Assassinations,Divisions & Opportunity
- Don Juice
- Dec 20, 2017
- 1 min read
Idlib is a province located in Syria that is essentially controlled by Al-Qaeda which is named Tahrir Al-Sham. This is the only province that is largely controlled by the Syrian rebel coalition fighting Assad. This group has recently been having trouble because there is a sharp divide between the radical and moderate wing. Abu Mohammed Golani who is its leader has allowed Turkey to settle in its territory establishing observation post. While doing this, to position himself as a moderate player for reconciliation and to avoid total annihilation, he has resorted to arresting or taken out anybody who has opposed his decision to cooperate with Turkey. Al-Qaeda’s leader Ayman Al-Zawahiri has called for unity and has criticized Golani and the group for betraying their oath. Assad, on the other hand, wants to exploit this by taking over this province by using a divide and conquer strategy. Peel off the moderates who want to cooperate in the peace talks being headed by Russia and Iran, and defeat the hardliners on the battlefields. This situation creates havoc and discord for Al-Qaeda’s plans in Syria and is a golden opportunity for Assad to keep an eye on Idlib.
