'Free Women of the Levant’:
Jihadists' families rally against
al-Sharaa’s crackdown in Syria
On December 14, dozens of protesters—mostly women and children—gathered in Aleppo in northern Syria to demand the release of their relatives from the prisons of Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS). Yet the detainees are not pro-democracy activists or journalists imprisoned by the Islamist group: they are hardline jihadist fighters who rejected HTS’s increasingly pragmatic approach since the group began distancing itself from al-Qaeda and the Islamic State (IS) group.
This shift began after the group’s founding in 2017 under Ahmed al-Sharaa, better known by his nom de guerre Abu Mohammed al-Jolani. The detainees call themselves “The Real Mujahideen.”
Among the demonstrators were women dressed in black burqas with leaflets in hand, chanting slogans and demanding the release of their relatives while carrying their photos. They refer to themselves as the “Free Women of the Levant.” The protest marks the first anti-HTS demonstration since the group seized control of Damascus and toppled the Bashar al-Assad regime.
These women make no effort to hide their disdain for Ahmed al-Sharaa, the new leader of Syria and HTS, expressing their grievances in the leaflets they distribute.
One such leaflet reads: “Our revolution will continue until the secular dictatorship is eliminated. They want to change the faces but keep the same rules.” The statement implies that al-Sharaa has simply become a secular leader, a figure no different from former president Bashar al-Assad.
![Photo published on the jihadist groups on Telegram on Dec 14: “... When the [secular] regime fell, they told the revolutionaries, they want a secular dictatorship to continue their villainy again.’”](https://s.observers.france24.com/media/display/760eb372-c14d-11ef-a171-005056a90284/2024-12-23%2016.36.09.webp)
Another leaflet declares: “... When the [secular] regime fell, they told the revolutionaries, they want a secular dictatorship to continue their villainy again.’”
In a widely circulated video, one of the women openly criticises al-Sharaa, accusing him of betrayal: “Our children have been missing for years – the same ones who fought to overthrow the criminal regime and who stood against the injustices committed by al-Jolani in Idlib. Our children are still in Jolani’s prisons to this day.
Jolani has granted amnesty to the Shabiha, the regime’s henchmen who burned, bombed, and killed us for years, but our children remain behind bars. [...] We are prisoners of conscience and political prisoners.”
According to video footage, scuffles broke out between the protesters and HTS security forces, whom the families derisively refer to as “al-Jolani’s Shabiha” – a term historically used by Syrians to describe the paramilitary loyalists of the Assad regime. During the clashes, four women were arrested while several others sustained minor injuries
'Continuing to adhere to Islamist-jihadist ideology was no longer an option'
Thomas Pierret, an expert on jihadist groups in Syria, provides insight into who these families are and why their relatives are being detained by HTS:
Al-Sharaa, the leader of HTS, began purging hardliners from the group’s ranks between 2019 and 2020. He realised that to establish good relations with the outside world, particularly with Western countries, he needed to eliminate extremists, whether they came from his own ranks or from other factions under his command.
To create a viable political and military project in Syria, continuing to adhere to Islamist-jihadist ideology was no longer an option.
This policy of deradicalisation has undoubtedly sparked tensions within HTS and in the territory it controls. To understand Al-Sharaa’s position, it’s essential to consider that Israel is less than 50 kilometres west of Damascus.
The extremist jihadists strongly opposed his more pragmatic approach, which they viewed as overly tolerant. Others were dissatisfied that he confined HTS’s ambitions to Syria, abandoning the global jihadist agenda.
As a result, hardline Salafists faced a choice: either leave HTS-controlled territory or agree to submit to Al-Sharaa’s leadership and fight solely under HTS command, regardless of whether they were Syrian or foreign fighters.
For example, one group of Chechen fighters chose to leave Syria, while another group accepted Al-Sharaa’s conditions and remained as his foot soldiers. Similar decisions were imposed on other jihadist factions.
