BEIRUT: The Syrian regime and its Russian ally are threatening an offensive to retake the northwestern province of Idlib, Syria’s last rebel bastion, where extremist group Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham holds sway.
The extremist alliance, the core of which is formed by the former Al-Qaeda branch in Syria, is likely to be the regime’s toughest foe.
Here is some background.
HTS first appeared in Syria in January 2012 as the Al-Nusra Front, and Syrian President Bashar Assad and his Russian ally still refer to the extremist group by that name.
Classified as a “terrorist” group by the United States, the European Union and the United Nations, it arrived in Syria as an extension of Al-Qaeda in Iraq.
The group’s current leader, a Syrian who uses the nom de guerre Abu Mohammad Al-Jolani, is a veteran of fighting in Iraq.
In 2013, the group swore allegiance to Al-Qaeda before splitting with the global extremist syndicate in July 2016 and renaming itself the Fatah Al-Sham Front.
In 2017, it dissolved that group to form the backbone of Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham.
The group mainly consists of Syrian extremists, estimated at about 30,000 fighters, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
The extremists are “well organized and battle-hardened,” said Syria expert Fabrice Balanche.
“HTS definitely retains a sizeable foreign fighter component, perhaps comprising at least 20 percent of its total fighting force,” said Charles Lister, an analyst at the Middle East Institute.
The fighters are mostly from the Middle East, “but also from Russian-speaking areas, Europe and south Asia,” he added.
HTS now controls nearly 60 percent of Idlib province.
It has set up a civil administration that collects customs duties at the border with Turkey and imposes taxes on traders.
The group “derives so much of its power from being the authority over how trade flows into and out of Idlib, which helps fund the group and gives it power beyond its size,” said Nicholas Heras, a researcher at the Center for New American Security.
Previously, HTS had a presence in many of the country’s rebel-held areas, especially near Damascus and in the south. But it has lost that territory as its fighters were evacuated to Idlib in surrender deals.
HTS has consistently been excluded from cease-fires negotiated by the United Nations or Russia.
The extremist alliance has been the target of air raids from both Moscow and the US-led anti-extremist coalition, which have killed several of its senior commanders.
Formerly associated with influential Islamist rebel groups like Ahrar Al-Sham and Nureddine Al-Zinki, HTS underwent a bloody period of power struggles in 2017 that included battles with former allies, creating resentment that persists today.
In early 2018, Ahrar Al-Sham and Nureddine Al-Zinki announced their Turkey-backed merger to counter the growing power of HTS.
They joined four other rebel factions in early August to form a new coalition — the National Liberation Front.
Separately, HTS has increased raids in recent weeks against “sleeper cells” linked to the Daesh, which has claimed responsibility for assassinations and bombings targeting HTS’s leaders and fighters.
The two extremist heavyweights have also clashed in Syria’s northern city of Raqqa and in eastern Deir Ezzor province.
In July 2014, Nusra’s chief said the group’s goal was to set up an “Islamic emirate,” akin to the “caliphate” proclaimed by Daesh shortly beforehand.
On August 22 the reclusive Jolani broke a long silence to reiterate that the group was determined to repel any offensive by Damascus.
“Just thinking about surrendering to the enemy and handing over weapons is an act of treason,” he said.
Russia has called for the dissolution of HTS, but neighboring Turkey is trying to negotiate a solution with the extremists to avoid a large scale offensive that would destabilize the border area, the Britain-based Observatory said.
According to Heras, the extremist alliance’s “dissolution on the command of Turkey would rob it of much of its power, which would replace HTS rule with Turkish rule.”
Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham: Syria regime’s toughest foe in Idlib
Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham: Syria regime’s toughest foe in Idlib
- The extremist alliance, the core of which is formed by the former Al-Qaeda branch in Syria, is likely to be the regime’s toughest foe
- HTS now controls nearly 60 percent of Idlib province
Erdogan says Turkiye, Lebanon agree to act together on Syria
“A new era has now begun in Syria. We agree that we must act together as two important neighbors of Syria,” Erdogan told a news conference, alongside Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati.
