🧵 Clearing the Confusion: HTS, Turkish Proxies, and the Threat to Rojava (AANES)
1/ A lot of confused "experts": What are the goals of Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and Turkish-backed SNA? How do their actions threaten Rojava (AANES)? Let’s clarify.
2/ At the heart of this chaos are two key operation rooms, Al-Fath al-Mubin (الفَتح المُبين) and Fajr al-Hurriya (فجر الحرية). While both are rebel coalitions, their objectives and loyalties couldn’t be more different.
3/
- Al-Fath al-Mubin, led by HTS, is a jihadist coalition enforcing strict sharia law, focused on fighting Assad’s regime.
- Fajr al-Hurriya, however, is a Turkish-backed Islamist mercenaries, created to dismantle Kurdish autonomy and serve Ankara’s interests.
4/
The HTS led coalition has, since the fall of Aleppo, focused on holding Idlib.
But their forces are now sweeping through northern Syria, capturing in a few days more territory than they held in 2014. HTS isn’t just holding ground anymore—it’s reshaping the map of Syria.
5/ Despite its rapid advances, HTS operates—within certain parameters—independently of Turkey. During the 2018 Afrin offensive, HTS did not participate, as it was busy attacking rival factions, a move that angered Ankara.
HTS's goals do not always align with Turkey’s.
6/ In contrast, the Fajr al-Hurriya operation room is a rebranding of Turkish-backed militias, notorious for recycling ISIS veterans as with Ahrar al-Sharqiyah.
Their raison d’être? The destruction of the AANES, and the erasure of Kurdish identity from Turkey's border.
7/
Fajr al-Hurriya moved from al Bab, captured Taduf and Aran, cutting critical Kurdish supply lines.
Occupied Halap ar-Raqqah road and parts of the M4, to isolate the Kurdish Aleppo pocket and Tel Rifaat from the rest of Rojava to choke Kurds and prepare to siege them.
8/
These actions align with Turkey’s long-term goals:
Dismantling the AANES—a model of democracy, gender equality, and ecological justice—and ethnically cleansing the Kurdish population to resettle pro-Islamist Arab factions and their families.
9/
HTS opposes the AANES secularism, but under Jolani, it’s trying to rebrand as moderate and gain international legitimacy. A former ISIS commander besieging Sheikh Maqsoud—the same Kurds that defended Kobane? But this could change with shift in political dynamics / pressures.
10/ The stakes are high for Rojava. The Kurdish Aleppo pocket, including Tel Rifaat, is crucial. If Fajr al-Hurriya cuts supply routes, it could trigger a humanitarian disaster for 300k IDPs displaced by Turkey's Afrin invasion, now living in Shahba camp.
11/ Let’s not forget the war crimes by Fajr al-Hurriya’s militias. Ahrar al-Sharqiyah, a key group, brutally assassinated Kurdish politician Hevrin Khalaf in 2019. Linked to ethnic cleansing, and extrajudicial killings. Despite sanctions, Turkey still uses them as proxies.
12/ In 2014, Turkey’s MİT was caught smuggling weapons to jihadists in Syria, ISIS too, under the guise of 'humanitarian aid.' Journalist Can Dündar revealed the truth and was imprisoned for 'violating state secrets.' Now, they don’t even bother to hide it. But, they take part.
13/ With billions from Qatar, the best picks from Turkey’s arsenal, and years to select and train recruits from 2 million IDPs in Idlib, HTS’s overwhelming force suddenly feels less like a mystery and more like the product of cold, calculated backing.
14/
The two operation rooms—HTS’s Al-Fath al-Mubin and Turkey’s Fajr al-Hurriya—represent an existential threat to Rojava:
One looming, the other imminent. Both are wielded by the Turkish state.
But the fight for Rojava is far from over.
(End of Thread)
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— A Thread 🧵
The U.S. and Russia are negotiating Ukraine’s future—without Ukraine. Zelensky calls it illegitimate, but the truth is far more horrifying.
On sunflower fields abused by monoculture, nitrogen… fertilized by blood and bone. Where men give battle to the death, the stakes couldn’t be higher.
For the deep metabolic rift extends to all of the earth.
2/—
Victory and defeat are mere propaganda frames.
Who sets the terms of peace? The Ukrainian people, or the transnational elites who profit from endless war?
Trump and Putin aren’t negotiating peace—they’re dividing the spoils. While Zelensky fights for relevance.
