According to a statement from the militant command’s Supreme Military Council (SMC), Brig. Gen. Idriss is to be replaced by Brig. Gen. Abdul-Ilah Bashir Al-Noeimi, a rebel field commander in southern Syria.

Noeimi is the chief of staff of the SMC of the Free Syrian Army.

Noeimi comes from a large Arab tribe called the al-Noeim. The tribe is spread is prominent in the villages of the Golan Heights and the Quneitra countryside.

Prior to the Syrian war, Noeimi served as a career officer in the Syrian Army.

Noeimi defected from the Syrian Army on 13 July 2012 alongside several other officers from the Noeimi tribe, including Adnan al-Rafi, Saleh al-Hammada al-Noeimi, and Saleh Bashir al-Noeimi.

He was later appointed chief of the FSA military council in Quneitra.

Noeimi has called for support from the European Union and the United States, either through the supply of weapons, or through direct military intervention.

His son, Talal, was killed during clashes with the Syrian Army in the Quneitra countryside on 26 November 2013.

Noeimi was appointed to the position of chief of staff on 16 February, taking over from Idriss.

BA/BA