists human rights, judicial independence, press freedom, democracy and political pluralism as its guiding principles.

[55] Notable members of the Council include: The National Coordination Committee for Democratic Change (NCC), or the National Coordination Body for Democratic Change (NCB),[58] is a Syrian bloc chaired by Hassan Abdel Azim and consisting of 13 left-wing political parties and "independent political and youth activists.

[61] The NCC proved controversial among other opposition groups, with activists rejecting its calls for dialogue with Bashar al-Assad and accusing it of being a "front organization" for the Ba'athist regime.

[63] In September 2012 the Syrian National Council (SNC) reaffirmed that despite broadening its membership, it would not join with "currents close to [the] NCC".

It was co-founded by prominent human rights activist Haytham Manna and was intended as the political wing of the Syrian Democratic Forces.

[69] Its leaders included former NCC members such as Riad Darar, a "key figure" in the Syrian opposition, and Haytham Manna, who resigned from the SDC in March 2016 in protest of its announcement of the Northern Syria Federation.

[71] The Syrian Democratic Council was invited to participate in the international Geneva III peace talks on Syria in March 2016.

Among these parties are included: The Popular Front for Change and Liberation decided to boycott the 2016 elections because the regime had not upheld its promise to amend to the constitution.

Its system of administrative local councils operate services such as schools and hospitals in these areas, as well as the Free Aleppo University.

[112] The founder of the Free Syrian Army, Col. Riad al-Asaad, was appointed as deputy prime minister for military affairs.

[115] In January 2014, a number of parties, social actors, and civil institutions announced the formation of the Autonomous Administration to fill the power vacuum that existed at that time in the Syrian Kurdish regions.

[117] According to the Syrian National Coalition, in 2017 there were 404 opposition-aligned local councils operating in villages, towns, and cities controlled by rebel forces.

"Afghanistan congratulates the leadership of the movement and the people of Syria on the recent developments, which have resulted in the removal of key factors contributing to conflict & instability."

"The capital, Damascus, has come under control of Syrian people under the leadership of Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham and we express hope that the remaining phases of the revolution will be managed effectively to establish a peaceful, unified, & stable governance system.