Photo Gallery Tackling Assad from Turkey
Abu Hamsa is a 30-year-old unit commander in the Free Syrian Army. He first lived in one of the refugee camps along the Turkish-Syrian border. But now that he is an officer, he spends his time in the countryside and rarely sleeps in the same place twice.
Abu Hamsa and his men usually stay in the tiny villages along the border that one can only reach by traveling over bumpy roads, through fields or along the old smuggling paths that the rebels use as supply routes. At night, porters can be found carrying medicine, blood supplies, bandages, rice, beans and clothes on these paths through the mountains.
This photo shows a typical village on the Turkish side of the border in which FSA officers and their supporters meet.
In villages just on the Turkish side of the border, FSA officers plan their operations. When they cross over into Syria to attack, they usually launch suprise attacks and then quickly retreat back over the border.
The FSA uses Skype and Facebook to communicate with supporters and comrades. "Skype is the most important program of the revolution," says one fighter, who explains that this is because it is harder to monitor than Facebook.
FSA fighters pose for a photograph: It's difficult to confirm the size of the loosely organized group. Its leaders claim to have about 40,000 men, but the figure is probably lower. Somewhere around a few hundred are active along the Syrian-Turkish border.
Syrian rebels gather in the northwestern Syrian province of Idlib, an FSA stronghold.
Here, a rebel fighter engages in a firefight in Idlib with soldiers still loyal to the Assad regime.
FSA fighters gather in Idlib: The fighters must secure weapons during battles or buy them on the black market. An AK-47 assault rifle costs $1,000 (750).
A Syrian rebel peers through a window in Idlib: While Assad's forces have tanks, airplanes and heavy weapons at their disposal, Abu Hamsa's men ride around on tractors.
An FSA fighter in Al-Qsair, southwest of Homs, the main rebel stronghold: Abu Hamsa says that how long this fight rages on "depends on whether we can get more weapons."
FSA rebels patrol the streets of Al-Qsair: Assad alleges that they are "armed gangs" and "terrorists." The ragtag group is up against 200,000 men well-equipped with Russian-made weapons.
An FSA fighter guards an alley in Homs in early February: Since then, Assad has been hammering the besieged city with tanks and rockets.
Defectors from the Syrian army join a protest against the Assad regime. (As this photo was received from a third party, its authenticity cannot be independently verified by SPIEGEL ONLINE.)
A member of the Free Syrian Army gestures during a patrol in the western border town of Zabadani. (As this photo was received from a third party, its authenticity cannot be independently verified by SPIEGEL ONLINE.)
Here, another FSA member patrolling Zabadani. (As this photo was received from a third party, its authenticity cannot be independently verified by SPIEGEL ONLINE.)
An FSA member stands guard in the western border town of Zabadani. (As this photo was received from a third party, its authenticity cannot be independently verified by SPIEGEL ONLINE.)
