HTS is one of several radical Islamist militias operating in the war theater created by the onset of the Syrian Civil War in 2011. After over a decade of clashes – many not even involving the Assad regime, such as the ongoing conflict between U.S.-friendly Kurdish fighters and the Turkish proxy Syrian National Army (SNA) in the north of the country – Assad fled the country between December 7 and 8.
Assad’s ouster, ending over half a century of his family’s iron-fisted rule of the country, was prompted by a surprise HTS attack on Aleppo, Syria’s second-largest city, in late November. HTS swiftly took over Aleppo and then moved into surrounding areas as Assad’s soldiers failed to engage the fighters in any meaningful way. On December 7, the leadership of HTS announced that it had arrived in Damascus with the intent of taking over the government; by the next day, the Russian government had confirmed it granted political asylum to Assad and his family. (Read More)
