Thirteen days ago, Syrian rebels launched a major offensive on the northern half of the country.

The Turkish-backed rebel group, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS),  is the largest paramilitary group fighting under the coalition of the “Syrian National Army”. On December 3rd, the rebel group took Aleppo, the most populous city in Syria to the north. In a matter of five days, the rebels made their way to Damascus, and declared a historically decisive victory against Assad’s regime. 

Most federal soldiers retreated, deserted, or defected in these days, while Bashar al-Assad fled to Moscow for asylum.

How does this war affect us?

The power vacuum in Syria is quickly being fought over, but not by who you think.

To the Southwest of Damascus, which is the capital of Syria, Israel’s military marches deeper into Syria from occupied “Golan Heights”. To the Northwest, USA backed Kurdish rebels such as the YPG/PKK in their respective region of “Rojava”. However, by far the largest rebel group is HTS, which puts western nations at a level of unease in dealings with future relations.

Hayat Tahrir al-Sham which has islamic militancy ties, their leader Abu Muhammad al-Jawlani, once a soldier of ISIS in iraq and Al-Qaeda, where he was accused of betrayal, which lead to the formation of HTS in 2017. Their actions reflect how deep the split between Al-Qaeda and HTS goes, where in 2020 HTS crushed Al-Qaeda affiliate groups in the region. Despite this rivalry the US, UN, and, UK name Hayat Tahrir al-Sham as a terrorist organization.