Who Is the Leader of Syria’s Rebel Offensive?
Who Is the Leader of Syria’s Rebel Offensive?
By Adam Rasgon. & Raja Abdulrahim.
(Adam Rasgon reported from Jerusalem, and Raja Abdulrahim from Istanbul.) for NY Times.
Abu Mohammad al-Jolani spearheaded a lightning assault that led to the fall of President Bashar al-Assad.
After attracting little notice for years, Abu Mohammad al-Jolani spearheaded a stunning lightning offensive that led to the fall over the weekend of the regime of President Bashar al-Assad of Syria after over 13 years of brutal civil war.
Mr. al-Jolani, 42, is the leader of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, an Islamist group once linked to Al Qaeda that has controlled most of Idlib Province, in northwestern Syria, for years during a long stalemate in the conflict.
“By far, he’s the most important player on the ground in Syria,” said Jerome Drevon, a senior analyst of jihad and modern conflict at the International Crisis Group, who has met Mr. al-Jolani several times in the past five years.
In late November, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham launched the most significant challenge to Mr. al-Assad’s rule in a decade, sweeping through Aleppo, Syria’s largest city, before charging south, capturing territory across several provinces without facing much resistance.
By Sunday, rebels were celebrating in Syria’s capital, Damascus, and declared it free of Mr. al-Assad. Syria’s longtime leader left the country after holding talks with “several parties of the armed conflict,” according to Russia’s Foreign Ministry.
Born Ahmed Hussein al-Shara in Saudi Arabia, Mr. al-Jolani is the child of Syrian exiles, according to Arab media reports. In the late 1980s, his family moved back to Syria, and in 2003, he went to neighboring Iraq to join Al Qaeda and fight the U.S. occupation.
He spent several years in a U.S. prison in Iraq, according to the Arab media reports and U.S. officials.
He later emerged in Syria around the start of the civil war and formed the Nusra Front, a Qaeda affiliate, which eventually evolved into Hayat Tahrir al-Sham. At some point, he took on the nom de guerre Abu Mohammad al-Jolani.
Since breaking ties with Al Qaeda, Mr. al-Jolani and his group have tried to gain international legitimacy by eschewing global jihadist ambitions and focusing on organized governance in Syria.
But the U.S. government — which designated his group a terrorist organization — still offers a $10 million bounty for Mr. al-Jolani.
In recent years, Mr. al-Jolani and his group have built an administration in the territory they govern, collecting taxes, providing limited public services and even issuing identity cards to residents, according to a United Nations report. They have also come under criticism from inside and outside the country for using authoritarian tactics and cracking down on dissent.
Questions have emerged about what kind of government Mr. al-Jolani would support and whether Syrians would accept it. In Idlib, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham has espoused a government guided by a conservative and at times hard-line Sunni Islamist ideology.
Since the rebel offensive began, Mr. al-Jolani has sought to reassure minority communities from other sects and religions. Some analysts said he now faces the test of his life: whether he can unite Syrians.
Mr. Drevon likened the situation facing Mr. al-Jolani to those of other leaders who have taken on greater prominence during war, like President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine.
“In a way, this is his Zelensky moment,” Mr. Drevon said. “Zelensky was criticized before the war in Ukraine, and then he became a statesman. The question is can Jolani make the same transformation.”
transformation.”
Adam Rasgon is a reporter for The Times in Jerusalem, covering Israeli and Palestinian affairs.
Raja Abdulrahim reports on the Middle East and is based in Jerusalem.
By Adam Rasgon. & Raja Abdulrahim.
(Adam Rasgon reported from Jerusalem, and Raja Abdulrahim from Istanbul.) for NY Times.
Abu Mohammad al-Jolani spearheaded a lightning assault that led to the fall of President Bashar al-Assad.
After attracting little notice for years, Abu Mohammad al-Jolani spearheaded a stunning lightning offensive that led to the fall over the weekend of the regime of President Bashar al-Assad of Syria after over 13 years of brutal civil war.
Mr. al-Jolani, 42, is the leader of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, an Islamist group once linked to Al Qaeda that has controlled most of Idlib Province, in northwestern Syria, for years during a long stalemate in the conflict.
“By far, he’s the most important player on the ground in Syria,” said Jerome Drevon, a senior analyst of jihad and modern conflict at the International Crisis Group, who has met Mr. al-Jolani several times in the past five years.
In late November, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham launched the most significant challenge to Mr. al-Assad’s rule in a decade, sweeping through Aleppo, Syria’s largest city, before charging south, capturing territory across several provinces without facing much resistance.
By Sunday, rebels were celebrating in Syria’s capital, Damascus, and declared it free of Mr. al-Assad. Syria’s longtime leader left the country after holding talks with “several parties of the armed conflict,” according to Russia’s Foreign Ministry.
Born Ahmed Hussein al-Shara in Saudi Arabia, Mr. al-Jolani is the child of Syrian exiles, according to Arab media reports. In the late 1980s, his family moved back to Syria, and in 2003, he went to neighboring Iraq to join Al Qaeda and fight the U.S. occupation.
He spent several years in a U.S. prison in Iraq, according to the Arab media reports and U.S. officials.
He later emerged in Syria around the start of the civil war and formed the Nusra Front, a Qaeda affiliate, which eventually evolved into Hayat Tahrir al-Sham. At some point, he took on the nom de guerre Abu Mohammad al-Jolani.
Since breaking ties with Al Qaeda, Mr. al-Jolani and his group have tried to gain international legitimacy by eschewing global jihadist ambitions and focusing on organized governance in Syria.
But the U.S. government — which designated his group a terrorist organization — still offers a $10 million bounty for Mr. al-Jolani.
In recent years, Mr. al-Jolani and his group have built an administration in the territory they govern, collecting taxes, providing limited public services and even issuing identity cards to residents, according to a United Nations report. They have also come under criticism from inside and outside the country for using authoritarian tactics and cracking down on dissent.
Questions have emerged about what kind of government Mr. al-Jolani would support and whether Syrians would accept it. In Idlib, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham has espoused a government guided by a conservative and at times hard-line Sunni Islamist ideology.
Since the rebel offensive began, Mr. al-Jolani has sought to reassure minority communities from other sects and religions. Some analysts said he now faces the test of his life: whether he can unite Syrians.
Mr. Drevon likened the situation facing Mr. al-Jolani to those of other leaders who have taken on greater prominence during war, like President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine.
“In a way, this is his Zelensky moment,” Mr. Drevon said. “Zelensky was criticized before the war in Ukraine, and then he became a statesman. The question is can Jolani make the same transformation.”
transformation.”
Adam Rasgon is a reporter for The Times in Jerusalem, covering Israeli and Palestinian affairs.
Raja Abdulrahim reports on the Middle East and is based in Jerusalem.
