“When we talk about objectives, the goal of the revolution remains the overthrow of this regime. It is our right to use all available means to achieve that goal,” Abu Mohammad al-Jolani, the chief of Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS), said on Thursday.
“The seeds of the regime’s defeat have always been within it… the Iranians attempted to revive the regime, buying it time, and later the Russians also tried to prop it up. But the truth remains: This regime is dead.”
Then on Friday, streams of civilians have been seen fleeing Homs, ahead of potential hostilities between regime forces, and rebel forces who charged towards the city.
Human rights warnings: Syria’s rebel fighters have a shared goal of crunching Assad’s dynastic grip on power. But Jolani’s roots in al Qaeda – which he later broke ties with – have cast a shadow over his ambitions.
Human rights advocates also raised concerns over HTS’ recent treatment of political dissidents in Idlib, in northwestern Syria. The United States designated HTS a Foreign Terrorist Organization in 2018 and placed a $10 million bounty on Jolani.
