The military leader of the HTS rebel group, leading the coalition that seized power in Syria, announced that “the next step” would be the dissolution of armed groups, starting with its own, to merge them within the future military institution. This goal of unifying these myriad rebel groups is a considerable challenge in this country where some groups have sometimes fought against each other. Franceinfo was able to meet a man who embodies this evolution, one of the first rebel leaders to have fought the Assad regime, Ahmed Taha, who was at the head of a group of 6,500 fighters.
The meeting takes place in a building which was occupied just a few days ago by the administration of the Assad regime. In the courtyard, there are pick-ups and men armed with Kalashnikovs. Inside, Ahmed Taha sits in the center of a large sofa, dressed in military garb. He is an imposing man who has the modesty to present himself as a newborn.
“We’re reborn now, it’s like I’ve been alive for 10 days.”
By this sentence, he means that he buried the hatchet. This man, however, survived several assassination attempts which cost the lives of his son and his assistant. “We have already disbanded the group. I am a former group leader. Before, we were the ‘army of the nation’ and yes, there were problems and fights between my group and the ‘army of the Islam’, but today we have solved all these problems and we are united under one name: ‘the Syrian army'”.
A sentence far from insignificant for this man who was detained for three years by this rival group. He is a fighter, a leader who wants his country to move forward. “Of course we had different ways of thinking about things and the revolution, but we all have one thing in common: Syria is ours, there must be changes in Syria and the regime must fall.”
Ahmed Taha believes that what divides them is less problematic than the desire to build a new country. It remains to be seen how long it might take to found this new Syrian army.
“It could take one, two or three months until security is restored in Syria and people return to normal life.”
“And there, the army will be able to settle into its military bases, like any army in any country in the world”he continues. Ahmed Taha believes that this assembly of groups and rival factions, still unthinkable a few months ago, is essential for the general interest of the country.