“The stability of Syria means the stability of the region,” he said, adding that reconstruction of the war-ravaged country on their borders would be their priority.
Assad fled to Russia after a lightning offensive spearheaded by Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS) wrested city after city from his control until the militants reached the Syrian capital earlier this month.
The ousting of Assad sparked celebrations around Syria and beyond, and has prompted many refugees to begin returning home.
Turkiye and Lebanon are home to a large number of Syrian refugees.
To rebuild Syria, Erdogan said: “This is a critical period in which we need to act with unity, solidarity and mutual reconciliation.”
Syria rescuers say bodies found in warehouse
- “We received a report about the presence of bodies, bones and a foul smell at the site,” White Helmets official Ammar Al-Salmo said
DAMASCUS: A Syrian civil defense official said Wednesday that White Helmets rescuers discovered unidentified bodies and remains in a medicine warehouse in a Damascus suburb, 10 days after Bashar Assad’s ouster.
An AFP video journalist at the scene said the warehouse strewn with medicine boxes was located just around 50 meters (yards) from the Sayyida Zeinab shrine, a revered site for Shiite Muslims.
“We received a report about the presence of bodies, bones and a foul smell at the site,” White Helmets official Ammar Al-Salmo told AFP.
South Damascus’s Sayyida Zeinab suburb was a stronghold of pro-Iran fighters including Lebanon’s Hezbollah militant group before militants took the capital on December 8 in a lightning offensive.
“In the warehouse, we found a refrigerated room containing decomposing corpses,” Salmo said, adding that some appeared to have died more than a year and a half earlier.
He said human bones were also scattered on the ground, estimating there were around 20 “victims.”
AFP saw men in white suits removing bodies and remains in black bags and placing them onto a truck.
Salmo said the words Aleppo-Hraytan — Syria’s second city in the north, and a nearby location — and numbers were written on bags where the unidentified bodies were found.
“We are going to establish the age of the victims” then take samples for DNA tests “and try to locate their families,” Salmo added.
AFP was unable to independently ascertain the reason for the presence of the remains or the identities of the bodies.
Since Assad’s ouster, a number of mass graves have been uncovered in the country.
The fate of tens of thousands of prisoners and missing people remains one of the most harrowing parts of the Syrian conflict, which has claimed more than 500,000 lives.
In 2022, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor estimated that more than 100,000 people had died in prison, mostly due to torture, since the war began.
UN calls for ‘free and fair’ elections in Syria
- UN special envoy Geir Pedersen said “there is a lot of hope that we can now see the beginning of a new Syria”
- Calling for immediate humanitarian assistance, he also said he hoped to see an end to international sanctions
DAMASCUS: The UN envoy to Syria called on Wednesday for “free and fair” elections after the ouster of president Bashar Assad, as he voiced hope for a political solution for Kurdish-held areas.
Assad fled Syria following a lightning offensive spearheaded by Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS), more than 13 years after his crackdown on democracy protests precipitated one of the deadliest wars of the century.
He left behind a country scarred by decades of torture, disappearances and summary executions, and the collapse of his rule on December 8 stunned the world and sparked celebrations around Syria and beyond.
Years of civil war have also left the country heavily dependent on aid, deeply fragmented, and desperate for justice and peace.
Addressing reporters in Damascus, UN special envoy Geir Pedersen said “there is a lot of hope that we can now see the beginning of a new Syria.”
“A new Syria that... will adopt a new constitution... and that we will have free and fair elections when that time comes, after a transitional period,” he said.
Calling for immediate humanitarian assistance, he also said he hoped to see an end to international sanctions levied against Syria over Assad’s abuses.
Pedersen said a key challenge was the situation in Kurdish-held areas in Syria’s northeast, amid fears of a major escalation between the US-backed, Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and Turkiye-backed groups.
Turkiye accuses the main component of the SDF, the People’s Protection Units (YPG), of being affiliated with Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) militants at home, whom both Washington and Ankara consider a “terrorist” group.
