Policy Analysis UnitProgress ReportPublications
What messages does HTS send through its military Skirmishes against Assad regime forces?
Executive summary:
- It was remarkable what was reported by local sources about the “Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham – HTS” carrying out several swift small military operations against positions of the Assad regime forces in northwestern Syria, apparently, in an attempt to send several gestures to the local, reginal and international actors simultaneously with the Turkey’s efforts to normalize its relations with Assad regime.
- HTS tried to exploit the anger of the popular opinion over the late position of political and military Syrian Opposition Forces in their reaction to the Turkish normalization track with the Assad regime.
- “HTS” has worked to improve its image internally after its recent attack on Afrin, which had linked HTS in one way or another with the defense of the killers of the media activist “Abu Ghanoum”. This also reminded people of the many assaults that HTS had previously carried out against the Syrian Opposition Factions.
- It appears that HTS seeks to send a message that it is capable of disrupting the path of Turkish-Russian consensus regarding Idlib, which means HTS wants its interests should be considered in any new consensus in the Ankara’s new shift of normalization with the Assad regime.
To read the full report (Arabic):
مؤسسة بحثية سورية تسعى إلى الإسهام في بناء الرؤى والمعارف بما يساعد السوريين على إنضاج حلول عملية لمواجهة التحديات الوطنية المشتركة وتحقيق التنمية المستدامة
