Anti-Assad Syrians Protest Against Jihadi Rebels

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The Facts

  • Protests in rebel-held northwestern Syria against Hay'et Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which rules the enclave of Idlib and has influence in other areas, continued this week after beginning in late February.

  • Protesters, who oppose the government of Pres. Bashar al-Assad, have criticized HTS' internal security services, accusing them of mistreating prisoners and running "slaughterhouses."

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The Spin

Narrative A

HTS, though often vilified in the West, is a reasonable organization that seeks to rule with legitimacy under serious constraints, such as a large refugee population, regular regime bombing, and foreign interference. Regardless of tragic incidents, HTS is committed to defending the Syrians from the Assad regime and upholding the principles of the Syrian Revolution.

Al Jazeera

Narrative B

Syrians have demanded one thing since the beginning of their revolution — dignity. The dignity not to be tortured by security officials or called foreign agents for dreaming of a free Syria. Syrians will continue to agitate against all those who seek to control them, whether they be named Jolani or Assad.

Enab Baladi

Establishment-critical narrative

Since 2011, the internationally-recognized Syrian government has been locked into an existential struggle between the region's resistance and foreign-backed Jihadists. As protesters in northern Syria may now be realizing, Jolani and the rest of the terrorists that destroyed Syria are pawns for US interests in the region.

Al Mayadeen English

Metaculus Prediction

Establishment split

CRITICAL

PRO