Syria’s HTS military chief says group will integrate armed wing into national army

By AFP 17 December 2024, 9:35 pm

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Hayat Tahrir al-Sham's military chief Murhaf Abu Qasra, known by his nom de guerre Abu Hassan al-Hamawi, gives an interview in the Syrian western port city of Latakia, on December 17, 2024. (OMAR HAJ KADOUR / AFP)

The military chief of Syria’s victorious Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham says the group will be “the first” to dissolve its armed wing and integrate into the country’s armed forces.

“In any state, all military units must be integrated into this institution,” Murhaf Abu Qasra — known by his nom de guerre Abu Hassan al-Hamawi — says in an interview with AFP, adding that “we will be, God willing, among the first to take the initiative [to dissolve our armed wing].”

He adds that Kurdish-held areas of Syria will be integrated under the country’s new leadership, adding that the group rejects federalism and that “Syria will not be divided.”