Turkish-backed Free Syrian Army talks security with HTS in Idlib

 

 'Syrian opposition sources have revealed that contacts are taking place between Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and the Free Syrian Army (FSA) factions in north Syria to hand over the security of some areas to HTS. The rumored deal would involve the Turkish-backed FSA tampering down some of its rhetoric against HTS in exchange for allowing the extremist group to oversee security in certain areas. It's unclear if the FSA would maintain forces in the areas in which the HTS takes control of.

 Brig. Gen. Ahmad Rahal, who defected from the Syrian régime, tweeted Feb. 19, “HTS emirs have repeatedly visited the Olive Branch areas to work out their relations with FSA leaders amid reports whereby the FSA has decided to prevent any media attacks against HTS leaders. There are also talks that the security of all liberated areas will be handed over to HTS after the failure of the military, security and judicial leadership there.”

 HTS, which the United States classifies as a terrorist organization, controls large areas of Idlib in northwest Syria, while the FSA factions, supported by Turkey, control Afrin, al-Bab, Jarablus and Tell Abyad, among others. These areas held by the FSA are known as the Euphrates Shield, Olive Branch and Peace Spring areas, in reference to past military operations led by Turkey and its FSA allies in north Syria.

 FSA sources said on condition of anonymity that there are contacts between HTS and some FSA factions in efforts to resolve disputes between the two sides. The FSA and HTS compete over areas of influence in northern Syria, and there have been several armed conflicts between the two in recent years.

 Tensions run high as HTS accuses FSA factions of working for the interests of Turkey at the expense of the Syrian revolution. For their part, FSA factions claim HTS took control of the weapons they left behind in Idlib after they were forced to leave following battles with HTS. The factions also accuse HTS of having a jihadist ideology that undermines the goals of the Syrian revolution.



 The sources said that HTS sent specific leaders who are friendlier with the FSA factions to the areas under the control of the Suleiman Shah Brigade in Sheikh Hadid in the countryside of Afrin.

 Each faction within the FSA often acts without referring to the FSA leadership, and has authority over its members and areas that it controls. It's unclear whether the broader leadership — and its main backer, Turkey — would support such a move. Ankara has designated HTS a terrorist group.

 Despite being unofficial, the visit points to efforts by HTS and the FSA factions to reach an understanding. A rapprochement could eventually lead to the unification of the Syrian opposition areas, according to the sources.

 It appears this is the first time such contacts have taken place.

 Citizen journalist Qais al-Ahmad al-Hamwi, who resides in the FSA areas, said, “The HTS leadership is full of surprises. It is quite easy for it to change its approach and principles. HTS supported the Islamic State but then turned against it and pledged allegiance to al-Qaeda in order to win over a large number of jihadists. It subsequently left al-Qaeda and operated as a local jihadist faction called Fatah al-Sham until it took its current HTS form and fought the FSA factions under pretexts such as spreading evil on earth, dealing with foreign countries and parties and collaborating with Turkey, among others.”

 He added, “With regard to coordination with the FSA factions in the Olive Branch and the Euphrates Shield areas, HTS may try to portray itself as a national faction that has nothing to do with terrorism and does not seek expansion beyond Syria. However, I do not think HTS is tolerated by the Syrian revolution factions.”

 HTS’ media coordinator Taqi al-Din Omar would neither confirm nor deny the rumored contacts. He said, “Unity among the ranks of the Syrian revolution factions as well as the preservation of principles and foundations is a revolutionary duty, which is why HTS unified major factions and military battalions in 2017 [when the group was formed]. We have always called for this revolutionary duty with the participation of elites, scholars and cadres of the revolution. The al-Assad régime summoned the Russian occupier and dozens of militias to fight the Syrian people. The factions’ duty is to unite against the occupiers. I do not think there is a single revolutionary who does not wish for the unification of the liberated areas, i.e. the Syrian opposition areas, without division, as well as for the unification of the revolutionary ranks to confront the challenges and plots being hatched against the revolution of freedom and dignity.”

