‘New history written’, HTS leader al-Julani says in Syria victory speech syrian war news
Abu Mohammed al-Julani, the leader of the main Syrian opposition armed group that has seized the Syrian capital, has said the Syrian people are the “real owners” of the country after the ouster of President Bashar al-Assad, and a “new history”. It is announced “Written for the entire Middle East.
Arriving in Damascus on Sunday just hours after his Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) rebel group seized control of the city, the leader delivered a victory speech at the capital’s symbolic Umayyad Mosque.
As daylight dawned, Syrians woke up to a dramatically changed country as opposition forces swept into Damascus following a lightning attack. He announced that he had toppled the government of “tyrant” Bashar al-Assad, who fled Syria early Sunday and is in Russia, according to Russian media reports.
“The (al-Assad) regime has imprisoned thousands of its own citizens unjustly and without committing any crime,” al-Julani told the crowd gathered at the Umayyad Mosque.
“We (Syrian people) are the real owners (of this country). We have been fighting and today we have been rewarded with this victory.”
“How many people were displaced around the world? How many people lived in the tent? How many people drowned in the sea?” asked al-Julani, who has started using his real name, Ahmed al-Sharaa.
“My brothers, after this great victory, a new history is being written in the entire region,” he said before reminding the crowd.
The leader called for prayers to give thanks for the victory.
Al-Julani said, “God will not let you down.” “This victory is for all Syrians; They were all part of this victory.”
focus on unity
Al-Julani had led al-Qaeda’s Syrian branch, al-Nusra Front, before separating from the group.
However, HTS is still considered a “terrorist” group by the United States, the European Union, and Turkey, and has been accused by human rights groups of committing abuses in Idlib, where it has ruled much of the province since 2017. Have done.
Al-Julani and HTS have tried to change that perception by focusing on a message of unity since the beginning of their offensive, and al-Julani’s speech at the Umayyad Mosque highlighted this.
Speaking from the Lebanon-Syria border, Al Jazeera’s Zein Basrawi said there were two important elements to the HTS leader’s speech.
Basravi said, “He pushed the idea that there should not be a reprisal… Syria for all Syrians should be something that people should focus on.”
“They also criticized the Iranian government and its involvement in Syria, making it clear that this will no longer be a government that will be influenced by Iran as an external actor.”
Al-Julani was filmed praying after arriving in Damascus on Sunday.
In a statement read earlier Sunday on Syrian state television, which has been taken over by rebels, al-Julani was quoted as saying: “We continue to work with determination to achieve the goals of our revolution.” Keep… We are determined to complete the path we started in 2011. ,
He was also quoted as saying in the televised statement: “We will not stop fighting until all the rights of the great Syrian people are secured. The future is ours and we are moving towards victory.”
The opposition’s stormy advance on Sunday came after a brutal 13-year war that also ended more than half a century of rule by the al-Assad family.
The Syrian war began as a largely unarmed uprising against al-Assad in March 2011, but eventually turned into an all-out war involving foreign forces, killing hundreds of thousands of people and turning millions into refugees.
Russian and Iranian intervention appeared to have turned the tide on al-Assad in 2015, but the HTS-led offensive that began last month has led Russia to focus the war on Ukraine, as well as Iran and its Lebanese ally. Took advantage of Hezbollah’s weakness. The result of their conflict with Israel.
