After criticizing its policies, HTS dismisses an imam in Syria’s Idlib
IDLIB, Syria (North Press) – The Salvation Government, the civil wing of the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS, formerly al-Nusra Front), has dismissed a mosque imam in the city of Binnish, east of Idlib, northwest Syria, because he criticized the policy of the Salvation Government and its restrictions on the people in the region.
The Ministry of Endowments of the Salvation Government dismissed the imam of Zahra’ Mosque in the city of Binnish, Sheikh Abu Jaber after he criticized HTS and the Salvation Government during his Friday sermon, local sources told North Press.
During the sermon, the imam sharply criticized the work of the Salvation Government institutions, accusing them of restricting the population, especially in light of the economic crisis that the region has been witnessing for some time, the source added.
The HTS, through the Ministry of Endowments, is unifying and defining the topic of the Friday sermon in all mosques in Idlib, according to eyewitnesses.
This is not the first time that HTS accused of dismissing clergy men or arresting its critics, as it had previously arrested in the middle of this month, a young man named Muhammad Kronfol in the city of Salqin for criticizing the police leadership in the region, according to the sources.
The HTS effectively controls all of the Syrian opposition-held areas in Idlib governorate and parts of other governorates, and it runs them through the Salvation Government that was established in Idlib in late 2017.
The HTS is accused of committing violations against residents in its areas of control.