Assad fled the country in between December 7 and 8 after Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), a Sunni jihadist terror organization, surrounded Damascus. Syria had been in a state of civil war since 2011, when Assad’s decision to violently repress protests for expanded human rights prompted the emergence of a slew of militias intent on toppling him. In addition to the war between Assad and the Syrian opposition, several other militant actors surfaced with other goals, such as the Islamic State terrorist organization, which attempted to establish a “caliphate” in Raqqa.
The leader of HTS, Ahmed al-Sharaa (previously known as Abu Mohammed al-Jolani), has endeavored in the aftermath of the fall of the Assad regime to address global concerns that he, too, will attempt to establish an Islamist caliphate in the entirety of Syria, changing his wardrobe to Western-style suits and discussing the creation of an “inclusive” government. Sharaa has claimed that his group will not persecute Syria’s many ethnic and religious minorities, such as the Christians and the Kurds, and that HTS will respect women – but has also defended Islamist governance and called those who oppose it ignorant. (Read More)
