‘Military Council for the Liberation of Syria’ forms to fight HTS-al Qaeda regime and ‘external aggressors’

A new group, apparently of former Assad military and allies although its exact composition and provenance are not yet clear, calling itself the ‘Military Council for the Liberation of Syria’ (MCLS) has announced its formation to fight the HTS-al Qaeda/ISIS regime of Ahmed Hussein al-Sharaa, also known as Abu Mohammad al-Julani, and ‘external aggressors’. HTS has executed civilians in the street since it took power from former dictator Bashar al-Assad and today was reported to have opened fire on peaceful civilian protesters in Tartous.

In a short statement, the group said it had formed ‘following months of injustice, sectarian violence… oppression and the seizure of Syrian land by external aggressors’ to ‘liberate all Syrian territory from occupiers and terrorist forces’:

The Military Council for the Liberation of Syria is hereby established, following months of injustice, sectarian violence, looting, oppression and the seizure of Syrian land by external aggressors.

The Military Council for the Liberation of Syria has the following goals:

1. Liberating all Syrian territory from occupiers and terrorist forces.
2. Overthrowing the HTS regime and ‘dismantling its oppressive sectarian apparatus’.
3. Protecting the lives and properties of all Syrians.
4. Rebuilding state institutions on national and democratic foundations.
5. Preparing for the return of refugees.
6. Establishing a unified, sovereign state consisting of all sects and ethnicities.

In a longer statement, MCLS said that it ‘do[es] not seek power’ and called on other Syrians and the international community to stand with it against the ‘extremist jihadist terrorist regime’ for a ‘free, dignified, secure, stable and prosperous’ Syria:

Statement on the Establishment and Launch of the “Military Council for the Liberation of Syria”:

After the extremist jihadist terrorist regime, which has seized our homeland with the support of foreign powers and currently rules by imposing a de facto situation without any legal or constitutional legitimacy, has completely failed to protect the country and its citizens—leading to an unprecedented deterioration of security, economic, and humanitarian conditions in the history of our nation—And after our land has been violated by foreign forces, we, the leaders of the National Syrian Armed Forces, declare the establishment of the Military Council for the Liberation of Syria.

This council represents the will of the free Syrian people and aims to achieve the following objectives:

• The complete liberation of Syrian territory from all occupying and terrorist forces. -The overthrow of the current regime and the dismantling of its sectarian oppressive apparatus.
• The protection of the lives and property of Syrian citizens.
• The reconstruction of state institutions on national and democratic foundations.
• The preparation for the return of refugees and displaced persons to their homes.
• The establishment of a unified, sovereign Syrian state that respects human rights and guarantees justice and equality for all its citizens.
• We affirm to our people that we do not seek power; our sole objective is to liberate Syria and build a better future for its people.

We call on all Syrians, from all sects, regions, and ethnic backgrounds, to join our ranks and stand with us in this historic phase. We also call on the international community to support the Syrian people’s will for freedom from oppression and tyranny and to stand with us in achieving our noble goals. We believe that victory is ours, and that Syria will once again be free, dignified, secure, stable, and prosperous.

The UK government still lists HTS, which rules Syria since the fall of the Assad government, as a proscribed terrorist organisation and says it has not yet decided whether to de-proscribe it – but has also said that Syrians fleeing it have no basis for asylum claims in the UK. Whether Keir Starmer will move to proscribe MCLS is not yet clear.

As soon as HTS and its allies toppled Assad, Israel – which for years had helped it and other ISIS/al Qaeda-linked fighters against the Assad regime – launched an ongoing mass bombing of Syrian military and civilian facilities, followed quickly by a major invasion and seizure of Syrian territory, especially along the border with Lebanon, raising fears this will be used as a launching pad for a future new invasion of Lebanon. Despite these attacks, al-Julani said that Israel was not Syria’s enemy.

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