Syria has a new government—or does it?
Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Ahmed al-Sharaa, leader of the organization that overthrew Syria’s Assad regime, has “assumed the presidency of the country in the transitional phase," according to a statement last week from the military command of the current government in Damascus. The announcement formalizes the government that has existed since Mr.
Sharaa and his group, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, made their remarkable march from Idlib to Damascus eight weeks ago. It appears to herald the foundation of a centralized Islamist government in Syria after 14 years of civil war. But not so fast.
The new rulers’ declaration is belied by a complex reality on the ground. During a recent reporting trip to Syria, I saw a broken, divided country in which many armed factions are competing. Mr.
Sharaa’s “presidency of the country" is more aspiration than reality. For starters, the HTS government doesn’t have formal control over all Syrian land. Nearly a third of Syrian territory, from the Euphrates River north to the Turkish and eastward to the Iraqi border, is ruled by the U.S.-aligned, Kurdish-dominated Syrian Democratic Forces.
This authority played a major role in defeating the Islamic State terrorist group in Syria in 2019. Its rulers are determined to maintain their independent political and military capacity, albeit within the framework of a united Syria. “Those who have come to power in Damascus, everyone knows their history," Saleh Muslim, former leader of the Kurdish Democratic Union Party, the ruling party in the Kurdish region, said in an interview.
“They were part of al Qaeda. They were part of Nusra. .
. . It was just a few years ago.
Everyone knows what they’ve done. And now they’re in Damascus. .
. . No one can force
. Read more on livemint.com
