Protests intensify in Syrian enclave against powerful jihadist group

Protests continue in Syria’s northwestern enclave, which analysts see as a rare sign of resistance to powerful jihadist groups.

Hundreds of people have protested for days in Idlib province, where the group is considered the most powerful.

HTS, formerly known as Nusra Front, controls most of Idlib and smaller parts of neighboring provinces. The enclave is one of the few areas outside the control of Syrian government forces.

A local journalist who requested anonymity told VOA that protests have broken out in at least 20 locations in Idlib since early March.

Protesters chanted slogans against HTS leader Abu Mohammad al-Jolani, demanding the release of prisoners held by the extremist group and an end to security control of the enclave.

HTS is designated a terrorist organization by the United States and was the main affiliate of al-Qaeda in Syria until 2018 when it officially severed ties with the global terrorist organization. However, experts say the militant group retains its al Qaeda-inspired ideology.

Bassam Alamed, executive director of Syria Truth and Justice (STJ), said the Syrian group “has been trying to impose its radical ideology on the local population.”

STJ, a Paris-based advocacy group focused on Syria, said it had documented numerous abuses against civilians by HTS members.

“In addition to the constant arbitrary arrests carried out by the National Security Agency, there have been many cases of torture and even torture-murder,” Alamed told VOA.

The Syrian Network for Human Rights said that at least 500 civilians were killed by the militant group between 2012 and 2021. The organization said that more than 2,300 people are still arbitrarily detained or forcibly disappeared by HTS.

Idlib is home to nearly 3 million people, a large number of whom have been displaced from other areas of Syria that have been recaptured by forces loyal to the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

internal discord

Over the years, HTS has successfully eliminated most rival extremist factions and other anti-government insurgent groups. But the jihadist group has grappled with tensions among its top leadership in recent months.

In a recent move, Jolani jailed his top aide Abu Maria al-Qahtani, accusing him of working with “external” forces, referring to the Syrian government and its allies. Other influential figures were also removed from leadership positions by Jolani.

Some experts said such actions by Jolani created further friction within HTS, leading some members to join the anti-Jolani protest movement.

Ahmed Rahal, a former Syrian general who defected from the army in 2012, said: “It is now clear that HTS has split into several branches, some of which may be aligned with external forces.”

Rahal said in a recent video posted on social media that some anti-Jolani factions within HTS saw the Idlib protests as an opportunity to undermine the jihadist leader.

“Given his recent desperate actions, Jolani appears to be in a vulnerable position,” he said.

Val Olwan, a Syria analyst at the Jusuul Research Center in Istanbul, said Jolani and his allies currently have limited options.

“He may have to either contain internal disagreements with HTS or focus on containing the protests rather than confronting them,” he told the US-funded Alhurra news channel. Both cases showed internal divisions within HTS, Olvan said. weakness.

“Whether it’s control of Idlib or relationships with other military factions, the highly centralized structure that HTS once enjoyed no longer exists,” he said.

This story originated from the Kurdish section of VOA.