This is how the HTS group is organized to ensure public order and security in Syria

2024-12-18 09:29:00

In Syria, as the international community begins to normalize relations with the new government, how does the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham group ensure security in the country? It was the HTS, a coalition of rebels, including Islamists, who overthrew the regime in less than fifteen days, putting Bashar al-Assad’s troops to flight. Report to one of your brigades.

First edit: 12/18/2024 – 10:29

2 minutes

With our special correspondents in Damascus, Murielle Paradon and Boris Vichith

This brigade of the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham group (HTS, a coalition of rebel groups dominated by radical Islamists) claims victory over Bashar al-Assad. These men have beards, wear military uniforms and carry Kalashnikovs. They are happy to talk to the foreign press. That day they were ensuring the security of a demonstration.

Raed al-Hamed, 37, comes from Idlib, like his entire brigade: “There are always military groups that hide, and we don’t know if they will reappear. If we find them, we arrest them and take them to a place where they will be detained and tried. “We don’t have orders to kill them or anything similar to what was done before the liberation of the country.”

Tranquility and protection

The message from these Islamic rebels is clear: they must reassure. Having the reins of the country also means protecting it from external aggression. And, for now, the rebel coalition does not seem willing to replace Bashar al-Assad’s army.

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“We will face any offensive against our country,” explains Raed al-Hamed. “We will not stand by in case of foreign aggression, any attack, whether air or land. But for now we are securing the cities and trying to recover the weapons circulating on the streets,” he says.

The Israeli army continues to bomb military sites of the former Syrian regime to prevent weapons from falling into the hands of extremists.

The new authorities intend to extend their authority to Kurdish areas of northeastern Syria, said HTS military chief Murhaf Abu Qasra, known by his nom de guerre, Abu Hasan al Hamwi.

Furthermore, Abu Qasra announced that “the next stage” will be the dissolution of the armed factions, so that they can be integrated into the army, and noted that his group will be “the first to take the initiative” to disband.