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Free Syrian Army: A trip to the front lines
Syria's most elite rebel fighting groups - the Farouk Brigade
Farouk Brigade, the largest and most elite force under the FSA umbrella.
It's made up of civilian volunteers and defectors from the Syrian army. Many of them are Salafis - men who practice a strict and puritanical brand of Islam. They are portrayed by many as extremists who want to impose strict Sharia law in Syria - an accusation they deny.
Farouk has refused to join the joint command. This is partly out of pride - it was not asked or consulted when it was established - but also for political reasons.
Farouk leaders told me they are unhappy that the joint command is run by former Syrian military officers. They would rather civilian leaders were put in charge because when President Assad is toppled (there's no "if" in their minds) they fear a military regime will replace it.
Farouk say they are representing the wishes of the Syrian people. They want a civil state to replace the military regime that has run the country for decades.
"In democracies," one of Farouk's political leader told me, "the minister of defence is a politician not an army officer. That's what we want here in Syria."
In many ways the Farouk brigade do not need joint command. They have their own sources of funding - from Syrians, from donors in Gulf states and from western sources. They send couriers abroad to collect money from these donors, they told me. When I was with them bundles of cash arrived - $100,000 for ammunition and $10,000 to feed the men.
Farouk's critics say they are funded by Islamist groups. They do not deny it, but say these groups are not their main source of cash.
I saw no foreign fighters during my time with them. These men are Syrian, although some are already battle hardened from tours of duty in Iraq fighting US forces or in Lebanon with the Salafi-jihadists of Fath al-Islam. Still, most of the fighters I met were local people who took up arms and joined Farouk.
One fighter told me he dreams of a state where "I will have my rights, as a Muslim man. I can worship my God. If you are a Christian you must have your rights. This is the country we will eventually have."
Syria's most elite rebel fighting groups - the Farouk Brigade
Farouk Brigade, the largest and most elite force under the FSA umbrella.
It's made up of civilian volunteers and defectors from the Syrian army. Many of them are Salafis - men who practice a strict and puritanical brand of Islam. They are portrayed by many as extremists who want to impose strict Sharia law in Syria - an accusation they deny.
Farouk has refused to join the joint command. This is partly out of pride - it was not asked or consulted when it was established - but also for political reasons.
Farouk leaders told me they are unhappy that the joint command is run by former Syrian military officers. They would rather civilian leaders were put in charge because when President Assad is toppled (there's no "if" in their minds) they fear a military regime will replace it.
Farouk say they are representing the wishes of the Syrian people. They want a civil state to replace the military regime that has run the country for decades.
"In democracies," one of Farouk's political leader told me, "the minister of defence is a politician not an army officer. That's what we want here in Syria."
In many ways the Farouk brigade do not need joint command. They have their own sources of funding - from Syrians, from donors in Gulf states and from western sources. They send couriers abroad to collect money from these donors, they told me. When I was with them bundles of cash arrived - $100,000 for ammunition and $10,000 to feed the men.
Farouk's critics say they are funded by Islamist groups. They do not deny it, but say these groups are not their main source of cash.
I saw no foreign fighters during my time with them. These men are Syrian, although some are already battle hardened from tours of duty in Iraq fighting US forces or in Lebanon with the Salafi-jihadists of Fath al-Islam. Still, most of the fighters I met were local people who took up arms and joined Farouk.
One fighter told me he dreams of a state where "I will have my rights, as a Muslim man. I can worship my God. If you are a Christian you must have your rights. This is the country we will eventually have."
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