US, UN considering removing HTS from list of terror groups - report

DECEMBER 12, 2024 20:27

Updated: DECEMBER 13, 2024 07:19

Raising the opposition flag at the Aleppo Citadel in the center of the old city of Aleppo, Syria, Dec. 1, 2024. (photo credit: Moaid Ismaeil/The Media Line) — Raising the opposition flag at the Aleppo Citadel in the center of the old city of Aleppo, Syria, Dec. 1, 2024.

(photo credit: Moaid Ismaeil/The Media Line)

The US and UN weigh removing Syria's HTS rebel group from terror list as the former al Qaeda affiliate seeks to rebrand itself as a moderate opposition force.

The United States is reportedly considering removing Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), the Islamist rebel group that led the revolution in Syria, from its list of terrorist organizations, according to a Monday Politico report citing senior US officials.

According to the United States Counterterrorism Guide, HTS is a coalition of Sunni Islamist insurgent groups that stemmed from al Qaeda’s former branch in Syria.

The UN designated the group as a terror organization in 2015, followed by the US in 2018.

According to Politico, Abu Mohammed al-Golani, the leader of HTS, denounced al Qaeda and cut all ties with the group in 2016. He has since reportedly worked to rebrand his organization as "a moderate force to oppose Assad."

“There is a huge scramble to see if, and how, and when we can delist HTS,” an anonymous official said.

'Good messages'

At a UN press briefing in Geneva earlier this week, Geir Pedersen, UN special envoy for Syria, expressed hope for a peaceful future for Syria.

“We have to be honest and look at the facts,” he said, “It has been nine years since that resolution was adopted, and the reality so far is that HTS and other armed groups have been sending good messages to the Syrian people of unity and inclusiveness. In Hama and Aleppo, there have been reassuring things on the ground.”