29/08/2019
THE ROLE OF HTS IN THE CURRENT STRATEGIC SCENARIO IN THE SYRIAN CONFLICT
Hayʼat Taḥrīr al-Shām, (BBC, 2017) "Organization for the Liberation of the Levant" or "Levant Liberation Committee", commonly referred to as Tahrir al-Sham and abbreviated HTS (ITCT, 2018), is classified as a Salafist jihadist terrorist group involved in the Syrian conflict. HTS currently stands as the
largest Salafist entity in the Idlib region, making it a direct threat for all external and internal actors
involved in the strategic management of the Syrian conflict and especially - considering their geographic
proximity - for the Turkish and Syrian Government.
The following brief analyses the presence of the HTS and its relationship with other groups within the
Syrian scenario. It further aims to portray the gradual development of the group within the Syrian conflict and the geographical expansion of its influence.
In order to thoroughly examine the organisation, the present analysis will be broken down into 5 distinct
yet interrelated sections. Additionally, specific cases via the ESISC database are examined as examples
in order to portray a more solid visualisation of the group in the contemporary condition of the Syrian
conflict. Finally, this report will argue why HTS should be perceived as one of the most important internal actors in the Syrian conflict.