Syrian rebels have swept thru primary towns and captured territory throughout 4 provinces in a dramatic new offensive, and the Islamist chief heading the price says their goal is little short of ousting President Bashar al-Assad.After attracting little realize for years, Abu Mohammad al-Jolani and the rebels he leads surprised the arena by means of launching probably the most vital problem to Mr. al-Assad’s rule in a decade. He informed The New York Instances in an interview this week that he was once assured the rebels would ranking extra victories in opposition to weakened and demoralized executive forces.“Our function is to free up Syria from this oppressive regime,” he stated in an hourlong video interview from an unknown location.Showing comfy and assured, however suffering from time to time with a continual cough, he was once unwavering in his rivalry that the rebels may just finish the longtime Syrian chief’s brutal, authoritarian rule. “This operation broke the enemy,” he stated of the rebels’ lights offensive.Mr. al-Jolani, 42, leads Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, an Islamist crew as soon as related to Al Qaeda, that has managed many of the northwestern Syrian province of Idlib for years.He and his management have come underneath grievance from outside and inside the rustic for the usage of authoritarian ways and cracking down on dissent.