Between 2020 and 2023, Al-Sharaa went so far as to arrest several radical HTS commanders, often accusing them of espionage. Obedient commanders, however, retained their positions. Many other hardliners were disarmed, placed under house arrest, imprisoned, or subjected to surveillance.
Research conducted by the FRANCE 24 Observers team, based on the names and photos of the detained jihadists displayed on the leaflets carried by the demonstrators, indicates that many of the detainees are members of Hizb ut-Tahrir. This jihadist group, founded in the 1950s by a Palestinian cleric, has been active in Syria since the early days of the country’s civil war in 2011.
Pierret highlights a key distinction between Hizb ut-Tahrir (HT) and Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), emphasising that while HT is no more violent in its actions than HTS, it espouses a far more extreme ideology and remains committed to a global jihadist agenda:
'What lies ahead, remains uncertain'
This protest, for instance, was organised by families of imprisoned jihadists. Many of them are affiliated with Hizb ut-Tahrir (HT) which is a global jihadist group.
Long before the emergence of al-Qaeda and ISIS, Hizb ut-Tahrir was the sole Islamist organisation advocating for a unified Islamic caliphate spanning the Islamic world and regions with historical ties to Islam.
For now, HTS’s dominant military power, territorial control, and image as a liberator have overshadowed groups like Hizb ut-Tahrir. What lies ahead, however, remains uncertain.
In the meantime, the conflict is far from over. The Islamic State (ISIS) [or Islamic State group] continues to operate in Syria and will undoubtedly seize the opportunity to recruit disaffected hardliners in the country. This could lead to renewed violence against Al-Sharaa and HTS.
'HTS operates more as a military organisation than a religious group'
According to Pierret, Syrian detainees are not the only jihadists held in what some refer to as “al-Sharaa’s prisons”. Many of those imprisoned are foreign jihadists, though their families refrain from openly protesting against the new authorities in Syria, fearing reprisals.
While Ahmed al-Sharaa has traded his turban for a tie, many experts argue that this transformation does not signal a commitment to democracy. Pierret notes:
There is a good chance that Al-Sharaa will follow the same trajectory as some South American dictators before him. Perhaps he will become yesterday's liberator and today's dictator. Not exactly an Islamist dictator, as we have seen in Iran, which has evolved into an Islamic theocracy.
Today, HTS operates more as a military organisation than a religious group.
A 2024 report by Reporters Without Borders revealed that at least six journalists were abducted by HTS between 2018 and 2021, underscoring the continued risks faced by those working under the group’s rule.
Pakistani daily: ‘The possibility cannot be rejected that
the Syrian mujahideen will not hesitate to invade Israel’
Indeed, it cannot.
Editorials In Pakistani Dailies: ‘Syrian Mujahideen… Will Not Hesitate To Invade Israel’; ‘The Rolling Of Jewish Tanks Inside Syria Hours After Assad Fled Must Be Repulsed'
MEMRI, December 23, 2024:
Following the opposition victory over the Bashar Al-Assad regime in Syria and the fall of the Damascus, many dailies in Sunni-majority Muslim countries and elsewhere have expressed support for the transitional government in Syria. However, the publications note that the United States and Israel are in a position to play a major role in the new regional order in the Middle East, while Russia and Iran are not.
Following are excerpts from editorials in three Pakistani dailies on the fall of Al-Assad. They state, among other points, that autocratic rulers such as Al-Assad did not learn from the fate of Saddam Hussein, Hosni Mubarak, or Muammar Al-Qaddafi. They also observe that Hay’at Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS) leader Abu Muhammad Al-Joulani could potentially play a moderate role in a future government.A screenshot of the December 11, 2024 editorial in Roznama Islam.
