person:hayat tahrir al-sham

Asia Times | Mysterious oil company a key player in Idlib | Article
▻https://www.asiatimes.com/2019/06/opinion/mysterious-oil-company-a-key-player-in-idlib

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Watad, la très étrange société pétrolière active sur le marché d’Idlib, avec inévitablement la bénédiction de Daech et des Turcs...

Fuel and cooking gas are in very short supply in the parts of Syria controlled by the Assad regime. Yet in Idlib, the last rebel-held pocket of the country and currently the target of an intense military offensive, these and other essentials are not only available, but affordable. This is thanks to a company named Watad Petroleum.

But who or what is Watad? If suspicions are true, Watad – about which little is known – represents yet another way in which Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), an organization labeled a terrorist group by much of the world, is strengthening its grip on Idlib.

Life in this province of northwestern Syria has, without a doubt, been made easier by Watad’s presence. But with no information available publicly about who owns or runs it, there is a persistent suspicion about it.

The first that anyone had heard of Watad was in January last year, when it was granted a monopoly over the fuel market in greater Idlib, with exclusive rights to import oil and gas from Turkey and to regulate their sale, price and distribution. Ostensibly, the deal, which also eliminated any domestic competition, was struck with Idlib’s Salvation Government, but in reality it was with HTS, the de facto power in that area.

Before then, people in Idlib were reliant on motor fuel and gas transported from government-controlled areas and on crude oil brought in from northeastern Syria, which is now controlled by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces. But economic sanctions and the Turkish-led offensive to capture the predominantly Kurdish region of Afrin led to those supply lines being severed. Enter Watad Petroleum.

Some reports say the company was founded in Idlib in 2017, while others maintain it was established in early 2018 by a group of Syrian businessmen living in Turkey. What is certain is that the mysterious Watad Petroleum has become a key player in Greater Idlib.

#syrie #business

Syria war: Jihadist takeover in rebel-held Idlib sparks alarm - BBC News
▻https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-47252257

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In a dramatic takeover last month, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) swept through towns and villages in Idlib province, as well as adjoining parts of Aleppo and Hama.

The group - which was known as al-Nusra Front before it broke off formal ties with #al-Qaeda three years ago - expelled some rebel factions and forced others to surrender and recognise a “civil administration” it backs.

With almost 20,000 fighters in its ranks, HTS wants to impose strict Islamic rule in areas it controls. Civilians say the group’s practices are similar to those of IS.

#Syrie

Flash - Confusion among Syria rebels as Idlib deadline nears - France 24
▻https://www.france24.com/en/20181001-confusion-among-syria-rebels-idlib-deadline-nears

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The confusion has already played out on the ground, with the NLF [national liberation front] and Faylaq al-Sham denying reports on Sunday that they had pulled heavy weapons from the planned zone.

Most of the territory where the zone would be established is controlled by either hardline jihadists or by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, an alliance led by former Al-Qaeda members and widely considered the most powerful force in Idlib.

The rest is held by the NLF and other rebels.

HTS has yet to announce its position on the deal but has shown no sign it is moving out either fighters or heavy weapons.

Al-Qaeda loyalists Hurras al-Deen, which have a presence in the zone, rejected the deal last week.

#Syrie #Idlib

On avait dit qu’on devait pas le dire : le NY Times explique innocemment qu’Al Qaeda est allié aux Turcs en Syrie.
▻https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/04/world/middleeast/turkey-afrin-syria.html

An affiliate of Al Qaeda in Syria, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, or H.T.S., claimed responsibility, broadcasting footage of the plane’s downing. Elements of that same group are among the Free Syrian Army militias, many of them Islamist extremists, who are allied with the Turks and fighting in Afrin, according to the group and to analysts in the area.

Parfois, je me demande : si les lecteurs du NY Times lisaient uniquement le NY Times depuis des années, qu’est-ce qu’ils arriveraient à comprendre ce que le NY Times leur raconte ? (Même question pour Le Monde…)

Qatari jet sits on tarmac in Baghdad as royal hostages await release
►https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/apr/19/qatari-jet-sits-on-tarmac-in-baghdad-as-royal-hostages-await-release

Qatari officials arrived in the Iraqi capital on Saturday with large bags they refused to allow to be searched. Senior Iraqi officials said they believed the bags to be carrying millions of dollars in ransom money, to be paid to the Iraqi militia holding the royals, Keta’eb Hezbollah, and two Syrian groups who had agreed to secure the Shia leg of the swap, the al-Qaida inspired Hayat Tahrir al-Sham and the Islamist group Ahrar al-Sham.

