Al-Joulani sidelines more than 400 leaders in Hayat Tahrir al-Sham
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Abu Mohammad al-Joulani, the leader of HTS, initiated the largest arrest operation targeting the organization's security, military, and economic leaders for "conspiring to execute a military coup" against him.
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HTS head, Abu Mohammad al-Joulani. (ScreenGrab/HTS video)
Over the course of four months, Abu Mohammad al-Joulani, the leader of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), conducted the largest arrest operation of security, military, and economic leaders within the group. He accused them of planning a military coup against him in cooperation with foreign intelligence.
Al-Joulani leveraged these accusations to eliminate all his competitors in HTS leadership, gain control of the city of Idlib, and incarcerate over 400 military, security, financial, and economic leaders in prisons under his control.
Farouk Abu Bakr, the military leader of the armed factions, informed Al Mayadeen that when al-Joulani discovered that other leaders were communicating with foreign countries' intelligence services, he attempted to isolate these leaders such as Abu Maria al-Qahtani, marking a significant turning point.
Abu Bakr explained that al-Qahtani attempted to position himself as an alternative to al-Joulani, but the latter uncovered the scheme and apprehended al-Qahtani before he could assemble a force that might challenge al-Joulani's authority.
He explained that al-Joulani accused al-Qahtani of colluding and orchestrating a coup against his leadership with the assistance of Western intelligence, adding that "this purported scheme aimed to transfer control of the emirate in Idlib to a military council led by Brigadier General Manaf Tlass, who had defected from the Syrian army."
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Following al-Qahtani's arrest, a series of further arrests ensued, targeting commanders of military brigades within the organization. The arrests included the leader of the Omar Brigade, Mahmoud Jamal Dibo, and the official of the executive force of the city of Sarmada, Shaddad al-Amni, while the financial official in the organization, Abu Ahmad Zakour, managed to escape before his arrest, announcing his defection from al-Joulani.
In turn, Aqeel Hussein, a journalist with close ties to the armed factions, informed Al Mayadeen that Abu Ahmad Zakour defected because he became convinced that his safety was in jeopardy following the arrest of his ally within the organization, Abu Maria al-Qahtanim who is reportedly enduring severe torture while in prison.
He added that al-Joulani resolved the leadership struggles in his favor, aiming to address concerns that could challenge his control, particularly those emerging from areas controlled by the so-called National Army's militants. This has emerged as an objective for the leader of the organization, who is determined to suppress any potential boost in their capabilities.
