A Syrian rebel fighter patrols the streets of Hama after the capture of the central Syrian city, Dec. 6, 2024. (Credit: Omar Haj Kadour/AFP)
The deputy leader of Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), the leading group among Syrian opposition forces, said that the offensive launched on Nov. 27 by the rebels in Syria had no objectives in Lebanon and called for Hezbollah fighters withdraw. These comments from Ahmad al-Dalati come as there are fears in the neighboring country of a repeat of 2014, when Hezbollah sent fighters to support the regime and thousands of Syrians, including those affiliated with al-Qaeda and the Islamic State, fled to Lebanon.
“We have no intention of harming the interests of any neighboring country, and we hope to maintain fraternal relations based on common interests with neighboring countries, the region and the world,” Dalati said in an interview with L'Orient-Le Jour political columnist Mounir Rabih, published in the daily al-Modon. “We call on the Lebanese government to withdraw the remaining elements of Hezbollah from Syrian territory and to ensure that it does not send its fighters to oppose the will of the free Syrian people,” he added.
Dalati accused the pro-Iranian party of having "shed the blood of thousands of Syrians, contributed to the displacement of millions and participated in the regime's crimes against the people.”
“After the war in southern Lebanon, the regime dropped Hezbollah, distanced itself from it and even divulged the details of its leaders, who were assassinated by the Zionist entity on Syrian soil,” Dalati said. “Despite this, Hezbollah fighters continue to work actively alongside the regime's forces and, recently, the party's secretary-general, Naim Qassem, declared that he stood by these forces.”
“We say to the leaders, members and supporters of Hezbollah: withdraw from our lands before the fighters of the military operations [of the Syrian armed factions] reach you.”
In a speech delivered on Thursday, the head of Hezbollah affirmed that the party would support the Syrian regime against the rebels "according to its means."
'The liberation of the whole of Syria'
The HTS deputy also maintained that the offensive aims to "ensure the return of displaced people to their homes, put an end to the reign of corruption and tyranny, and build a new Syria that welcomes all its inhabitants, whatever their faith, with respect for their pride and dignity."
He also indicated that "the operation will continue until the entire Syrian territory is liberated and the criminal regime of Bashar al-Assad is overthrown."
According to him, the cities will be "managed by civilians, with the participation of the people through transitional bodies, until the situation throughout Syria stabilizes and a political system is agreed, guaranteeing genuine participation by all segments of society.”
In a message addressed to the Lebanese people, the Syrian armed factions asserted on Friday that "the battle of the Syrian revolution today is not with any of you."
"We hope that you will not allow yourselves to be drawn into the desperate calls of regional parties to engage in a confrontation that is not your own, because those who invite you to become more involved in the Syrian terrain will sooner or later abandon you, as they have done before," they added. "We look forward to a new future based on joint diplomatic relations aimed at the prosperity and development of our two countries and the realization of our common interests, relations marked by mutual respect for the rights of peoples, without interference in each other's affairs," the text continued.
In the space of ten days, the Syrian opposition forces, which had spent the last several years cordoned off in north-western Syria, have seized dozens of towns and two of Syria's main cities, Aleppo and Hama, in a lightning offensive that is increasingly undermining the Assad regime. This advance, aided by the collapse of the Syrian army in the face of rebel advances in several regions, represents a turning point in the course of the Syrian war, which began in 2011 with the repression of peaceful anti-regime demonstrations.
