US Planning To Lift "Terrorist" Designation On HTS: Report (image @IRIran_Military)
Damascus, Syria: Biden administration is weighing in on whether to remove the foreign “terrorist” designation from Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), the rebel group which toppled the Bashar al-Assad regime in Syria, reported NBC News, citing two unnamed current officials and a former senior official. The move is being taken into account with the aim of creating a “pathway for the world to interact with the new government”, said the former official.
The current officials told the outlet that the discussions are still in its early stages, but the administration is looking forward to lift the designation “soon”.
HTS was formed from an al-Qaeda offshoot. However, the group’s leader, Ahmed al-Sharaa, also known as Abu Muhammad al-Julani, broke away from the group in 2016. He took a more softer turn. Idlib, the province were HTS formed the Salvation Government showed progress, and people say life is better in Idlib, and the Salvation Government is “doing a very good job here”.
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Removing the “terrorist” designation from HTS would also include removing the $10 m bounty announced on al-Sharaa’s capture, said the administration officials.
During an interview with CNN, Sharaa said Damascus “would transition into a state of governance, institutions” if his forces took power.
Sharaa has appointed a caretaker Prime Minister Mohammed al-Bashir. He was also the PM of the Salvation Government is Idlib. People in the city said his governance did well. Idlib even have electricity, and education system, unlike many of the other parts of the country.
Al-Bashir said Syrians need “stability and calm” and that he’s working with officials from Bashar al-Assad’s regime to reset public services and institutions.
Also Read: “Will Not Hesitate”: Julani Warns Officials Of Assad Regime
The newly formed interim government in the country is trying to restore order and public services after the fall of al-Assad government. When the opposition factions captured Damascus on December 8, it ordered curfew. But on the third day of al-Assad’s fall, things started to return to normalcy. Banks and bazaars in the country has started to reopen.
US said it is in contact with other leaders of the region, which is aimed at trying to get everyone on the same page with regard to the principles on which a new Syrian government should be built.