Qatari jet sits on tarmac in Baghdad as royal hostages await release | World news | The Guardian
►https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/apr/19/qatari-jet-sits-on-tarmac-in-baghdad-as-royal-hostages-await-release

A Qatari plane sent to collect 26 kidnapped members of Doha’s ruling family has remained in Baghdad for a fourth day, as a regional deal that ties their release to the evacuation of four besieged Syrian towns resumed earlier this week.

The jet, which Iraqi officials suspect was carrying millions of dollars, arrived on Saturday ahead of the group’s expected release, which was later stalled by the bombing the same day of a convoy carrying residents of two Shia towns in northern Syria, Fua and Kefraya, whose fate had been central to the plan.

The suicide attack killed 126 people and wounded nearly 300 more in one of the most lethal strikes of the Syrian war, further complicating 16 months of negotiations that were underwritten by Iran and Qatar and involved four of the region’s most powerful militias.

Qatari officials arrived in the Iraqi capital on Saturday with large bags they refused to allow to be searched. Senior Iraqi officials said they believed the bags to be carrying millions of dollars in ransom money, to be paid to the Iraqi militia holding the royals, Keta’eb Hezbollah, and two Syrian groups who had agreed to secure the Shia leg of the swap, the al-Qaida inspired Hayat Tahrir al-Sham and the Islamist group Ahrar al-Sham.

Two Sunni towns near Damascus, Madaya and Zabadani , are also being evacuated to rebel-held areas in a choreographed swap that Syrian opposition leaders say has clear implications for the country’s demography. Dozens of residents were bused out of all four towns on Monday as the deal resumed.

As revealed by the Guardian on Saturday, the plan has immersed some of the Middle East’s most prominent players, exposing their support for powerful militias, and the influence that those same proxies wield over weak central governments in Baghdad, Damascus and Beirut.

The Syrian regime has played no role in the negotiations, and the Baghdad authorities have repeatedly said they did not known who was holding the Qataris. As their release has neared, it has shown no interest in confronting the hostage takers.

Iran had been the main driver of the earliest phase of a plan to evacuate up to 50,000 Shias from Fua and Kefraya, and its officials had negotiated directly with Ahrar al-Sham leaders. Iranian-backed militias have been central to the defence of the two Shia villages, which had been besieged by Islamist groups and jihadis for much of the past four years.

The talks had stalled, however, until the fate of the Qatari royals – many of them from the al-Thani tribe of which the emir’s family is part – were brought into negotiations in November. They were among a hunting party that was captured in southern Iraq by a convoy of up to 100 men in December 2015, and their whereabouts remained unknown until last November.

Since then, the so-called four-towns deal has been given renewed impetus. Hezbollah from Lebanon, which is among the Syrian regime’s most powerful backers, and Ahrar al-Sham signed a memorandum earlier this month that was guaranteed by Qatar. At the same time, the Iraqi militia holding the royals moved their captives to Baghdad in preparation for one of the most sensitive – and politically loaded – hostage swaps in the region’s recent history.

Sources close to the negotiations say the suicide attack delayed the process, but did not derail it altogether. A senior Iraqi official familiar with discussions said the hostages were likely to be held until all those who want to leave Fua and Kefraya have been able to do so. Their release had previously been expected to be staggered as the plan progressed.

As many as 30 fighters from Ahrar al-Saham and Hayat Tahrir al-Sham were killed in Saturday’s suicide blast. Preliminary investigations suggest the car carrying the bomb had been driven from nearby opposition-held villages. One theory advanced in opposition circles is that the attack was carried out by a faction that had missed out on the promise of payment.

A resident of Fua said his family members were likely to be taken to a suburb of Homs in the coming days, but that their ultimate destination was not yet clear. Some residents said they expected to end up closer to Madaya and Zabadani, or in the western suburbs of Damascus.