HTS leader brings in new sectarian thoughts
IDLIB, Syria (North Press) – As leader of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS, formerly al-Nusra Front) Abu Mohammad al-Julani has successively appeared in public dressed in civilian clothing during the past period, he has come up with a new endeavor, arousing the issue of a Sunni project.
The project that al-Julani seeks through his Interim Government in its areas of control in northwestern Syria is a Sunni project, according to him.
Al-Julani’s speech came in a video footage publicized by the Interim Government, the civil wing of the HTS, on its official Facebook account. Al-Julani was shown with a number of officials of the Interim Government on the occasion of Eid al-Adha.
“Sunni Muslims, though they are so many, are subjected to an existential risk in Syria,” he added.
He went further saying, “The Syrian regime follows a policy to displace and replace the Sunni identity with another through naturalizing a number of Iranian, Lebanese and other individuals of Shia Muslims.”
In early September, al-Julani disclosed his dream of a future Syria similar to Afghanistan.
“Will of the Syrian people will triumph as that of the Afghans did,” he noted.
He made his words in an interview with a Turkish outlet, during which he talked about the HTS and its future strategy, the foreign fighters, the Turkish presence and other issues.
HTS, which was established in 2017, runs vast swaths in the countryside of Idlib and parts of Aleppo, Hama and Latakia. It runs the aforementioned areas through the civil wing the Interim Government, which controls all aspects of life there.
Recently, the HTS leader has successively appeared in public dressed as civilians in his areas of control in northwest Syria on different occasions the last of which was his visit to IDPs camps north of Idlib.
Al-Julani, through presenting himself to be an average person, seeks to present himself as a civil individual that can run the region and have a role in the Syrian government.
The Rewards for Justice Program in the US Department of State allocated $10 million as a reward for those who provide correct information about Abu Mohammad al-Julani, former leader of the al-Nusra Front.
In a previous statement to North Press, the Moscow-based Syrian politician Nasser al-Youssef said that objectives of al-Julani have been clear since the very beginning. He seeks to gain a foothold in the future Syrian government.
“He [al-Julani], now, is content with running northwest Syria only, but his ambitions in the future Syria are much bigger even after a comprehensive settlement,” al-Youssef added.