Who are Hayat Tahrir al-Sham? The Syrian rebels who overthrew Bashar al-Assad

Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) is believed to be an offshoot of the terrorist group Al-Qaeda. Its leader, Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, has sought to maintain autonomy.

Islamist rebel group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), led by Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, gained international attention after it led a successful blitzkrieg-style assault campaign to overthrow Syrian President Bashar al-Assad successfully.

Syrian rebel fighters celebrate at the entrance of Homs province early on December 8, 2024, after rebel forces entered Syria's third city overnight. Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and allied anti-government factions have pressed a lightning offensive since November 27, sweeping swathes of the country from government control, including major cities Aleppo, Hama and Homs.(AFP)

Starting their campaign on November 27, the rebels had cleared their intention to use “all available means” to overthrow Assad and declared Damascus free of the “tyrant” once the president reportedly fled the capital on Sunday.

Origins of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham

Led by the 42-year-old former Syrian militant and jihadist Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, the group is the modern avatar of the al-Nusra front, which was once named Jabhat Fateh al-Sham.

Jolani founded the al-Nusra front, Syria's branch of al-Qaeda, to fight the Syrian government in 2011 after Assasd's crackdown on ‘pro-democracy’ protesters. Earlier, Jolani led al-Qaeda in its fight against the United States in Iraq after it invaded the country.

Post the emergence of the Islamic State in Syria, Jolani developed differences with former ISIS head Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi and wanted to retain his front as an autonomous unit of al-Qaeda in Iraq. Thus, he renamed its unit Jabhat Fateh al-Sham without changes in adherence to Islamist ideology.

Again, Jolani renamed the group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham as the militant leader sought to maintain distance from al-Qaeda and prevent being the target of Western sanctions. Despite being a US-designated terrorist, Jolani claimed in 2015 that he had no intention of attacking the West and called for Assad to be defeated.

Maintaining a safe distance from the US, HTS merged with other Islamist groups in northwest Syria to bring vast areas of Idlib province that had slipped out of Assad's control. The group developed a civilian government and provided a semblance of stability while crushing rival groups.

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Residents and rights groups have accused the HTS of brutal abuse against dissidents, which the United Nations has classified as a “war crime”.

Aware of the group's past, Jolani assured the residents of Aleppo, which houses a sizeable Christian minority, that they would face no harm under his ‘regime’.

He also called on his fighters to preserve security in the areas they had "liberated" from Assad's rule.

After seizing control of Hama, Jolani said there should be “no revenge” attacks against fellow rival groups. "I ask God almighty that it be a conquest with no revenge," Jolani, of the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham group which leads the rebel alliance, said in a video message.

The group also said it would protect all government offices, embassies and other international organisations from potential attacks after Israel said it was sending a contingent to assist the UN in protecting its office.

The rebels said the country should not witness any more “sectarianism and tyranny” and clarified that they have “no intention” of using chemical weapons against “anyone”.

Jolani arrived in Damascus on Sunday, hours after HTS fighters ousted Assad. A statement in the Telegram messaging app said he had "knelt down prostrating to God in thanks" on the ground after arriving in the Syrian capital.

“We continue to work with determination to achieve the goals of our revolution. We are determined to complete the path we started in 2011,” Jolani was quoted as saying by news agency AFP.