How Assad was toppled by rebel leader Abu Mohammed al-Jolani who has £8m bounty on head & once praised 9/11 hijackers
Rebel leader Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, who is wanted for his ties to terrorism and has an 8 million dollar bounty on his head, overthrew Bashar al-Assad.
The 9/11 terror attacks motivated the Islamist, whose true name is Ahmed Al Sharaa, to become a jihadi. He previously served with al-Qaeda and ISIS.
After his group, Al-Jolani might become Syria’s next leader.The primary force behind the lightning offensive that overthrew Assad was Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HST).
Given the number of conflicting religions and ideologies in Syria, it is uncertain what the political settlement will be in the wake of Assad.
But now in the driver’s seat is al-Jolani, who fought alongside al-Qaeda in Iraq after the US invasion in 2003.
After the September 11 terrorist attacks in New York, he became first interested in jihadist ideas.
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He joined ISIS in 2012 after being detained in some of the harshest jails in Iraq in 2006.
He returned to Syria in 2011 with six guys and a 40,000 stipend to start al-Qaeda’s Syria branch.
In 2016, he founded the Organization for the Liberation of the Levant, or HTS. A year later, the United States designated it a terrorist organization and put a $8 million bounty on his head.
As a less radical organization, HTS has attempted to distance itself from its terrorist anti-Western Jihadist origins.
Al-Jolani, for instance, wears simple khaki fatigues rather than the traditional Jihadist attire.
Additionally, the organization expelled ISIS and al-Qaeda members and cells from its territory and positioned itself as a strong anti-Iranian ally to the West.
Putin s butcher pal Assad TOPPLED as rebels seize Damascus & his own army says tyrant s 24-year rule is over
The organization formed a semi-technocratic administration in Idlib and the region of northwest Syria it controlled, and he told PBS in 2021 that he had no intention of going to war with Western countries.
After Assad’s death, it issued a triumph statement that read: “Decades of oppression and tyranny have been shattered by the great Syrian revolution, creating a new Syria.
“Today, it has moved from the struggle to overthrow the Assad regime to the struggle to build a Syria that honours the sacrifices of its people.”
Additionally, it stated that it will strive “for a free, democratic, and pluralistic Syria” and hand over control to a transitional governing body.
Al-Jolani stated in a CNN interview that if HTS took possession of residents’ homes, they would have little reason to be alarmed.
He continued: “People who fear Islamic governance either have seen incorrect implementations of it or do not understand it properly.”
Christians and other religious and ethnic minorities would be protected under HTS control, according to Al-Jolani.
“No one has the right to eradicate another group,” he stated. These sects have coexisted in this region for hundreds of years, and no one has the right to eliminate them.”
Al-Jolani also described in the interview how HTS was able to defeat the regime’s army.
He said that a “unification of internalopinion” and an establishment of “institutional structures” had made the group stronger.
HTS also reformed its military and introduced unified training and strict discipline which had made the troops governable.
He said: “They stop where they should stop and withdraw where they should withdraw.
“The revolution has transitioned from chaos and randomness to a state of order in both civil and institutional matters and military operations alike.”
According reports, men have forced women and girls into sex slavery, marriages and human trafficking.
Some have even been known to be used as “gifts” to commanders in the heinous human rights abuses.
Dr Burcu Ozcelik, RUSI’s Senior Research Fellow for Middle East Security, said al-Jolani will face major challenges if he is to govern.
She said: “The opposition is not a homogenous movement, and there is a risk that internal fractures within the HTS-led umbrella movement – which may become more salient in the weeks and months to come – may lead to discord and threaten Syrian stability.
“A new transitional Syrian administration will soon need to take on the task of state-building, including the rebuilding of a national Syrian security force and a constitution-building process, as the Syrian state has been painfully hallowed out by the Assad regime.”
The transition of power to the rebels has begun with Assad’s prime minister having visited their leadership in the city.
PM Mohammad Ghazi al-Jalali was headed to the rebels’ headquarters in Damascus early on Saturday to begin the transition of power to the victorious militants.
