MEZIESBLOG

All eyes are on the conduct of the next government in Syria – whose path may depend on Hayat Tahrir al Sham, the rebel group that led the lightning assault to overthrow the Assad regime.

HTS is designated a terrorist organisation in the US and grew out of a branch of  al Qaeda.

Its leader, Abu Mohammed al Jolani, is himself considered a terrorist by the US at the moment – though he has tried to calm fears in recent days and told Sky News yesterday foreign countries had nothing to fear.

Mr Jolani, who now uses his real name, Ahmad al Sharaa, has undergone something of a rebrand, trimming his beard, donning Westernised green fatigues, preaching tolerance for all of Syria’s different faiths and saying women should not be told what they can and cannot wear.

But among those who are reserving judgement until those words become actions, some have been concerned by a flag appearing behind the interim prime minister.

Charing a cabinet meeting, Mohammad al Bashir sat before the flag of the country’s victorious opposition and a second banner – one featuring the Shahada, an Islamic declaration of faith.

This flag is popular with the region’s Sunni Islamist fighters.

NBC News reports two analysts giving differing views on the image.

‘On alert’

Bilal Sukkar, a Syrian-born senior associate with the London-based intelligence consultancy S-RM, said there should be caution around Mr Jolani and that the use of the flag “has put people on alert”.

While he does not think deploying the emblem was a “wise” move, he sees it as more reflective of the rebels’ origins in Idlib rather than anything else.

Fawaz Gerges, a professor at the London School of Economics, said the flag shows HTS and Mr Jolani are still “deeply entrenched in their Salafist-Sunni ideology and worldview”. Salafism is an ultra-conservative Sunni movement.

They won’t rule Syria with the brutality of ISIS or the Taliban, Mr Gerges added, but “it would be disingenuous to say he has shed his ideology”.

Rebel fighters received drones from Ukraine before offensive began – report

The lightning rebel assault that stunned international observers over the past fortnight may have had a boost from Ukraine, according to a report in the US.

The Washington Post reports Hayat Tahrir al Sham – the group leading the charge against the Assad regime – received about 150 drones and 20 drone operators four or five weeks ago.

Russia’s foreign ministry had earlier said the rebels obtained drones from Ukraine and training in how to operate them – without providing evidence.

Ukraine’s foreign ministry at the time said it “categorically” rejected that claim.

The Assad dictatorship was supported by Russia – but with Moscow distracted by its war in Ukraine, Syrian government forces crumbled as opposition forces attacked their positions across the country.

Palestinian factions in Syria unify to meet with country’s new powers

Palestinian factions in Syria have formed a unified delegation to meet with rebel-led authorities.

They said in a statement they had formed a joint committee to run the affairs of Palestinians in Syria and to be in contact with the transitional government.

After a meeting at the Palestinian embassy, they said they stood by the Syrian people and condemned Israel’s airstrikes (see our 9.39am post), which have taken out many of the Syrian army’s assets.

For context: Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians live in Syria, many of them refugees.

The factions based in Damascus were close to the Assad government, while Hamas was based in Syria until it left in 2012 – a year after the county’s civil war began.