The so-called General Security Service, affiliated with Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham, launched a series of widespread arrests in the areas that witnessed demonstrations demanding the overthrow of the group's leader, Abu Mohammad al-Jolani, in the countryside of Idlib and Aleppo.

Local sources said that "Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham convoys stormed the villages of Binnish, al-Dana, Jabal al-Zawiya, Tarmanin, and Deir Hassan in the Idlib countryside, in addition to the city of Darat Azza in the western countryside of Aleppo. In recent weeks, he also launched an arrest campaign that targeted several demonstrators, most notably activist Anas al-Omar, who led several demonstrations against al-Jolani in several regions.

The sources indicated that members of the security apparatus beat the demonstrators and forcibly dragged them toward cars, transporting them to prisons in various areas between Binnish and al-Dana.

The sources reported that "the arrest campaign led to demonstrations in a large number of areas, including the one where the campaign took place, in which the demonstrators demanded Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham to release the detainees, threatening to escalate and hold a sit-in until al-Jolani was toppled."

Read next: HTS kills 10 civilians, including child, in attack on Aleppo

Activists in Idlib confirmed that dozens of demonstrators from many villages headed towards al-Dana and Tarmanin, and the city of Darat Azza to support the demonstrators.

The arrest campaign conducted by the General Security Service of the Commission followed a tour by al-Jolani to the homes of some leaders who support the popular movement against him, notably Abd al-Razzaq al-Mahdi, a prominent committee legislator and opponent of al-Jolani's policies.

Activists accused al-Jolani of threatening leaders who supported the movement against him with elimination, similar to what happened with his friend Abu Maria al-Qahtani. They called on demonstrators to persist in demanding al-Jolani's overthrow before tightening his security grip further and suppressing the movement completely.

Ongoing demonstrators against al-Jolani

Demonstrations against al-Jolani have been ongoing for months, sparked by the scandal of his torturing detainees inside his prisons and falsely charging them with collaboration as a means to eliminate them.

The demonstrations compelled al-Jolani to release dozens of detainees and issue a general amnesty. However, these efforts proved futile as he embarked on a new phase, as he had previously hinted. He warned that the demands of protesters "are not permissible in the time being" for implementation, indicating that there are "red lines that no one should reach."

Yesterday, demonstrations emerged in Armanaz and Kfar Takharim in the countryside of Idlib, controlled by HTS, where protesters demanded al-Jolani's overthrow, Al Mayadeen's correspondent reported.