After 13 years of civil war, with an uprising led by the Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS or Levant Liberation Organization) which has lasted 11 days.
The Syrian Prime Minister, Mohamed Ghazi al Jalali, assured this Sunday that he extends his hand to “every Syrian who is interested in this country to preserve its institutions,” in a video published after the Islamist insurgents took control of the capital, Damascus.
Al Jalali said that after announcing this morning that “reached out” to the insurgent coalition victorious, led by HTS, which brings together numerous groups, including pro-Turks, maintained “telephone contacts with several” of its leaders.
The leader of the Levant Liberation Organization, Abu Mohamed al Jolani – who heads the insurgent offensive in Syria and has become the rebel figure who has managed to overthrow Bashar al Assad after 24 years clinging to power, which he inherited from his father – , visited the historic Umayyad Mosque in Damascus this Sunday, where he assured that the overthrow of the Syrian president represents “a new story for the entire region”.
“This victory is a new story for the entire Islamic umma (nation) and for the entire region. Al Assad has left Syria as an estate for Iranian ambitions, and spread sectarianism and corruption,” al Jolani said in a brief speech inside the mosque.
“Today Syria has been cleaned, thanks to God and the mujahideen (fighters),” while his followers interrupted him with shouts of “God is great, God is great,” he added. Al Jolani, whose real name is Ahmed al Charaa and who was escorted by armed men, was received by dozens of faithful in an atmosphere of euphoria.
The leader who has won the battle
Abu Mohamed Al Jolani, born in Riyadh in 1982 but of Syrian origin, since his father worked as a petroleum engineer in Saudi Arabia, returned to Syria in 1989, where he grew up in the wealthy Damascus neighborhood of Mezzeh, an environment in which he He himself assured that he was not “pushing” him towards Islamism. Now, his alliance, also made up of rebels supported by Türkiye, has reached those neighborhoods to which he could not return before.
Designated terrorist by the United States and the UN Security CouncilAl Jolani has not missed an opportunity in recent years to go out in public and give some interviews to foreign media, despite Washington asking for 10 million dollars for his head.
In 2011, Abu Bakr al Baghdadi, who was later the first leader of the Islamic State jihadist group (2014-2019), commissioned Al Jolani to establish a branch of Al Qaeda in Syria. And he did so by leading the Al Nusra Front, which had “members, money, weapons and advice directly from Al Qaeda,” according to the UN Security Council.
Al Jolani himself confirmed in 2013 the close relationship he had with Al Baghdadi and how he had personally commissioned him to direct “Al Qaeda’s fight in Syria.” In addition, he also swore allegiance to Ayman al Zawahiri, who was the leader of Al Qaeda until his death in 2022.
Break with Al Qaeda
Everything changed in 2016. Based in Idlib, its main stronghold, Al Jolani publicly broke all relations with Al Qaeda and dissolved the Al Nusra Front to create another group, the Levant Conquest Front, which shortly after was renamed the Levant Liberation Organization (Hayat Tahrir al Sham, in Arabic) when it merged with other factions.
The goal was to be an “independent” entity with the sole objective of defeating the Syrian Government and “liberate” the country, which created internal friction that caused other jihadists to abandon Al Jolani’s path. In Idlib, under the control of his group, the Salvation Government was established in 2017, a kind of political and civil front for the group in the areas that escaped the control of the Syrian Government.
Now Al Jolani sits at the head of the recent coalition “Military Operations Command”, headed by his own group and also bringing together other factions, which was created especially for this offensive against Al Assad, called “Deterrence of aggression”, which has managed to control a large part of Syria.
Syrian National Army
The Syrian National Army (ENS) is another of the relevant actors in the country. Supported by Ankara and other pro-Turkish factions, its relationship with the HTS has been changeable, sometimes allies and sometimes rivals. Turkish-backed militias are also interested in creating a buffer zone near the Turkish border to keep out Kurdish militants fighting Ankara.
Turkey has been a major supporter of fighters trying to overthrow Assad, but has more recently urged reconciliation, and Turkish officials have strongly rejected accusations of any involvement in the current offensive, it has highlighted.. The main question is whether the HTS and the Syrian National Army will collaborate or whether they will once again turn against each other after the overthrow of the Syrian government.
Kurdish forces are also present
For her part, the leader of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), an armed alliance led by Kurds, controls much of eastern Syria. Supported by the United States in their fight against the Islamic State, they have also taken advantage of these days to launch their own offensive and take the city of Deir ez-Zor. The FSD assured this Sunday that the fall of the Syrian government of President Bashar al Assad is an “opportunity to build a new Syria.”
“In Syria we are living in historic moments: we are witnessing the fall of the authoritarian regime in Damascus. This change represents an opportunity to build a new Syria based on democracy and justice, which guarantees the rights of all Syrians,” he said in a brief statement. .
