In the first half of 2015, jihadist groups took the lead in a sustained anti-regime offensive enabled by enhanced coordination and greater external support. The report delves into how HTS has been dealing with transnational jihadists in Idlib and describes the limits of those efforts. Over three million people, more than half of them displaced from elsewhere, remain trapped in dire humanitarian conditions in Syria’s north west. Aside from ISIS, HTS saw the main threat in 2020 as coming from the al-Qaeda offshoot Hurras al-Din. For now, there appears to be little appetite in Western capitals for a more innovative policy toward Syria’s north west.

Source: The North Africa Journal March 07, 2023 21:58 UTC