Secretary of State Antony Blinken said U.S. officials are in “direct contact” with Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), the Syrian opposition group that effectively led to the fall of Bashar al-Assad's regime in the country, The Associated Press reported.
“Yes, we are in contact with HTS and other parties,” Blinken said Saturday at a news conference in Aqaba, Jordan, the Associated Press reported. He also said: “Our message to the Syrian people is this: We want them to succeed and we are ready to help them succeed.”
HTS is an offshoot of al-Qaeda but is rebranding itself as a more moderate Islamist movement. The United States designates it as a foreign terrorist organization.
The rebels have already established an interim government that will lead Syria until March 2025. Its acting prime minister is Mohammed al-Bashir, a former administrator of the rebel-held northwestern province.
According to the Associated Press, HTS leader Ahmad al-Sharah (formerly known as Abu Mohammed al-Golani) has asked whether the country will repress minority communities or whether it will be dominated by violent extremists. He calls himself a moderate in response to Western leaders who are concerned about whether the country will become a haven.
The Associated Press reported that the leader appeared in a video message Friday praising “the great Syrian people for the victory of the blessed revolution.”
The fall of Assad's regime has complicated the mission against ISIS by the roughly 900 U.S. troops stationed in the country, as well as America's allies in the region.
Iran and Russia, the Assad regime's main backers, are likely to be most affected by the collapse, while the United States and its Kurdish allies will now face a growing opposition to the mainly Turkey-backed government, which views Kurdish fighters as terrorists. We need to cooperate with the coalition of forces.
President-elect Donald Trump is scheduled to be inaugurated next month, but concerns are swirling over calls by Republican leaders for the United States to stay out of Syria and the potential withdrawal of about 900 American troops from Syria. are.
