While the fog of the final days of the war between the former Syrian regime and the armed opposition is beginning to lift, political uncertainty remains total in Syria. The first signs sent out by the country's new rulers in Damascus indicate that the Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) intends to maintain its control over the transition process that it has set in motion. On Tuesday, December 10, by appointing Mohammed al-Bashir, the head of the government of Idlib, the territory HTS had controlled until now, as transitional prime minister on a national scale, does the rebel group intend to turn the territories that have come under its control into a "Greater Idlib"? At first glance, this would be quite the challenge, given that the geographical extent, demographic mass, diversity of populations and the presence of other political and military players are all far removed from the situation in the stronghold that HTS built for itself in the north-west of the country since 2017, in which the organization was still bottled up just a dozen days ago.
Nevertheless, HTS-led opposition forces have continued to extend their control in Syria. In the early hours of the morning on Wednesday, December 11, the group's military operations directorate claimed that their offensive in the eastern province of Deir Ezzor was continuing after the capture of the regional capital. The capital had been briefly occupied by the predominantly Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces, which withdrew on Tuesday evening in the face of dissent and rejection demonstrated by inhabitants of this Arab-populated city.
The eastern part of Deir Ezzor Governorate, on the other side of the Euphrates river, is still under the control of Kurdish forces. Moreover, in the coastal region north of the city of Latakia, fighting continues between rebels, including jihadists, and groups of men loyal to the former regime.
Appointed as interim prime minister by HTS's political and military leader, Ahmed al-Sharaa, whose nom de guerre is Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, the former head of the civilian government of Idlib province has promised "stability" and "calm" to the Syrian people, who have been exhausted by over 13 years of war. "It's time for this people to enjoy stability and calm, to be taken care of and to know that their government is there to provide them with the services they need," al-Bashir told the television channel Al Jazeera.
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