 Abu Khaled al-Shami, a pseudonym for a former jihadist leader residing in Idlib, said, “There are no assurances that such contacts have indeed taken place between HTS and the FSA. Should this be true, then it would be needless to say that rapprochement is urgent for HTS to break its isolation. … However, whether such efforts will come to fruition depends on how satisfied the Turkish side and the factions it supports are.”

 Mustafa Sejari, the political director of the FSA-affiliated Mutasim Brigade who resides in the northern countryside of Aleppo, said, “The [FSA] position on HTS is firm. HTS is an unreliable organization and all its activities and movements are suspicious. It has been attacking the Syrian revolution’s flank and has wiped out more than 20 factions of the FSA. At the leadership level, the Mutasim Brigade has no contact with HTS, and there has been no decision to get into contact with it. HTS must make real reconsiderations if it is to seek reconciliation with the Syrian people and the military forces, and it must acknowledge what it has committed against the revolution and the factions, while taking the initiative to restore people's rights and end its aggressive behavior.”

 Mohammed al-Omar, a reporter close to HTS residing in Idlib, said, “HTS is keen on the unity of the opposition areas and is seeking unification, but the factions do not want to unify the region, as the current reality serves their interests. Each faction is like a state enjoying authoritarian and economic privileges, which is why they are not considering unifying the areas. In the meantime, HTS is operating like a legitimate government while maintaining security in the areas under its control. If HTS were in control of the FSA-held areas, it would have prevented the numerous [attacks] there in the past months.” '

'This is the price we had to pay for freedom'

 

 'Ghayath Abou Ahmed, 30, freelance journalist:

 "I was a student when protests broke out in my hometown Darayya. I watched from a distance with my camera, taking pictures of scenes I never imagined would have taken place in Syria. We were inspired by protests in Tunisia and Egypt, but never thought we would dare raise our voices too.

 Sadly, our dream was short-lived when hundreds in Darayya were killed in August 2012. I lost so many of my friends and neighbours in just two days. That was the most difficult time for me in the whole of the last 10 years. That was the moment, fear had a full grip on all of the young people in Darayya. Nobody could go out of town again to protest.

 For four years, we lived in isolation under siege. I felt bitter every time I looked at the horizons to see how Damascus was all lit brightly while we lived in complete darkness. My heart ached at how they moved freely while we couldn't even get food or medicine.

 I was completely lost when I was forcibly evacuated from Darayya to Idlib in 2016; I felt like a fish taken out of water.

 My parents were detained for a while and my brother was killed. This is the price we had to pay for freedom. I never regretted participating in the revolution. If I went back in time, I would do it all over again. I never blamed the revolution for my loss, I only blame the Syrian régime which committed unforgivable crimes.

 It is true that the revolution has not succeeded yet, but we have achieved some freedom that we had never enjoyed before. There was always one voice that nobody dared contradict. Now I'm a freelance journalist, I write my thoughts and share them with the world, something I could have never done if it wasn't for the revolution."



 Nour al-Sham, 28, humanitarian worker:

 "I used to live in a house with my family, but now I live in a tent in northern Idlib.

 We lived in southern Idlib in a house where we had everything we needed except for our freedom. Now I suffer in a primitive tent in a barren land with hundreds of other tents which in winter turns into a big mud puddle and in summer is infested with insects and covered in dust.

 I have no dreams for the future or for my son's future. I try my best to distract him from life in the camp. I tell him nothing about the war so he doesn't get burdened at such a young age. My husband had to leave us to work in Turkey and I don't get to see him anymore.

 I had a dream to finish school, but it's impossible now. I was a student in Aleppo University when I took part in the protests there. I had to leave the university few months after that because of threats by security forces.

 I started helping out people and joined the humanitarian relief effort. In 2019 I escaped the shelling on our neighbourhood with my husband and our child and ended up in a refugee camp in the northern Idlib countryside.

