Who are the Syrian rebels who have captured Damascus – explained in 30 seconds
Both have been entrenched in the north-west. They launched the shock offensive on 27 November with gunmen capturing Aleppo, Syria’s largest city, and the central city of Hama, the fourth largest.
The founder of HTS,
In its former incarnation as Jabhat al-Nusra or the Al-Nusra front, HTS later declared allegiance to al-Qaida. It eventually publicly broke those ties in 2016 and rebranded as Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham, or Organization for the Liberation of the Levant.
HTS is now the most powerful rebel faction in
.It is designated as a terrorist group by the US and there are
in the area it controls, including executions for those accused of affiliation with rival groups and over allegations of blasphemy and adultery.The HTS and Syrian National Army have been allies at times and rivals at times, and their aims might diverge.
The Turkish-backed militias also have an interest in creating a buffer zone near the Turkish border to keep away Kurdish militants at odds with Ankara. Turkey has been a main backer of the fighters seeking to overthrow Assad but more recently has urged reconciliation, and Turkish officials have strongly rejected claims of any involvement in the current offensive.