The United States said Tuesday it had brokered an extension to a fragile ceasefire in the flashpoint town of Manbij and was seeking a broader understanding with Turkiye.
“I’m very pleased that the truce has been renewed and that it seems to be holding, but hopefully we will see a political solution to that issue,” Pedersen said.
Rooted in Syria’s branch of Al-Qaeda and proscribed as a terrorist organization by several Western governments, HTS has sought to moderate its rhetoric by assuring protection for the country’s many religious and ethnic minorities.
It has appointed a transitional leadership that will run the country until March 1.
HTS military chief Murhaf Abu Qasra said Kurdish-held areas would be integrated under the country’s new leadership, adding that the group rejects federalism.
“Syria will not be divided,” he told AFP, adding that “the Kurdish people are one of the components of the Syrian people.”
He said HTS would be “among the first” factions to dissolve its armed wing and integrate into the armed forces, after the leader of the group ordered the disbanding of militant organizations.
“All military units must be integrated into this institution,” Abu Qasra said.
HTS has also vowed justice for the crimes committed under Assad’s rule, including the disappearance of tens of thousands of people into the complex web of detention centers and prisons that was used for decades to silence dissent.
“We want to know where our children are, our brothers,” said 55-year-old Ziad Alaywi, standing by a ditch near the town of Najha, southeast of Damascus.
It is one of the locations where Syrians believe the bodies of prisoners tortured to death were buried — acts that international organizations say could constitute crimes against humanity.
“Were they killed? Are they buried here?” he asked.
According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor, more than 100,000 people died or were killed in custody from 2011.
Libyan rivals resume talks in Morocco to break political deadlock
- Talks are between rival legislative bodies based in east and west of country
- Political process to end civil war stalled since election scheduled for December 2021 collapsed
RABAT: Delegations from rival Libyan institutions resumed talks in Morocco on Wednesday to try to break a political deadlock and prevent the country from sliding back into chaos.
Libya has undergone a turbulent decade since it split in 2014 between two administrations in its east and west following the NATO-backed uprising that toppled Muammar Qaddafi in 2011.
The talks in Bouznika, near the Moroccan capital Rabat, were between rival legislative bodies known as the High Council of State based in Tripoli in the west and the House of Representatives based in Benghazi in the east.
Speaking at the opening of consultations between the institutions, Moroccan foreign minister Nasser Bourita urged participants to work together to preserve Libya’s unity and prepare for “credible elections.”
“The numerous international and regional conferences on Libya will not replace the inter-Libyan dialogue which has credibility and ownership,” he said.
A political process to end years of institutional division, outright warfare and unstable peace has been stalled since an election scheduled for December 2021 collapsed, amid disputes over the eligibility of the main candidates.
The House of Representatives was elected in 2014 as the national parliament with a four-year mandate to oversee a political transition.
Under a 2015 Libyan Political Agreement, reached in Morocco’s Skhirate near Rabat, the High State Council was formed as a consultative second chamber with an advisory role.
But the House of Representatives then appointed its own rival government, saying the mandate of the prime minister of a government of national unity had expired. The eastern-appointed government has had little clout, but its appointment revived Libya’s east-west division.
Israeli settlers set up tents in Lebanese border town
- Coastal town of Naqoura hosting UNIFIL 70 percent destroyed
BEIRUT: Israeli settlers crossed into Lebanese territory on Wednesday, entering the border town of Maroun Al-Ras in a significant incident.
The group erected tents and took pictures of themselves in the area.
The Israeli army, which has been present in Lebanese territory since Oct. 1 and remains in the border area, said that the “serious matter” is being investigated.
Photos taken by the settlers showed two tents and a group of men accompanied by two children. The group raised banners featuring the Star of David, with the Lebanese cedar — symbolic of the Lebanese flag — prominently displayed in the center.
It was later discovered that one of the settlers had recently shared a video on social media in which he told his child, who accompanied him, that Lebanon belongs to Israel. The video had previously ignited widespread outrage in Lebanon.
