The rebel group that ousted Assad’s brutal regime has links to feared terrorist groups, but now promises better governance.
The largest of the rebel groups that took over Damascus early Sunday is the Islamist Tahrir Hayat al-Sham (HTS). The group was formerly known as al-Nusra Front. The EU and the US consider HTS a terrorist organization.
The leader of the group fought against the Americans in Iraq
by the founder of HTS by Mohammed al-Jawlan has a long history in Middle East wars. After the ouster of Saddam Hussein, he participated in the fight against the United States in Iraq.
– The founder of HTS was also a prisoner of the Americans in Iraq. There he met the future leadership of ISIS, says the doctoral researcher Tiina Hyuppa from the University of Helsinki.
After returning to Syria, al-Jawlani founded the jihadist rebel group Hayat al-Sham in 2012. The group mainly represents Sunni Muslims.
HTS fought in the Syrian civil war that started in 2011 Bashar al-Assad against the troops. A year earlier, popular uprisings known as the Arab Spring had begun in North Africa and the Middle East against the region’s authoritarian leaders.
HTS was initially called the more internationally known al-Nusra Front, and it pledged allegiance to the terrorist organization al-Qaeda. However, the group broke away from the organization in 2016 and started creating its own organization.
Still on the terrorist list in the UN, EU and USA
The UN, the US, the EU and Britain consider HTS a terrorist organization.
– The classification as a terrorist organization is based specifically on al-Qaeda connections, says Hyyppä.
Hyyppä reminds us that in the Middle East the concept of terrorism is very political. In Syria, the Assad regime branded any kind of opposition activity as terrorism. Assad also branded the ongoing revolution as terrorism and vowed to defeat it.
– If we talk about HTS only as terrorism, we are repeating the old regime’s narrative, says Hyyppä.
The United States has designated the group’s leader, Mohammed al-Jawlan, as a global terrorist and has offered $10 million for information leading to his arrest, says the BBC.
There is no precise information about the future intentions of the victorious rebels
It is not yet known what kind of administration HTS is establishing in Syria.
Al-Jawlani said last week the news channel In an interview with CNNthat the group’s goal is to oust President Assad. He also said that the aim is to establish a government in Syria “in which a council elected by the citizens will participate”.
Researcher Tiina Hyyppä estimates that the goal of HTS is not a global jihad or the establishment of a large caliphate. However, the group has implemented an authoritarian regime in the parts of Syria where it has been in power. Opponents have been sent to prison.
– It is clear that the group’s goals are very conservative, Hyyppä estimates.
According to him, HTS must make compromises with other groups and actors, and therefore it cannot implement only extremist thinking.
– I don’t think that any command like the Afghan Taliban regime is coming to Syria. I don’t think that women will be forced to wear a burkha, says Hyyppä.
HTS has promised better governance in Syria, and has promised, among other things, to protect minorities. According to Hyupä, the group must be held accountable for these promises.
– At the moment, many are happy about the end of Assad’s tyranny, but at the same time, many are worried.