“Netanyahu, Appearing To Try To Be Happy And Satisfied, Must Be Greatly Troubled At This Time Because He Knows How Important It Was For Israel To Have ‘A Harmless Enemy’ Or Enemy-Like Friend Like Bashar Al-Assad In Syria”
Following are excerpts from an editorial, titled: “Revolution In Syria And Israel’s Bafflement,” published by the Urdu daily, Roznama Islam.
“Netanyahu, appearing to try to be happy and satisfied, must be greatly troubled at this time because he knows how important it was for Israel to have ‘a harmless enemy’ or enemy-like friend like Bashar Al-Assad in Syria – and how dangerous the formation of a freedom-loving government, representing the real Syrian people, will be [for Israel] in the neighborhood.
“This is the reason that Israel is using its full force to carry out aggressive actions in Syria at this time, and according to media reports, its top priority is to weaken Syria’s air power, because air superiority is the weapon through which Israel has continued its aggression in Gaza. The U.S. president-elect Donald Trump has advised Netanyahu to wrap up the war in Gaza, and Netanyahu himself has spoken of approaching a deal in exchange for the prisoners, which, according to some analysts, indicates that Israel is now worried more about Syria than it is about Gaza.
“The new [transitional] government of Syria has so far avoided responding directly to Israel because the real issue for it at present is to take control of the administration of the country. Yet, if Israel does not stop its aggression, the possibility cannot be rejected that the Syrian mujahideen, descending from the Golan Heights, will not hesitate to invade Israel, and Israel will face a war that could be far more dangerous than it expects….
It would be suicidal for Syria to invade Israel unless Turkey was fully engaged with them. This concept is not unthinkable, though it should be. Erdogan is still ambitious in his quest to recreate the Ottoman Empire. And now his son has joined him in his madness.
Following are excerpts from an editorial titled, “Syria’s Future,” published by Dawn, Pakistan’s oldest English-language newspaper:
“As Bashar Al-Assad boarded a plane for exile in Moscow, the police state his family had ruled for over five decades swiftly crumbled….
“Israel, moreover, is quite pleased to see the back of Mr. Assad, as Benjamin Netanyahu lauded the event as a ‘historic day.’ On the other hand, Russia has lost perhaps its closest ally in the Arab world, whereas a central pillar of Iran’s ‘Axis of Resistance’ has fallen….
Syrian rebels demand hundreds of billions in compensation from Iran
By Vered Weiss, World Israel News
Syrian rebels are demanding $300 billion from Iran as compensation for the Islamic Republic’s support for the Assad regime.
The Syrian Civil War, which broke out in 2011, reached a turning point in 2013 when Iran stepped in and supported the rule of Bashar al-Assad.
With Iran’s assistance, Assad was able to take control of additional territory and consolidate his authoritarian rule, which lasted over a decade.
Following the overthrow of Assad’s regime, Syrian rebels are now suing Iran, claiming that their support for Assad did great harm to the Syrian people.
Lamenting the fall of Assad’s regime, Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said the main reason for its collapse was the result of “plotting by Zionists and Americans in dark rooms.”
Khamenei also blamed Turkey indirectly by saying, “The government of a neighboring country to Syria also played a role, but the main culprit is Israel, the Zionist regime.”
The new regime in Syria under Abu Muhammad al-Julani has declared that it will not permit Iranian planes to enter its airspace, according to Walla.
Initially, the decision was limited to planes used for military purposes, such as transferring weapons or moving troops. However, on Sunday, it became evident that the ban extended to all Iranian aircraft.
Security sources say this is the most decisive declaration of Syria’s independence and repudiation of the “Axis of Evil” headed by Iran. Iranian planes require access to Syrian airspace to transport supplies to terror proxies, such as Hezbollah in Lebanon.
As a result, Hezbollah is likely to have difficulty replenishing its military supplies, and Iran will be encumbered in its ability to transport weapons, ammunition, and terrorist recruits throughout the Middle East.
Israeli officials see this as a welcome development but still express caution given the new regime’s as-yet-ambiguous position on Israel.
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