Turkish Intelligence summons 8 military leaders loyal to HTS for talks
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After the latest developments between the Turkish army and several pro-HTS factions in the village of Qadiran, north of Aleppo, the intelligence recalled leaders for a restructuring meeting.
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HTS head, Abu Mohammad al-Joulani (ScreenGrab/HTS video)
Turkish intelligence has summoned several leaders from the National Army loyal to the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) for an extensive meeting in Ankara to reevaluate the military wing's structure and prepare to expel factions loyal to the leader of the HTS, Abu Mohammad al-Joulani, if they refused to adhere to the instructions of the main leadership in managing areas under its influence.
This comes after the latest developments between the Turkish army and several pro-HTS factions in the village of Qadiran, north of Aleppo.
Developments between both parties began on January 31, after the Shahba Gathering, loyal to the HTS and commanded by the National Army, expelled a Turkish army patrol that was carrying out a security campaign to arrest wanted individuals affiliated with the Ahrar al-Sham movement, which is loyal al-Joulani.
In mid-February, local sources informed Al Mayadeen that Turkish Intelligence recalled eight prominent leaders in the National Army for a four-hour meeting in its center in Ankara, Turkey.
The main results of the meeting included restructuring the ranks of factions under the National Army in northern Aleppo, in addition to sending lists of names of all the leaders and members within the ranks of Shahba Gathering and the Ahrar Al-Sham movement.
The required lists also included the size of the arsenal and weapons possessed by these groups and where they were located. Turkish Intelligence is responsible for reestablishing communication with both groups, forcing them to adhere to the new structure and decisions in managing areas of influence, and cutting off all communication with the HTS in the following two months.
If these factions choose to disregard the new structure, then both bodies will be completely defunded, militarily, monetarily, and logistically, and will be pushed towards Idlib or eliminated.
The sources reported that Turkish Intelligence requested lists of factions of the National Army, to personally issue military cards to match individuals on the set lists. The intelligence will also send committees from the army to directly supervise the matching process, particularly after the circulation of rumors about the existence of hundreds of fake names within the movements, who have allocated funds and salaries that the faction leaders receive monthly.
It was also revealed that Turkish reconnaissance jets are flying daily over areas north of Aleppo, especially those under HTS influence, while faction movement on public roads declines and gets limited to small patrols.
Al-Joulani sidelines more than 400 leaders in Hayat Tahrir al-Sham
Over four months, Abu Mohammad al-Joulani conducted the largest arrest operation targeting 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."