3/—
Trump’s demand that Ukraine give the U.S. half its rare earth minerals in exchange for military aid exposes the war’s true logic. This isn’t about democracy vs. autocracy—it’s about economic conquest.
First, they flooded Ukraine with weapons. Now, they want the spoils.
1/ The U.S. is About to Make a Catastrophic Mistake in Syria
The U.S. Department of Defense is reportedly drafting plans for a full military withdrawal from Syria.
This decision will:
✅ Hand Syria to Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), an al-Qaeda and ISIS offshoot.
✅ Give state-grade weapons and funding to jihadist groups.
✅ Open the door for chemical weapons proliferation.
These facts are so unbelievable yet undeniable that I had to rebuild this thread from scratch, using only bipartisan, congressional sources.
📑 All sources are included below. Every claim is backed by declassified U.S. government reports.🧵
2/ The U.S. Presence in Syria is Minimal But Critical
There are currently ~2,000 U.S. troops in Syria. Their role is:
• Supporting the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in counterterrorism operations.
• Preventing ISIS resurgence and terrorist attacks.
• Serving as a diplomatic shield for Kurdish-led forces that sacrificed 11,000 fighters to defeat ISIS.
This is not an "endless war"—it is a low-cost, high-impact deterrent. @CJTFOIR
Source;
📑 [CRS Report: IN12469]
3/ A Full U.S. Withdrawal Would Create an Immediate Crisis
If the U.S. leaves Syria:
• HTS, an al-Qaeda-linked group, will take control of Damascus.
• They will gain access to Syria’s state-grade military infrastructure, including heavy weapons and funding.
• Turkey has already announced plans to modernize their forces, directly benefiting HTS.
• ISIS will have new opportunities to regroup and expand.
1/ Three days ago, #Turkey's spymaster-turned-foreign minister, Fidan, bragged on Saudi TV about brokering a rapprochement between #Russia and the "new Syrian authority."
2/ Over the past month, almost the entire NATO leadership showed up in Damascus to shake hands with Jolani, once ISIS’s number two, desperately trying to push Russia out of the Mediterranean. But a double game was in motion.
3/ The timing is striking too: the EU had just lifted Syria's sanctions (2 days go)—the ink wasn’t even dry on the paper.
1/ Imagine this: The CIA secretly partners with a group still labeled a terrorist organization. A group with deep ties to al-Qaeda and a bloody history of bombing civilians. Sounds familiar? That’s exactly what’s happening with Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) in #Syria.
2/ The Washington Post just revealed that the CIA shared intelligence with HTS—yes, HTS—to help thwart an alleged ISIS attack in Damascus. HTS, which once bombed a Damascus shrine in 2017, killing 76 civilians, is now being framed as a partner in stability. How did we get here?
3/ Let’s break it down: HTS, formerly Jabhat al-Nusra, was al-Qaeda’s affiliate in Syria before a PR rebranding in 2017. It’s led by Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, a man who swapped fatigues for suits, posing as a “moderate leader.” But a rebrand doesn’t erase years of terror.
1/ Trump’s fiery call with Denmark’s prime minister over buying Greenland underline deep issues of sovereignty, colonial legacies, and the future of autonomous regions. This wasn’t a joke—it was a threat rooted in global power struggles. 🧵
2/ Greenland is rich in resources, geopolitically crucial, & home to a proud Inuit population. Yet, its status as an autonomous territory of Denmark puts it in the crosshairs of powerful nations seeking control under the guise of “security” and “development.”
3/ Trump’s claim—that Greenland’s native people should choose between US & Danish rule—erases their right to real autonomy. It assumes that self-determination is only valid within the framework of dominant state powers. A deeply colonial mindset persists.
1/ Why are the architects of the global economy rebranding a faction born of ISIS, one that holds just 31% of #Syria from Damascus, as the “NEW SYRIAN AUTHORITY”? How did we arrive at a moment where Jolani’s HTS is treated as a legitimate government? A thread. 🧵
2/ In Dec 2024, Assad’s regime collapsed, leaving cities like Aleppo, Homs, Damascus, and Latakia up for grabs. Jolani seized the Baathist institutions as regime forces melted away.
3/ This “New Administration” was meant to last a few months, bringing together other factions and preparing for an inclusive transition. Instead, HTS unilaterally extended the government’s term to four years, stuffing it with HTS loyalists—ex al-Qaeda and former ISIS cadres.