Aymenn Jawad Al-Tamimi delivered a lecture about the factions of guerrilla groups currently engaged in the Syrian Civil War.
The lecture was held on Wednesday, December 11th in Marcucella 102 (the lecture hall), at 7:00 p.m.; an audience of approximately 50 people came to hear Al-Tamimi speak.
The situation that Al-Tamimi outlines is one that is far more complex than the main-stream media tends to show. He deconstructed the specific rebel groups which are military engaged in several regions, but focused primarily on north-eastern Syria.
Al-Tamimi put particular emphasis on the operations of a group known as ISIS. The name is an acronym for "State of Iraq and ash-Sham," and they have been very active in and around the city of Qamishli, close to the Turkish border in the north.
ISIS has been fighting against other groups trying to prevent their capture of Qamishli, such as the Syrian government allied NDF militia (National Defense Force), or another local rebel group known as YPG, which draws its members heavily from the mostly Kurdish regions of northern Syria.
Al-Tamimi used visual aids, such as maps and images of various factions' flags, to help the audience understand the differences between the groups and their theaters of operation.
Al-Tamimi made it clear that the opposition consists of several separate groups, loosely coordinating with each other, but each with their own aims and agendas. With several of the rebel factions fighting against each other, he suggested that continued infighting amongst these factions, even after the Assad regime falls, is a real possibility.