Good timing: Turkey designates Tahrir al-Sham (a.k.a. al Nusra) as terrorist group

Sputnik
Sun, 02 Sep 2018 09:30 UTC

© AFP 2018 / Fadi al-Halabi / AMC

Fighters from Al-Qaeda's Syrian affiliate Al-Nusra Front

Turkey has listed the Jabhat al-Nusra* armed Islamist group as a terrorist organization, according to a decree signed by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

The decree was signed in compliance with the United Nations Security Council resolution on countering terrorism financing. The Nusra Front organization, which joined with a number of other Islamists groups to form Tahrir al-Sham last year, had also been designated as terrorist by Turkey.

Tahrir al-Sham controls much of the Idlib province in Syria. Syrian forces are currently preparing an offensive in the region to clear Idlib and surrounding areas of militant groups.

Russia and Turkey have been in talks over a potential military operation in Idlib, which is currently covered by the de-escalation zone agreement agreed by Russia, Turkey, and Iran. Russia has also urged for the moderate Syrian opposition to separate from militants such as those in Hayat Tahrir al-Sham.

*Jabhat al-Nusra (also known as Tahrir al-Sham, al-Nusra Front) is a terrorist group banned in Russia

Comment: Last month, the U.S. made a similar move and added "Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham" as an alternate name for the al-Nusra Front on its list of terrorist groups. The radical group adopted the new name after merging with several other armed groups in 2017.

HTS is now the most influential force in the opposition-held areas in northern Syria. According to a recent report by NBC News, the radical group has up to 11,000 well-trained fighters, most of whom are stationed in the northwestern governorate of Idlib.

The Turkish decision comes ahead of an expected military operation of the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) and its allies against HTS. This worries HTS' supporters in northern Syria, who fear that the Turkish government is abandoning the radical group.

See also: Tahrir Al Sham promises to kill every Turkish soldier that crosses into Syria