Early insurgency phase of the Syrian civil war

On 29 July 2011, seven defecting Syrian Armed Forces officers formed the Free Syrian Army (FSA), originally composed of defected Syrian military officers and soldiers, aiming "to bring this government (the Assad government) down" with united opposition forces.[22][23] On 31 July, a nationwide crackdown nicknamed the "Ramadan Massacre" resulted in the death of at least 142 people and hundreds of injuries.[24] On 23 August, a coalition of anti-government groups called the Syrian National Council was formed. The council, based in Turkey, attempted to organize the opposition. The opposition, however, including the FSA, remained a fractious collection of political groups, longtime exiles, grassroots organizers and armed militants divided along ideological, ethnic and/or sectarian lines.[25]

Lt. Col. Hussein Harmoush, founder of the Free Officers Movement of Syria. Harmoush was captured by government forces in August 2011,[26] detained at Sednaya Prison and probably executed.[27]

Throughout August 2011, government forces stormed major urban centres and outlying regions, and continued to attack protests. On 14 August, the Siege of Latakia continued as the Syrian Navy became involved in the military crackdown for the first time. Gunboats fired heavy machine guns at waterfront districts in Latakia, as ground troops and security agents backed by armour stormed several neighbourhoods.[28] The Eid ul-Fitr celebrations, which began at the end of August, were muted after security forces fired on protesters gathered in Homs, Daraa, and the suburbs of Damascus.[29]

By September 2011, Syrian rebels were engaged in an active insurgency campaign in many parts of Syria. A major confrontation between the FSA and the Syrian Armed Forces occurred in Al-Rastan. From 27 September to 1 October, Syrian government forces, backed by tanks and helicopters, led an offensive on the town of Al-Rastan in Homs Governorate, in order to drive out army defectors.[30] The 2011 Battle of Rastan between government forces and the FSA was the longest and most intense action until that time. After a week, the FSA was forced to retreat from Rastan.[31] To avoid government forces, the leader of the FSA, Colonel Riad Asaad, retreated to Turkey.[32] Many of the rebels fled to the nearby city of Homs.[33]

By October 2011, the FSA started to receive active support from the Turkish government, which allowed the rebel army to operate its command and headquarters from the country's southern Hatay Province close to the Syrian border, and its field command from inside Syria.[34]

In October 2011, clashes between government and army units which had defected were being regularly reported. During the first week of the month, sustained clashes were reported in Jabal al-Zawiya in the mountains of Idlib Governorate. Syrian rebels also captured most of Idlib city.[35] In mid-October, clashes in Idlib Governorate included the towns of Binnish and Hass in the governorate near the mountain range of Jabal al-Zawiya.[36][37] In late October, clashes occurred in the northwestern town of Maarrat al-Nu'man between government forces and defected soldiers, and near the Turkish border, where 10 security agents and a deserter were killed in a bus ambush.[38] It was not clear if the defectors linked to these incidents were connected to the FSA.[39]

According to defectors, in 2011 the Syrian government intentionally released imprisoned Islamist militants and provided them with arms "in order to make itself the least bad choice for the international community".[40][41] On 19 October 2011 U.S. media reported that "large crowds of Syrians rallied in the northern city of Aleppo in support of the government of President Bashar al-Assad". The Syrian government estimated over a million pro-government demonstrators, while others estimated crowds at least "tens of thousands" comparable in size to a pro-government rally "a week earlier in Damascus".[42][43]

Situation in Syria, mid-March 2012

In early November 2011, clashes between the FSA and security forces in Homs escalated as the siege continued. After six days of bombardment, the Syrian Army stormed the city on 8 November, leading to heavy street fighting in several neighborhoods. Resistance in Homs was significantly greater than that seen in other towns and cities, and some in opposition have referred to the city as the "Capital of the Revolution". Unlike events in Deraa and Hama, operations in Homs failed to quell the unrest.[33]

November and December 2011 saw increasing rebel attacks, as opposition forces grew in number. In the two months, the FSA launched deadly attacks on an air force intelligence complex in the Damascus suburb of Harasta, the Ba'ath Syrian Regional Branch youth headquarters in Idlib Governorate and Damascus, an airbase in Homs Governorate, and an intelligence building in Idlib.[44] On 15 December, opposition fighters ambushed checkpoints and military bases around Daraa, killing 27 soldiers, in one of the largest attacks yet on security forces.[45] The opposition suffered a major setback on 19 December, when a failed defection in Idlib Governorate led to 72 defectors killed.[46]

The funeral procession of Syrian General Mohammed al-Awwad who was assassinated in Damascus in January 2012

In January 2012, Assad began using large-scale artillery operations against the insurgency, which led to the destruction of many civilian homes due to indiscriminate shelling.[47][48] By this time, daily protests had dwindled, eclipsed by the spread of armed conflict.[49] January saw intensified clashes around the suburbs of Damascus, with Syrian Army use of tanks and artillery becoming common. Fighting in Zabadani began on 7 January when the Syrian Army stormed the town in an attempt to root out the FSA presence. After the first phase of the battle ended with a ceasefire on 18 January, leaving the FSA in control of the town,[50] the FSA launched an offensive into nearby Douma.[51] Fighting in the town lasted from 21 to 30 January, before the rebels were forced to retreat as result of a government counteroffensive. Although the Syrian Army managed to retake most of the suburbs, sporadic fighting continued.[52] Fighting erupted in Rastan again on 29 January, when dozens of soldiers manning the town's checkpoints defected and began opening fire on troops loyal to the government. Opposition forces gained complete control of the town and surrounding suburbs on 5 February.[53]

On 3 February, the Syrian Army launched a major offensive in Homs to retake rebel-held neighborhoods. In early March, after weeks of artillery bombardments and heavy street fighting, the Syrian Army eventually captured the district of Baba Amr, a rebel stronghold. By the end of March, the Syrian Army retook control of half a dozen districts, leaving them in control of 70 percent of the city.[54] By 14 March, Syrian troops successfully ousted insurgents from the city of Idlib after days of fighting.[55] By early April, the estimated death toll of the conflict, according to activists, reached 10,000.[56] In April 2012, Assad forces began employing attack helicopters against rebel forces.[47]

In early 2012, Kofi Annan acted as the UN–Arab League Joint Special Representative for Syria. His peace plan provided for a ceasefire, but even as the negotiations for it were being conducted, the rebels and the Syrian army continued fighting even after the peace plan.[17]^: 11

• Cooper, Tom (2015). Syrian Conflagration. The Civil War 2011–2013. Solihull: Helion & Company Limited. ISBN 978-1-910294-10-9.
• Bolling, Jeffrey (29 August 2012). "Rebel Groups in Northern Aleppo Province" (PDF). Washington, D.C.: Institute for the Study of War.