The Islamist group that made the revolution in Syria does not control nearly the entire country.
In the early days of December, the Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) seized the most important regions of Syria and overthrew the country’s previous, Bashar al-Assad led by the terror regime early on Sunday morning.
The name HTS is loosely translated as the Levant Liberation Organization.
The organization now controls about two-thirds of Syria’s territory. Forces from several countries and factions operate in Syria or have infiltrated there, all of which have their own goals.
In this article, besides HTS, the most important actors in Syria are described and what they are aiming for.
Kurds
Kurds make up about a tenth of Syria’s population. During the Syrian civil war in the early 2010s, the Kurds created their own, practically autonomous region in the eastern and northeastern parts of Syria. The area covers about a third of Syria.
The Kurds lead the regionally powerful Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) military coalition, which receives support from the United States. The alliance was created to fight against the ISIS terrorist organization. Today, the SDF serves as the defense forces of the Kurdish region.
The SDF took part in toppling the Assad regime by capturing the city of Deir Ezzor on the banks of the Euphrates River and closing the Abu Kamal border post on the Iraqi border last week. Thus, it cut off the main supply route that Iran used to bring military aid to the Syrian leadership.
Turkey
Turkey’s greatest interest in Syria is in the Kurds. Turkey considers the Kurdish-led SDF military coalition an extension of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). Turkey has classified the PKK as a terrorist organization.
The Syrian National Army (SNA), a military coalition operating under Turkey, has pushed the Kurds away from the border between the two countries and created a protection zone about 30 kilometers wide.
The zone is now in two parts. Since Sunday, the SNA has been carrying out attacks on SDF-held territory near the city of Manbij. Perhaps the goal of SNA is to unify the protection zones.
Turkey has also opposed the previous regime in Syria and supported the forces opposing it. Behind the scenes, Turkey is believed to have given its approval to the attack and revolution by the HTS Islamists.
Iran
Iran has been the main supporter of the al-Assad regime. The administration has been based on the Alawites belonging to the Shiite Muslims. Paramilitary forces operating under Iran participated in the Syrian civil war that began in 2011 and helped al-Assad maintain his power.
Iran has also supported the Lebanese Hezbollah organization, which has also cooperated with the Syrian regime.
Iran’s goal has been to create an “Axis of Resistance” against Israel and the United States, which would extend from Iran through the Shiite regions of Iraq to Syria and further to Lebanon. The fall of the Alawite regime in Syria means that this pattern of cooperation has now broken down.
Israel
Israel has been carrying out airstrikes on Syria for years. Among the targets of the attacks have been Iran’s arms deliveries to Syria. Israel has said it wants to prevent weapons from ending up in Hezbollah, which could use them against Israel.
After the change of regime in Syria, Israel has continued its airstrikes, which, according to Israel, have been aimed at, for example, Syria’s chemical weapons stockpiles. Israel does not want forces hostile to it to get hold of chemical weapons.
Israel has also sent its troops to Syrian soil for the first time since the 1973 war. Today, Monday, it has seized the demilitarized zone between the Golan Heights and the Syrian motherland, according to its own announcement, temporarily
United States
The United States has remained aloof from the transition of power in Syria. It does, however, have an al-Tanfi military base in Syrian territory, near the Jordanian border.
The approximately 900 soldiers in Al-Tanf are focused on operations against the ISIS terrorist organization. ISIS still holds some small towns in the Syrian desert.
The United States announced late Sunday evening that it had bombed Isis targets. The bombings have been large, involving, among other things, huge B-52 bombers.
Russia
Russia now lost a lot of its prestige in Syria. However, it still has the Tartus Naval Base and the Hmeimim Air Base in Syria on the Mediterranean.
According to the Russian news agency Interfax, Russia has made an agreement with HTS, according to which HTS will leave the bases alone. However, it is not known how long the contract would be valid.
The bases are strategically very important for Russia. Already at the beginning of the HTS attack, Russia is said to have withdrawn its ship from Tartus.
Sources used in the article: Reuters, Foreign Policy, The New York Times, Jerusalem Post, International Crisis Group.