The Israeli violations extended to areas near sites belonging to UNIFIL forces operating south of the Litani River.
A UNIFIL statement reported “activities by the Israeli army near one of our sites in Maroun Al-Ras,” describing the incident as “both dangerous and unacceptable, as it jeopardizes the safety of our personnel.”
The two incidents coincided with a meeting of the committee responsible for overseeing the implementation of the ceasefire agreement. Held at the headquarters of the Italian unit in Ras Al-Naqoura, the talks brought together military representatives from the US, France, Lebanon, Israel and UNIFIL.
For the third consecutive day, Israeli forces have continued demolishing and bulldozing homes, particularly in the town of Naqoura.
According to the town’s mayor, Ali Awada, “the extent of systematic destruction in the town has reached 70 percent since the ceasefire agreement took effect on Nov. 27.”
Awada added: “The Israeli forces are systematically demolishing the town, located just 3 km from the border. We have been unable to assess the full extent of the damage or losses firsthand, as the Israeli military has prohibited citizens from entering the town to inspect their properties. However, images and videos from the area clearly reveal Israeli machinery bulldozing homes, shops and civilian facilities in what seems to be a calculated act of retaliation against the town and its people.”
He expressed his surprise at “the failure of UNIFIL forces and those responsible for monitoring the ceasefire to prevent Israeli forces from demolishing infrastructure and civilian facilities in several towns, particularly in Naqoura, where the UNIFIL headquarters is located.”
The destruction extended to areas of Tyre Harfa, Al-Jabeen and Sheheen in the Tyre District, with residents of Tyre reporting the sound of explosions.
Israeli military reconnaissance aircraft were operating at low altitudes around the clock over the southern airspace as well as Beirut and its southern suburbs.
The Lebanese army, in coordination with UNIFIL forces, recovered several bodies of Hezbollah members who were killed in confrontations with the Israeli army during the extensive war launched by the Israeli military.
In the town of Adaisseh, located in the Marjeyoun district, the estimated number of bodies was about 30, all of which were retrieved by the Lebanese Red Cross.
The process of retrieving the bodies from the town of Taybeh is still awaiting approval from Israel, as requested by UNIFIL forces.
Civil defense teams continued their search for casualties in the northern neighborhood of Khiam following the withdrawal of the Israeli army from the area and the advance of the Lebanese army.
Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati received a report from Tamara El-Zain, secretary-general of the National Council for Scientific Research in Lebanon, titled “Israeli Aggressions Against Lebanon and Sectoral Damages.”
It was prepared by the council in collaboration with the UN Development Program in Lebanon.
The headquarters of the Lebanese Press Syndicate in Beirut witnessed a rally by dozens of activists from the Shiite Muslim community opposing Hezbollah, hailing from the south and the Bekaa. Their objective was to launch a rescue plan under the slogan “The State Protects Us.”
Media activist Mohammed Barakat said: “It is necessary to take the Shiite sect into the state project, after it was proved that sects and weapons do not protect a group of Lebanese, and after the fall of sectarian dominance projects in all regions.
“We tried (using) weapons. It turned out that they do not protect us. True security can only be achieved through the state and international resolutions.”
Barakat added that Shiites in Lebanon want “a Lebanon with one army, without militias that want to liberate Palestine or loose groups with weapons in all the alleys and sects.”
He said that Lebanon should, ultimately, be a “democratic parliamentary system, based on electoral processes rather than dominated by weapons, assassinations and black shirts.”
The activists highlighted the “legitimacy of the state, its constitution, the Taif Agreement, Arab legitimacy and Resolution 1701.”
Abiding by these would safeguard the Lebanese population, “particularly those residing in the South, the Bekaa Valley and the southern suburbs of Beirut,” they said.
“Lebanon should serve as the ultimate homeland for all its citizens, embracing an Arab identity and affiliation, characterized by shared interests, prosperity, development and investment.”