In an earlier video statement, he said: “The matter is up to any leadership chosen by the people and we are ready to cooperate and all the properties of the people and the institutions of the Syrian state must be preserved.
“I hope all Syrians think rationally about the interests of their country.”
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Al-Jolani arrived in Damascus on Saturday afternoon and delivered a speech inside the Umayyad Mosque where he could be beaming at supporters.
The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs claimed humiliated Assad stepped down as president, fled the country, and begged for a “peaceful transfer” of power.
A timeline of the Syrian civil war
A almost 14-year civil war in Syria may come to an end with the abrupt fall of Assad’s regime.
2011: The initial anti-Assad demonstrations swiftly expanded throughout the nation, and security forces responded with a flurry of shootings and arrests.As the unrest turns into an armed revolt that will receive assistance from Turkey as well as Western and Arab nations, some protestors pick up guns, and military units desert.
2012: Al Qaeda’s new Syrian affiliate, the Nusra Front, gains authority and begins eradicating groups with a nationalist ideology after carrying out its first bombing in Damascus.
Years of U.N.-sponsored peace attempts will be thwarted by the world powers’ disagreements over how to accomplish the political transition, despite their agreement in Geneva that one is necessary.
As rebels gain ground and the conflict intensifies with both sides committing killings, Assad directs his air force toward opposition strongholds.
2013: Hezbollah in Lebanon aids Assad with his triumph at Qusayr, reversing the rebels’ momentum and demonstrating the group’s expanding involvement in the war.
A gas strike on rebel-held eastern Ghouta near Damascus kills dozens of civilians without prompting a U.S. military response, despite Washington’s declaration that chemical weapons use a red line.
The Islamic State group abruptly takes control of Raqqa in the northeast in 2014 and expands its territory in Syria and Iraq.
Their first significant loss in a major city, the surrender of the rebels in the Old City of Homs and their agreement to relocate to an outside suburb served as a model for subsequent “evacuation” agreements.
In order to help Kurdish troops reverse the jihadist trend, Washington forms an anti-Islamic State alliance and launches airstrikes, which strains relations with its partner Turkey.
2015: Islamist militants are playing a larger role, but rebel groups gain progress and take control of northwest Idlib with improved cooperation and more foreign-supplied weapons.
With airstrikes, Russia enters the battle on Assad’s side, turning the tide against the rebels for years to come.
2016: Turkey invades the area with rebel allies after becoming alarmed by Kurdish gains along the border, creating a new area under Turkish authority.
Assad’s greatest war win at the time was the defeat of insurgents in Aleppo by the Syrian army and its allies.
After breaking away from al Qaeda, the Nusra Front attempts to project a more moderate image by taking on a number of different names until deciding on Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS).
2017: Israel admits to using airstrikes against Hezbollah in Syria in an effort to weaken Iran’s and its allies’ increasing power.
Islamic State is defeated in Raqqa by Kurdish-led forces supported by the United States. The jihadist organization is driven from almost all of its territory by that onslaught and another one launched by the Syrian government.
2018: The Syrian government regains control of eastern Ghouta, swiftly retakes the other rebellious areas in central Syria, and then advances on Deraa, the rebels’ stronghold in the south.
2019: The final remnant of Islamic State’s territory in Syria is lost. In order to stop attacks on its Kurdish allies, the United States chooses to retain some soldiers in the nation.
2020- Russia backs a government offensive that ends with a ceasefire with Turkey that freezes most front lines. Assad holds most territory and all main cities, appearing deeply entrenched. Rebels hold the northwest.
A Turkey-backed force holds a border strip. Kurdish-led forces control the northeast.
2023- The Hamas attack on Israel on Oct. 7 triggers fighting between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon, ultimately reducing the group’s presence in Syria and fatally undermining Assad.
2024- Rebels launch a new assault on Aleppo. With Assad’s allies focused elsewhere his army quickly collapses. Eight days after the fall of Aleppo the rebels have taken most major cities and enter Damascus, driving Assad from power.
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