Syrian civil war: Who are the rebels at Damascus gates, what’s their aim

As Syrian opposition forces “entered” capital Damascus after having taken control of key cities, President Bashar al-Assad on Sunday left for an ‘unknown location’ on a plane, a development confirmed by Army officers to Reuters.

On just Saturday, the Syrian rebels captured four cities, Daraa, Quneitra, Suwayda and Homs, terming it to be the “liberation” of these places. The rebel group’s spokesperson Lt. Col. Hassan Abdul Ghani early on Sunday affirmed their intentions of capturing the Capital Damascus, saying, “Our eyes are on the capital, Damascus.”

There were no signs of Army deployments in the capital as rebels encircled the city, forcing Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to board a plane and leave the city.

Who are the opposition fighters?

The most powerful insurgent group in Syria, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, or HTS, launched a surprise offensive against President Assad’s regime on November 27.

The HTS is working along with an umbrella group of Turkish-backed Syrian militias known as the Syrian National Army.

In the last ten days, the rebels have managed to leave the 24-year-long Assad regime to hang by a thread in the country. These anti-government forces are aiming to ‘liberate’ the country of the Assad administration.

The HTS is a breakaway faction of al-Qaeda and is termed as a terrorist organization by the United States and by the United Nations.

However, in the recent years, the group has said that it cut ties with its origin group – al-Qaeda, with experts saying that HTS is trying to rebrand itself by focusing on promoting civilian government and military action in their territory, an AP report said.

The offensive that began with the city of Aleppo is now standing at Damascus’ crosshairs.

What are they fighting for?

HTS leader Abu Mohammed al-Golani earlier this week told CNN that the goal of his group’s offensive is to ‘overthrow’ the Assad regime.

Once away from the limelight, al-Golani today is one of the most recognizable insurgent. He was the one who stepped forward after cutting ties with al-Qaeda in 2016 and rebranded his group.

“Golani has been smarter than Assad. He’s retooled, he’s refashioned, made new allies, and come out with his charm offensive” towards minorities, Reuters cited Joshu Landis, a Syria expert and head of the Centre for Middle East Studies at the University of Oklahoma.

Golani and his HTS, formerly called the Nusra Front, emerged as the most powerful rebel group that posed a threat to the Assad administration in the insurgency that sprang up more than ten years ago.

HTS’ Turkish backing

Though HTS and the Syrian National Army is working together at the moment, there is no guarantee that their aims might not diverge.

The Turkish-backed militias also want to create a buffer zone near their border to keep away Kurdish militants who are at odds with Ankara.

While it is true that Turkey has been a major supporter of the fighters seeking to topple Assad’s regime, it has in the recent past called for reconciliation.

Turkish officials have also sternly dismissed claims of any involvement in the current offensive in Syria.

Assad regime controls just 3 capitals

With the opposition force’s offensive, the Syrian government is now left with the control of just three of the 14 provincial capitals, Damascus, Latakia and Tartus.

At present, majority of eastern Syria is controlled by a Kurdish-led group, Syrian Democratic Forces, which has been backed by the United States.

What next for Syria

Much of Syria’s future remains in the hands of Assad’s regime and its defences. If the Syrian forces give up on their power to fight back the rebels, nothing will remain to debate on.

HTS spokesman Hassan Abdul-Ghani had posted on Telegram that the opposition forces were carrying out the “final stage” of their offensive by surrounding the capital city of Damascus, AP reported.

The Syrian rebels on Saturday fully captured the central city of Homs, which is the third largest one in Syria. This means that the link between Damascus, Assad’s power, and the coastal region has been cut.

“Homs to the coastal cities will be a very huge red line politically and socially. Politically, if this line is crossed, then we are talking about the end of the entire Syria, the one that we knew in the past,” Anas Joudeh, a Damascus resident was quoted as saying by AP.