U.S. Has Been In Direct Contact With Syrian Insurgent Group That Ousted Assad, Blinken Says

AQABA, Jordan (AP) — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken mentioned Saturday that American officers have been in direct contact with the Syrian insurgent group that spearheaded the overthrow of President Bashar Assad’s authorities however is designated a overseas terrorist group by the USA and others.

Blinken is the primary U.S. official to publicly affirm contacts between the Biden administration and Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, or HTS, which led a coalition of armed opposition teams that ousted Assad from energy final Sunday.

Talking at a information convention in Aqaba, Jordan, Blinken wouldn’t talk about particulars of the contacts however mentioned it was vital for the U.S. to convey messages to the group about its conduct and the way it intends to control in a transition interval.

“Yes, we have been in contact with HTS and with other parties,” Blinken mentioned. He added that “our message to the Syrian people is this: We want them to succeed and we’re prepared to help them do so.”

HTS, which was as soon as an affiliate of al-Qaida, has been designed as a overseas terrorist group by the State Division since 2018. That designation carries with it extreme sanctions, together with a ban on the availability of any “material support” to the group or its members. The sanctions don’t, nevertheless, legally bar U.S. officers from speaking with designated teams.

HTS has labored to determine safety and begin a political transition after seizing Damascus and has tried to reassure a public each shocked by Assad’s fall and anxious about extremist jihadis among the many rebels. Rebel leaders say the group has damaged with its extremist previous.

The group’s chief, Ahmad al-Sharaa, previously referred to as Abu Mohammed al-Golani, appeared in a video message Friday congratulating “the great Syrian people for the victory of the blessed revolution.”

U.S. officers say Sharaa has been making welcome feedback about defending minority and ladies’s rights however stay skeptical that he’ll comply with by way of on them in the long term.

On Friday, the rebels and Syria’s unarmed opposition labored to soundly flip over to U.S. officers an American man who had been imprisoned by Assad.