Abu Mohammed al-Golani, leader of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), a former al-Qaida affiliate, said in an interview Friday that his goal is to topple the regime of Bashar al-Assad. His forces were reportedly advancing on the central Syrian city of Homs and were on the outskirts of the strategically important area.
Speaking to CNN, Golani claimed he intended to rebuild Syria and repatriate refugees who fled to Lebanon and Turkey during the decade-long civil war. The United States has designated HTS as a terrorist organization and has announced a $10 million reward for information leading to Golani’s capture.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based monitoring group, reported that thousands began fleeing Homs on Thursday night toward the coastal government strongholds of Latakia and Tartus. A resident in the coastal region described an influx of evacuees, driven by fear of the rebels’ rapid advance.
Wasim Marouh, a resident of Homs who chose to stay, said most of the city’s commercial streets were deserted, with only a few grocery stores open as pro-government militias patrolled. Thousands of families fled overnight, causing massive traffic jams that delayed escape efforts for hours, he said.
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Golani, attempting to distance himself from his past with the al-Qaida-linked Jabhat al-Nusra group, claimed HTS had severed ties with jihadist organizations. He sought to allay fears of persecution against Syria’s non-Sunni religious populations, emphasizing that “all ethnic groups had coexisted in Syria for hundreds of years.”
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“People who fear Islamic governance either have seen incorrect implementations of it or do not understand it properly,” Golani said. He downplayed allegations of civilian abuse by HTS forces, describing such cases as isolated incidents that were addressed.
The rebel leader also expressed a desire to see all foreign forces—including those of the U.S., Russia, Turkey, Iran and their proxies—leave Syria, stating that the fall of the Assad regime would pave the way for their departure.