Who overthrew Assad in Syria?
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has fled by plane after being confronted by armed rebels. In a televised announcement, the rebels said, “The dictator Bashar al-Assad has been overthrown. Long live a free and independent Syria for all Syrians.”
The British media outlet BBC reported that the rebels, led by Abu Mohammed al-Jawlani, seized the city of Aleppo in late November after launching an offensive. The government collapsed in less than two weeks.
In several incidents, members of the Syrian military have either deserted their posts or joined the opposition.
As far as is known, the initial attacks were led by the armed group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS). The group has a long history of involvement in Syria’s history and crisis. HTS is listed as a terrorist organization by many countries, including the United Nations, the United States and Turkey.
Who is Hayat Tahrir al-Sham?
When it was founded in 2011, the group was called Jabhat al-Nusra, which was directly affiliated with the al-Qaeda militant group. Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the leader of the so-called IS group, was involved in its formation. Many believe that this group was the most effective and deadly in the civil war against President Assad. However, it is believed to have given more importance to jihadist ideology than revolution.
The rebel alliance called Free Syria has seen differences among them. In 2016, the leader of this group, Abu Mohammed al-Jawlani, publicly broke with al-Qaeda and dissolved Jabhat al-Nusra to form a new organization. It was named Hayat Tahrir al-Sham and later several smaller groups joined it.
For a time, HTS made Idlib province in northwestern Syria its center of power. They established local administrations there. They were accused of human rights abuses there, which undermined their efforts to gain legitimacy.
They were also embroiled in bitter fighting with other groups. Their ambitions outside Idlib were still unclear.
Even after breaking with al-Qaeda, they sought to establish an Islamic state in Syria rather than a caliphate. They have so far shown little sign of challenging Assad or of engaging in major conflict in Syria.
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