The recent actions of the terrorist group “Tahrir al-Sham” in suppressing the so-called jihadist extremist groups in Idlib have raised many questions about the reasons for this, including whether the group succeeds in achieving its goal or whether it will lead to another war.
According to Arabi 21, informed sources confirmed that the Al-Sham editorial board has taken a tougher stance than the jihadi groups that make up a small population in the Idlib region. “Arab” Syrian researcher says in this regard: Tahrir al-Sham has recently offered two options to foreign nationalities, either to join the group or leave the region, by inspecting their headquarters and limiting financial resources.
According to Tahrir al-Sham, a few days ago, Muslim al-Sheshani, the leader of the “Soldiers of the Al-Sham / Caucasus” group, warned him to either join the ranks of Tahrir al-Sham or leave his control areas for an indefinite period of time.
The group said in a statement through its media office that the members of Janud al-Sham are being prosecuted by the security services, and the names of some of their affiliated companies are in security and criminal cases, and some perpetrators and wanted individuals have hidden themselves to cover their crimes by joining these groups.
Meanwhile, Taqi al-Din Omar, head of media relations at Tahrir al-Sham, said: What the relevant authorities are doing in Idlib is arresting and besieging some wanted people and former people. And this is a general judicial procedure that includes everyone and is not limited to a specific group, what has happened is that some elements are hiding in these small groups, and it is the duty of the judicial authorities to follow them wherever they are.
In addition to the Jihad al-Sham jihadist group, Tahrir al-Sham has also called on the Jundallah group, led by Abu Hanifa al-Azari, in the Jabal al-Turkman area on the outskirts of Latakia, to hand over their weapons and leave their positions.
Ammar Jalou, a writer and researcher working on the formation of jihadist movements, believes that Tahrir al-Sham’s move is part of an attempt to clear the so-called “terrorist” title.
He stressed that in order to achieve this goal, the group is trying to get rid of figures who are known as extremists in Tahrir al-Sham or jihadist groups close to them by arresting or requesting to leave Idlib.
He added: The political essence of “Tahrir al-Sham” at the present stage is based on reducing tensions with the Syrian society with more services and reducing fear, and any arrest by any party links even the security forces to a judicial order.
Regarding the possibility of Tahrir al-Sham‘s mission succeeding in curbing extremist groups and figures, the author said that the core of the jihadist organization is disintegrating instead of uniting, and this stems from the takfiri ideology of its members, who believe that Tahrir al-Sham remains possible.