By Mo’ayed al-Sheikh
IDLIB, Syria (North Press) – Northwestern Syria remains the last stronghold of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS, formerly known as al-Nusra Front) and Turkish-backed armed opposition factions. Dozens of armed factions, that encompass both moderate and hardline ideologies, operate across the region under various names. The HTS includes the largest share of these groups.
Some of these factions are designated on the Global Terrorism Index, such as Ansar al-Tawhid and the Turkistan Islamic Party, with many other jihadist groups operating in HTS-controlled areas in northwestern Syria.
Overall, the HTS controls approximately 75 percent of Idlib Governorate and parts of Hama, Aleppo and Latakia governorates in northwestern Syria. The HTS is considered the strongest and largest armed group in these areas, where it manages civilian and military affairs through the Salvation Government.
The HTS achieved its dominance in the area by excluding many opposition factions, such as the Ahrar al-Sham, Nour al-Din al-Zenki Movement, the Syrian Revolutionaries Front, and more than 20 other factions. This exclusionary strategy enabled the HTS to consolidate its authority in the area and exert control over the remaining factions.
Often, these factions remain indirectly affiliated with the HTS, such as Jaysh al-Izza, Ansar al-Tawhid, and the Turkistan Islamic Party.
HTS dominance
Saif al-Basha, a pseudonym for a military researcher in Idlib, told North Press that more than 15 armed factions are currently operating in Idlib, with over half of them directly affiliated with the HTS.
The remaining factions operate in accordance with the orders of the HTS, as it leads the al-Fateh al-Mubin Operations Room, which includes groups such as Ansar al-Tawhid, Jaysh al-Izza, and the National Front for Liberation along with all factions in their ranks.
According to al-Basha, there are other smaller formations indirectly affiliated with the HTS. Therefore, all factions in the area, either directly or indirectly, have affiliations with the HTS.
Despite the major differences, the HTS has managed to assert its dominance and force all faction to either submit or be excluded outside of Idlib, as was the case with many opposition factions between 2014 and early 2019.
Nonetheless, many of these factions, particularly the Islamists, refuse to engage in dialogues with the Turkish forces, viewing Turkey as an apostate state. This perspective is shared by groups like the Turkistan Islamic Party, Ansar al-Tawhid, and Ansar al-Islam.
These groups are cautious not to end up facing a similar fate to that of the al-Qaeda-affiliated Hurras al-Din, which the HTS sought to fully eliminate because of its hostility towards Turkey and rejection of the Turkish presence in Idlib.
The National Front for Liberation, which is affiliated with the Turkish-backed Syrian National Army (SNA), was formed from 11 factions in 2018 and receives direct funding from Turkey. The group consists of various factions, most notably, the Sham Legion (Faylaq al-Sham), Suqour al-Sham Brigades, Army of Victory (Jaysh al-Nasr), Free Idlib Army, the First Coastal Division, and others.
According to al-Basha, certain factions within the SNA, including the Hamza Division and Sultan Murad Division, formed an alliance with the HTS in late 2022. These factions previously retreated from Idlib in 2015 after intense battles with the HTS and now returned as allies to the HTS.
Full authority
A former leader in the opposition factions, Muhammad Jamil, told North Press the HTS completely controls Idlib and the factions operating within it.
Currently, no other group can challenge HTS’ authority, especially since it has deliberately pursued strategies to exclude or weaken the role of other factions for the past four years. It has become the sole decision-maker in the area, Jamil added.
The HTS maintains strict control and forbids any faction from attacking the Syrian government forces without its permission. In addition, it imposes taxes on factions receiving support from Turkey. For instance, the Sham Legion has given the HTS 40 percent of the support it has received from Turkey since 2018, according to Jamil.
Jamil, who is currently residing in Turkey, said that there are still several key jihadist groups that maintain a strong presence in Idlib and surrounding areas, like Hama and Latakia. However, he stressed that all of these groups are ultimately subject to the orders of the HTS.
In the summer of 2017, an infighting erupted between the HTS and its former ally, Ahrar al-Sham, in Idlib. As a result, the HTS managed to gain control over the majority of the area, including authority over both military and civilian affairs and excluded the opposition’s Syrian Interim Government and established the Salvation Government.
At that time, everyone expected that Turkey would support other factions in Idlib to end HTS presence, but that did not happen. Instead, HTS militants accompanied the Turkish military convoys that entered Idlib, northern Aleppo, and Hama to establish military observation posts, as part of the de-escalation agreement between Russia, Iran, and Turkey in September 2017, Jamil added.
Nowadays, the HTS is subject to Turkish commands. However, unlike SNA factions, the group still possesses few military options that enables it to turn tables, according to Jamil.
Yielding to Turkey
Regarding the internal issues within the HTS, Jihad al-Shami, a pseudonym for an HTS leader, said, “The HTS is witnessing a state of division, especially in the Shura Council and Abu Muhammad al-Julani’s inner circle of command.”
There is a state of division in the group’s ranks in general, with hundreds of militants and leaders defecting and choosing to remain distant, he added.
Al-Shami told North Press that most of the first level leaders within the HTS rejected the idea of breaking with the al-Qaeda and forming an alliance with Turkey, which the HTS once considered an apostate state.
Contrarily, al-Julani and several other leaders within the HTS, including Abu Maria, Abu al-Yaqdhan al-Masri, and Abu Ahmad Hadoud, swiftly took action to reorganize the ranks and communicate to the first-tier leaders that the group’s actions were part of a “legitimate policy” aimed at avoiding being targeted by the US-led Global Coalition. However, about a year and a half later, the HTS leadership had already started aligning with Turkey and other actors. They began actively excluding everyone who rejected the new policy, according to al-Shami.