Armed opposition group leads lightning attack in Syria

The Islamist armed group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) has for many years been considered the most dangerous opposition force to the government of President Bashar al-Assad.

The offensive campaign over the past two weeks, culminating in the declaration of control of the Syrian capital Damascus on December 8, is the most visible military operation by the Syrian opposition in many years, with the force led by the armed movement HTS.

Break away from al-Qaeda

The lightning attack campaign that left the army of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad unable to react has partly demonstrated the capabilities of HTS in particular, as well as the opposition alliance called the Military Operations Force with HTS as the leading unit in general, in addition to exploiting the weaknesses of the Syrian army.

Fighters from the opposition armed forces are deployed to Aleppo province on November 28.

HTS originated from a group called Jabhat al-Nusra, which was founded in 2011 as a direct branch of the al-Qaeda terrorist network in Syria, led by Abu Mohammed al-Jawlani. The leader of the self-proclaimed Islamic State (IS) organization Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi also participated in the founding of al-Nusra.

Jabhat al-Nusra is considered the most effective and dangerous force against President al-Assad's regime. However, the group's ideology is jihadist, and in the early years after its formation, this was sometimes seen as contradictory to other opposition movements, which aimed to carry out a revolution under the banner of "Free Syria", according to the BBC.

In 2016, al-Jawlani publicly split from al-Qaeda, disbanded Jabhat al-Nusra and established a new organization, named Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, which has been active to this day in conjunction with several other groups and HTS.

Over the years, HTS has established a stronghold in Idlib province in northwestern Syria, where it also runs the de facto local government, despite criticism of human rights abuses. HTS has also been involved in a number of bitter internal battles with other opposition groups.

Since splitting from al-Qaeda, HTS's goals have been limited to establishing an Islamic regime in Syria, rather than establishing a multinational Islamic state as in the case of IS.

HTS leader Abu Mohammed al-Julani

HTS’s relationship with the larger Syrian National Army, a Turkish-backed group, is also complex, with the group sometimes being rivals and sometimes allies, with different goals. Turkey has also denied any involvement in the opposition’s latest military campaign.

HTS seizes the opportunity

HTS - an organization listed as a terrorist organization by countries such as the US, Russia, and Türkiye - has shown few signs in recent years of rekindling the flames of large-scale fighting with the Syrian government, which controls and administers most of the country's territory.

There have been no notable clashes between the al-Assad government and the opposition since Russia and Turkey brokered a ceasefire in 2020. However, experts say the Damascus government has received military support from Russia, Iran and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah in recent years, especially in the military. Meanwhile, Syria's armed forces are largely conscripted, and the difficult economic situation has also put pressure on the issue of military salaries.

Observers agree that Israel’s attacks on Hezbollah and Iran, which have had some impact, and the ongoing war in Ukraine, which has forced Russia to focus on direct conflict, have created a clear opportunity for the Syrian opposition to resume military operations. The city of Aleppo, the bloodiest battlefield in years between the opposition and the Syrian government before the government took control in 2016, fell within a day of HTS launching its attack on November 27. Without support from Moscow, Tehran, or Hezbollah, the Syrian army was virtually isolated and unable to resist the opposition’s offensive.

The opposition military coalition carrying out the attack in Syria, in addition to HTS, includes the Ahrar al-Sham movement (founded in 2011 and operating in Aleppo and Idlib), the National Front for Liberation (NFL, founded in Idlib in 2018), the Jaish al-Izza movement (focused on northern Hama province) and the Nour al-Din al-Zenki group (founded in 2014 in Aleppo).

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/nhom-vu-trang-doi-lap-dan-dau-cuoc-tan-cong-chop-nhoang-tai-syria-185241208184105696.htm