The leader of HTS assures that the objective of the jihadist and rebel offensive in Syria is to “overthrow” Al Assad

Al Golani talks about plans to create a government with institutions and a “council elected by the people”

Dec. 6 (EUROPA PRESS) –

The leader of Hayat Tahrir al Sham (HTS), Abu Mohamad al Holani, has assured that the objective of the offensive launched last week by jihadists and rebels in Syria is to “overthrow the regime” headed by the president, Bashar al Assad, in amid the dazzling advances of these groups, which are near Homs after taking Aleppo and breaking into Hama.

“When we talk about objectives, the objective of the revolution continues to be the overthrow of this regime,” Al Golani said in an interview with the American television network . “It is our right to use all available means to achieve that objective,” he maintained.

“The seeds of the regime’s defeat have always been in it. The Iranians tried to revive the time, buying it time, and later the Russians tried to reinforce it, but the truth remains the same. This regime is dead,” stressed the leader of HTS, whose real name is Ahmed Hussein al Shara.

Al Golani, who has tried to soften his public image to try to gain support from the international community – after maintaining alliances with the Islamic State and Al Qaeda, from which he has distanced himself in recent years – has assured that there are plans to create a government with institutions and a “council elected by the people.”

“A person has a different personality when they are 20 years old than when they are 30 or 40, and certainly different than when they are 50. It is human nature,” he argued, in reference to his current position and the possible differences with his actions in the past, when he fought in the ranks of Al Qaeda in Iraq before going on to head the Al Nusra Front, the group’s affiliate in the country.

Al Golani, on whom a reward of ten million dollars (about 9.45 million euros) is weighed by the United States and whose organization is considered a terrorist group by the United Nations, reached agreements with the first leader of Islamic State, Abu Bakr al Baghdadi, although he rejected his attempts to get the al Nusra Front to swear allegiance to him.

Faced with the dispute with Al Baghdadi and with the aim of maintaining more power and greater autonomy within Syria, Al Golani rejected this request from Al Baghdadi and swore allegiance to the then leader of Al Qaeda, Ayman al Zawahiri, although after the emergence of HTS also confronted its former ally to present an image of distancing and establish its power in the areas under its control in Idlib (northwest).

The leader of HTS, who on Thursday used his real name for the first time in an official message after the capture of Hama before the withdrawal of government forces, defended during the interview his vision of “Islamic governance” in Syria and argued that “those who fear” this option “have seen incorrect applications of it or do not understand it adequately.”

In this sense, he has promised that, if the offensive is successful in overthrowing Al Assad, a process will be opened for the formation of institutions in Syria, while he has said that he will also work to prevent abuses from being committed against members of minorities in the Asian country.

“There were some violations against them by certain individuals during periods of chaos, but we addressed these problems,” he explained. “No one has the right to eliminate another group. These sects have coexisted in this region for hundreds of years and no one has the right to eliminate them,” he stressed.

Thus, it has distanced itself from accusations by non-governmental organizations about HTS’s treatment of dissidents and political opponents in Idlib, including torture, and has stated that the prison abuses “were not committed under its orders or directives” and that Those responsible have already been arrested.

HTS “IT IS A MEANS, NOT AN END”

On the other hand, Al Golani has pointed out that Syria deserves a system of government that is institutional, not one in which a single ruler adopts arbitrary measures,” referring to Al Assad, part of a dynasty started by his father, Hafez al Assad. , which has been in power since 1971.

“We are talking about a broader project. We are talking about building Syria,” said Al Golani, who stressed that “HTS is merely a part of this dialogue and could be dissolved at any time.” “It is not an end in itself, but a means to achieve a task, which is to confront the regime,” he pointed out.

Along these same lines, he has rejected the designations of HTS as a terrorist organization and has attributed these decisions to “mainly political” reasons and “inaccuracies”, before reiterating that the most extremist practices “created divisions” between the coalition he heads and others. jihadist groups.

Thus, he has said that he was never personally involved in attacks against civilians in Syria and has elaborated that he distances himself from the positions adopted by various jihadist groups with which he had a relationship in the past, within the framework of the aforementioned campaign to whiten his image. internationally.

Finally, he has expressed his desire for international troops to leave Syrian territory, where there are troops from the United States, Turkey, Russia and Iran, as well as militiamen from groups supported by Tehran, such as the Lebanese Shiite militia party Hezbollah.

“I believe that once this regime falls, the matter will be resolved and there will be no need for foreign forces in Syria,” Al Golani concluded, at a time when the forces he leads continue their advance towards Homs and threaten to increase pressure towards the capital, Damascus, if government troops and their allies fail to contain them.

The fighting in the last week has so far left more than 700 dead, including about 110 civilians, according to the Observatory, which has said that among the dead are more than 300 members of HTS and 59 members of allied rebel groups have died in the fighting. , joined by more than 200 members of government forces and allied militias.

The offensive, which is actually two combined — ‘Deterring Aggression, launched by HTS, and ‘Dawn of Freedom,’ led by Syrian rebels — is the first large-scale since Turkish and Russian presidents Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Vladimir Putin, respectively, will agree on a ceasefire in 2020 after months of fighting.