The Free Syrian Army (Arabic: الجيش السوري الحر‎, al-jayš as-suri al-ħurr) is an armed opposition group operating in Syria that has been active during the Syrian Uprising. Composed mainly of defected Syrian Armed Forces personnel, its formation was announced on 29 July 2011 in a video released on the internet by a uniformed group of deserters from the Syrian military who called upon members of the Syrian army to defect and join them. The leader of the group, who identified himself as Colonel Riad al-Asaad, announced that the Free Syrian Army would work with demonstrators to bring down the system, and declared that all security forces attacking civilians are justified targets.

Riad al-Asaad has stated that the Free Syrian Army (FSA) has no political goals except the removal from Syria of president Bashar Assad's government. The FSA has also claimed that the conflict is not sectarian, that they have in their ranks Alawis who oppose the government, and that there will be no reprisals if it falls. On 23 September 2011, the Free Syrian Army merged with the Free Officers Movement (Arabic: حركة الضباط الأحرار‎, ħarakat al-ḍubbaṭ al-aħrar) and became the main opposition army group. By early December, there were an estimated 15,000 to 25,000 defectors from the armed forces according to activist and media sources, western intelligence sources estimated greater than 10,000 defectors, By the middle of January 2012, the Free Syrian Army reported because of continuing defections a total of 40,000 men in its ranks. The actual number of soldiers defecting to the Free Syrian Army is unknown.

The Syrian Army, officially called the Syrian Arab Army, is the land force branch of the Syrian Armed Forces. It is the dominant military service of the four uniformed services, controlling the senior most posts in the armed forces, and has the greatest manpower, approximately 80 percent of the combined services. The Syrian Army was formed by the French after World War I, after the French obtained a mandate over the region. In 1919 the French formed the fr:Troupes spéciales du Levant with 8,000 men, which later grew into both the Syrian and Lebanese armies. This force was used primarily as an auxiliaries in support of French troops, and senior officer posts were held by Frenchmen, although Syrians were allowed to hold commissions below the rank of major.

Historically the Syrian Army has acted consistently in defence of the regime. In doing so, it has placed regime security above citizens' human rights on numerous occasions. During the current uprising, a United Nations commission of inquiry indicated such actions may have included murder, torture and rape.

The Syrian uprising is an ongoing, violent internal conflict in Syria. It is part of the wider Arab Spring, a wave of upheaval throughout the Arab world. Public demonstrations across Syria began on 26 January 2011 and developed into a nationwide uprising. Protesters demanded the resignation of President Bashar al-Assad, the overthrow of his government, and an end to nearly five decades of Ba’ath Party rule.

Since spring 2011, the Syrian government has deployed the Syrian Army to quell the uprising. Several cities have been besieged, but nevertheless the unrest continues. According to witnesses, soldiers who refused to open fire on civilians were summarily executed by the Syrian Army. The Syrian government denied reports of defections, and blamed "armed gangs" for causing trouble. Since early autumn 2011, civilians and army defectors began forming fighting units, which began an insurgency campaign against the Syrian Army. The insurgents unified under the banner of the Free Syrian Army and fought in an increasingly organized fashion; however, the civilian component of the armed opposition lacks an organized leadership.

In Battle is an extreme metal band from Sundsvall, Sweden. The main lyrical themes of the band focus on Norse mythology and war.

The original line-up consisted of John Frölén on guitar and bass, John Odhinn Sandin on vocals, Håkan Sjödin on guitar and bass, and Otto Wiklund on drums. Håkan Sjödin left the band early so that he could play with Setherial full time. The band's first album, titled In Battle, was recorded at Sunlight Studio in Stockholm, Sweden and was released through Napalm Records in 1997. Their second release, called The Rage of the Northmen, came in March 1998. It was recorded at Ballerina Audio, Umeå, Sweden. In 1999 the only member left was Frölén, who started writing material for a third album. In 2002 he began rehearsing with Sandin (this time on drums), soon asking Hans Carlsson (guitar) of Diabolical to join the band. In 2003, Nils Fjellström of Aeon replaced Sandin on drums and Sandin went back to handling the vocals and the Soul Metamorphosis EP was recorded at Necromorbus Studio in Stockholm, Sweden. In 2004, their album Welcome to the Battlefield (which was recorded in three different studios) was released through Cold Records and Metal Blade Records. The album was mixed and mastered by Erik Rutan from the bands Morbid Angel and Hate Eternal. Rutan also donated a guitar solo to the album. In April 2005, the band parted ways with their label partner Cold Records after that album's release. In 2006, In Battle signed a contract with Nocturnal Art Productions and began working on their 4th full-length album, which turned out to be Kingdom of Fear. The album was released on September 3, 2007. In Battle are currently working on a fifth studio album with a working title of Flames & Death.