This group, known as HTS, is an outgrowth of what was once Al Qaeda in Syria, and which was rebranded as “Nusra” and then HTS over the last decade. The infighting between HTS and Syrian rebel groups illustrates how Turkey has created a nightmare for civilians in Syria, and also how what was once the Syrian rebellion has been transformed into proxy groups.
The fighting leaves locals with little hope that their lives will improve. The area of Afrin is made up of rolling hills and olive orchards. It was once a peaceful area and, during the horrors of the Syrian Civil War, it was saved from the destruction of other areas by Kurdish self-defense groups. Those groups eventually coalesced around the YPG or People’s Defense Units.
The areas around Afrin were often contested between elements of the Syrian regime and a plethora of Syrian rebel and jihadist groups. Over time, Turkey began to take control of this area of Syria. It co-opted Syrian rebel groups and turned them into proxies. Turkey accused the YPG of being “terrorists” even though there were never any “terror” attacks on Turkey.
In the neighboring area of Idlib, the HTS group became dominant. Meanwhile, many hundreds of thousands of Syrians who had been displaced by the Syrian regime fled to these areas near the Turkish border. Turkey infiltrated there and then ordered Syrian rebel groups to attack Afrin in 2018. During the fighting, the Kurds of Afrin were forcibly expelled from their homes, and minority groups, such as Yazidis, were persecuted. READ MORE
