Syrian rebel leader al-Julani declares "new history" for region

Abu Mohammed al-Julani, the leader of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), delivered a historic speech at the Umayyad Mosque on Sunday, declaring the Syrian people as the “rightful owners” of the country following the ouster of President Bashar al-Assad.

The victory speech came after opposition forces led by HTS captured Damascus in a lightning offensive that toppled Assad’s government after 13 years of brutal war. Al-Assad fled Syria in the early hours of December 8 and is reportedly in Russia.

“We [the Syrian people] are the rightful owners [of this country]. We have been fighting, and today we have been rewarded with this victory,” al-Julani told a crowd gathered at the iconic mosque, calling the moment the start of a “new history” for the Middle East, Caliber.Az reports via foreign media.

As dawn broke, Syrians woke to a drastically altered reality. Opposition forces declared the fall of the “tyrant” Assad’s regime and a new era for Syria. Al-Julani reflected on the immense suffering endured during the conflict.

“How many people were displaced across the world? How many people lived in tents? How many drowned in the seas?” he asked, before urging Syrians to focus on rebuilding the country into “a beacon for the Islamic nation.”

Calling for prayers to mark the victory, al-Julani stated: “God will not fail you. This victory is for all Syrians; they were all part of this victory.”

In his speech, al-Julani, who has adopted his real name, Ahmed al-Sharaa, emphasized the importance of unity, urging Syrians to avoid vengeance.

“He pushed this idea that there should not be vengeance … that Syria for all Syrians, should be something that people should focus on,” reported Al Jazeera’s Zein Basravi from the Lebanon-Syria border.

Al-Julani also criticized Iran’s involvement in Syria, signalling a shift away from foreign influence: “This is no longer going to be a government that will be affected by Iran as an outside actor,” he said.

HTS, which al-Julani previously led as the al-Qaeda-linked al-Nusra Front, has been labelled a terrorist group by the U.S., EU, and Türkiye. The group has faced accusations of human rights abuses in Idlib, where it has governed since 2017. However, al-Julani’s speech sought to distance HTS from its past and project a vision of inclusivity.

“We continue to work with determination to achieve the goals of our revolution … We are determined to complete the path we started in 2011,” al-Julani declared in a statement broadcast earlier on state television, now under rebel control.

“The future is ours and we are moving towards victory,” he added, pledging to secure all the rights of the Syrian people.

The opposition’s victory marks the end of the al-Assad family’s more than half-century rule and concludes a war that began as a peaceful uprising in 2011 before escalating into a devastating conflict.

The HTS-led offensive capitalized on the shifting regional landscape, including Russia’s focus on its war in Ukraine and the weakening of Iran and Hezbollah amid conflicts with Israel.

As al-Julani prostrated in prayer at the Umayyad Mosque, he symbolized a new chapter for Syria, one that he hopes will unite its people and reshape the region. “A new history, my brothers, is being written in the entire region after this great victory,” he declared.

By Vugar Khalilov