 I lost two of my cousins when their homes were bombarded. My brother was arrested in 2012, and we don't know where he is until now. But I never regretted that we had a revolution. We hoped we'd get rid of the oppressive régime."

 Fadi Mosilli, 40, Red Cross employee:

 "By the end of 2012, I realised I couldn't stay in Syria anymore. I felt threatened after my close friends were arrested. I was afraid for the safety of my children. I was afraid I'd be just another man killed and forgotten like the prisoners of Caesar prison.

 I found my way to Turkey then to Germany.

 Probably being abroad helped make our voices heard. I've always participated in protests in Germany to call for the rights of Syrians and defend Syrian refugees. I even joined a political party. I dream of a similar democracy and free elections in Syria.

 We took to the streets to call for freedom only for the régime to retaliate with bullets. People were brutally beaten and killed in front of my eyes.

 The last 10 years of destruction took their painful toll on me, but I still have hope that one day we'll enjoy freedom and put those accountable behind bars. Seeing Syrians getting killed and displaced every day is heart-wrenching for me. The whole world was watching and did nothing to stop the killing.

 I live as a body without a soul. I miss my life in Syria, I miss my family and my friends, the trees and the street where I lived. I look at pictures of Damascus where we used to live and I cry. It breaks my heart that I couldn't even visit my mom's grave after she passed away a couple of years ago."



 Harun al-Aswad, 33, journalist:

 "On June 24, in 2012, I was watching on television how Egyptians achieved victory by announcing Mohammed Morsi a president for their country. I was inspired by the Egyptian revolution, dreaming of a happy ending to our struggle. On that day, I left my house [in Damascus] to participate in a protest, but my hopes were soon crushed when I got arrested.

 For a year, I was tortured brutally. I was deprived of food and water and using the bathroom. I was beaten daily and mocked for the jailers' entertainment.

 Sometimes I wished I could just die; and I think if I lost hope, I would have been dead.

 I've always had a passion for telling stories, something my father warned me about. He said journalism in this country will get you in trouble one day. There were times when I thought about his words while fleeing one place after the other to avoid getting arrested.

 I live in Turkey now close to the Syrian borders where I continue to do more journalism and tell the world about the atrocities committed against the Syrian people. I still have hope that Bashar al-Assad and his régime will be held accountable for his crimes against the Syrian people.

 Our revolution was not Islamic. The rallies moved to mosques just because they were places of gathering for us on Friday. Moving in crowds gave us strength and eliminated our fear. We never called for sectarian demands, we only called for freedom, justice, and an end to the emergency state.

 We have won after all, because it was us versus powerful countries and we still managed to overcome our fear and break the deafening silence of decades of oppression exposing unspeakable atrocities.



 Safia, 45, housewife:

 "I escaped from Homs with my husband and our four children one year after the revolution began. We have always thought we would be back once the régime stopped its attack. But we couldn't come back.

 We were moving in a pick-up truck amid heavy fire from one town to another heading to safety in the north. Whenever we imagined we were finally safe, the sound of shelling would bring us back to reality. Death was close but it was better than being arrested.

 The most difficult time for us was living under siege in Eastern Ghouta. The régime was hitting us with everything, airstrikes, artillery, mortars, cluster bombs. They denied us medicine and basic food supplies. The only thing we could find to eat was cabbage leaves. I was dying inside when my youngest son woke up hungry in the middle of the night asking for food and I couldn't get him anything. Many terrible things happened to me that I wish could be erased from my memory.

 My husband and three of my sons were tortured by Turkish security for being journalists when we tried to escape from Idlib to Turkey. I was screaming at the officer "leave them alone". I don't know how I got all this strength. I used to be terrified of any officer. I probably exploded after all the injustice and humility we'd seen.

 The Turkish authorities apologised to us later, saying it was an individual mistake.

 We were allowed in Turkey, stayed for few months then moved to France.

 I have no hope of seeing my family again. My father died and I couldn't see him one last time. But I still believe that the revolution was something that was meant to happen. We were silent for so long. People were even scared to talk inside their homes. But enough was enough." '