Syria's Tangled Alliances and Rivalries: A Visual Guide
New York Times2 days
Syrian Militant Groups Agree to Merge Under Defense Ministry
Above: Leader of new Syrian administration, Ahmed al-Sharaa holds a press conference in Damascus, Syria on Dec. 22, 2024. Image copyright: Arda Kucukkaya/Contributor/Anadolu via Getty Images
The Facts
Syria's de facto leader, Ahmed al-Sharaa — head of the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) group that overthrew Bashar al-Assad's government on Dec. 8 — has reached an agreement with rival factions to dissolve their groups and integrate under the country's defense ministry, a statement from the new administration said on Tuesday.
While the statement said that Tuesday's meeting "ended in an agreement on the dissolution of all the groups" in Syria, the Kurdish-led, US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) was notably absent from the deal.
The Spin
Narrative A
Despite the initial euphoria at the fall of Assad's government, the challenges of governing all of Syria — with its rival militant groups and host of religious groups and ethnicities — are setting in. Sharaa will have to walk a fine line to keep promises of liberalism and respect religious freedoms while keeping the more hardline elements within his own camp happy.
Narrative B
Statements about religious tolerance from Sharaa are to be welcomed, but there is real concern about whether he really intends to keep them. They're likely intended to appease an international audience to gain acceptance, but in reality, the hardline conservative rule will slowly be implemented.