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While less in quantity, it was politically more significant. After HTS began to dominate part of Idlib province south of Afrin, many activist, political, and military figures had to flee for their safety HTS advanced swiftly but had to return the next day after an agreement was signed with Jabhat al-Shamiyah HTS demanded the end of governance by the Syrian Interim Government and requested a unified governance structure of the Salvation Government—the civil face of HTS for governance in Idlib At first glance, with these incursions, the leader of HTS, Mohammad al-Jolani, appears to be a pragmatic jihadist or an opportunistic warlord the motives are more related to survival than opportunism The current relative calm in Syria—due to the Turkish-Russian ceasefire agreement on 5 March 2020 Turkey’s relative success in preventing military control of Idlib province and Russia’s occupation of Ukraine—is illusive the HTS leader wants to dominate the entire opposition-held areas of Syria and gain a position of indispensability Knowing that Turkey can’t risk another refugee flow and therefore can’t withdraw from Syria HTS aims to force itself as the only alternative upon international actors in the West and Turkey and be delisted from the designated terrorist list of respective countries for Syrians who continue to support the aspirations of the 2011 Syrian revolution this means their last hold in Syria is endangered The inter-factional dynamics created an Achilles’ heel that can be exploited by an actor vertically opposed to those aspirations The latest incursion of HTS into Afrin may be a strong warning to Syria’s political and military actors to correct the course of action public opinion has been awakened by the potential danger from Idlib The continuity of the public demonstrations can shift local dynamics and have already started a discussion about improving conditions and governance structures in northern Aleppo Local Syrian Kurds and the internally displaced in Afrin will have to work hand-in-hand to oppose three enemies simultaneously: the Assad regime The factions of the SNA also need a systematic solution to their infighting and rivalries the belated ultimatum by Turkey helped overcome ignorance and appears to be working as a sort of wake-up call The ultimatum provided local dynamics with time and a new understanding of the need to improve capabilities and conditions It is now time for local actors to work on it and for state actors to support these local actors Ömer Özkizilcik is a foreign policy and security analyst based in Ankara. Follow him on Twitter: @OmerOzkizilcik Image: Fighters of Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (Levant Liberation Committee or HTS) opposition militant group take part in a military exercise with live ammunition at a training camp in Idlib Province Sign up to receive expert analysis from our community on the most important global issues © 2025 Atlantic CouncilAll rights reserved If refreshing the page doesn't resolve the issue you could try clearing the sites browser cache As Syrian rebels closed in on capturing the key city of Hama, a huge convoy of Syrian National Army (SNA) fighters was seen advancing south to join the efforts.  It was clear evidence of the SNA - a Turkey-backed umbrella of several armed opposition factions in northern Syria - working together with other rebels in their devastating assault on President Bashar al-Assad's forces.  After the shock capture of Aleppo last week now looks firmly in the sights of anti-government forces advanced over 200km to consolidate the territorial gains The unit’s fighters based in Azaz, along the northern border with Turkey, pushed south to take the town of Rastan The rebel offensive may have been led by Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) - the former al-Qaeda affiliate that transformed into a pragmatic nationalist outfit - but the SNA has played a decisive role Middle East Eye takes a look at the makeup of the group and what role it may play in a future administration The SNA was formed north of Aleppo in 2017 to bring together a number of armed groups under the supervision of the Syrian Interim Government an alternative government formed by a coalition of Syrian opposition organisations.  it includes many different subgroups which have often clashed' centralised organisation like HTS and it includes many different subgroups which have often clashed with each other,” Broderick McDonald “What ties them together is their shared interests in opposing the Assad regime and preventing HTS from taking over all of the liberated territories.” Several of the factions within the SNA have a close relationship with Turkey.  like the Sultan Suleyman Shah Brigade and the Sultan Murad Division are even named after Ottoman figures.  Other units fall under the National Liberation Front (NLF) grouping a Turkey-backed alliance of armed opposition actors that merged with the SNA in October 2019.  Most of the NLF factions fight under the label of the Free Syrian Army the initial umbrella armed grouping following the breakout of the civil war in 2011.  the Free Idlib Army and Harakat Nour al-Din al-Zinki The merger between the NLF and SNA brought more than 40 armed groups together creating a combined force that’s estimated to be between 30,000 and 80,000 in strength.  a nonresident fellow for the Syria Project at the Atlantic Council said that the SNA was nominally under the defence ministry of the interim government.  “But it’s not fully in control of all that’s happening within the SNA The main decision-makers inside the SNA are the leaders of each faction,” he told MEE.  McDonald added that while Turkey and leaders within the SNA had tried to create a more cohesive structure the results have been “only partially successful”.  Some Syrians believe the relationship between the SNA and Turkey to be too close and have even accused it of being a Turkish military subcontractor.  a Syrian author and human rights campaigner “Turkey's focus has been on preventing Kurdish autonomy and also creating so-called safe zones from which to send refugees back from Turkey because there's been a rise in xenophobic nationalism there.” Many of the SNA’s factions have taken part in Turkish military operations along the border with northern Syria targeting the Islamic State group (IS) as well as the People’s Defence Units (YPG) the Syrian branch of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militant group in Turkey The SNA has even been involved in pursuing Turkish military interests outside of Syria, including in Azerbaijan, Libya and Niger.  Its proximity with Ankara has led to the SNA being unpopular among some Syrians.  Ozkizilcik said that while Turkey and the SNA’s interests overlapped “The Syrian National Army is the Free Syrian Army that was backed by the United States and the international community for years,” he said.  “Their goal is still to fight the Assad regime SNA fighters have allegedly committed serious human rights abuses against Kurdish communities in Afrin and the Aleppo countryside.  They’ve been accused of arbitrary arrests The SNA’s advances in recent days have instilled fear among Kurds.  After the Turkish-backed group captured Tel Rifaat on Sunday, which had been under the control of Kurdish forces, thousands of Kurds fled the city.  Footage has also circulated this week showing SNA troops abusing captured Kurdish fighters.  They've been involved in lots of abuses and looting,” said Shami.  That behaviour has heightened tensions with HTS which has been attempting to reassure Kurds that they will be safe under Syrian opposition rule.  “During the most recent offensive, HTS arrested several fighters from SNA groups north of Aleppo in the Sheikh Maqsoud neighbourhood accusing them of looting and harming Kurdish civilians,” said McDonald.  He added that SNA factions hit back by accusing HTS of sowing divisions among the rebels.  “While HTS and the SNA factions have largely avoided open clashes so far it is difficult to know if this will continue indefinitely given the pre-existing tensions and distrust.” Ozkizilcik said that the SNA had established mechanisms to deal with human rights abuses arresting and imprisoning many of its members who were found guilty had also affirmed the importance of Kurds as an essential part of Syria.  you will find many Kurdish commanders and soldiers among the SNA ranks It remains to be seen what kind of role the SNA would have in a future administration run by the rebels.  “It's too early to speak about anything regarding administration,” said Ozkizilcik and probably even about Damascus soon.”  McDonald believes that HTS must work with other groups “If Syria’s armed opposition manages to topple the Assad regime and civil society from across the country to form a truly representative governing system,” he said.  He noted that whilst HTS is the strongest group militarily, it is designated as a terrorist organisation by the UN, EU and US.  “It desperately needs political legitimacy which can only come from working with all parts of Syrian society.” Copyright © 2014 - 2025. Middle East Eye Only England and Wales jurisdiction apply in all legal matters Middle East Eye          ISSN 2634-2456                      This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks The action you just performed triggered the security solution There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked Please include 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